Friday, October 31, 2003Happy Halloween!Today was a good day at the office. :) First we spent a few hours at the zoo, wandering around in costume, checking out the wallaroos, elephants, and sloth bears. Then my whole team came over to my apartment for some snacks and pumpkin carving. (I'm a good boss... who wouldn't want me to be their boss?). Anyway, now I'm off to make some rice crispy treats before heading to a few parties tonight! Happy spooking everyone!
Thursday, October 30, 2003Scary Fun Facts!It's Halloween and that means it's time to try to scare each other! Here's a fun fact... Do you know just how many chemicals and processed foods we're accustomed to eating in this country? Tons! Bodies today take 18 months longer to decompose than they used to. Scary, eh?
Wednesday, October 29, 2003Pampered ChefTonight I went to my first Pampered Chef party in Seattle! Mom's been before to ones in Austin and told me all about them... but this was my first time. Turns out my friend Kathryn is just starting off as a Pampered Chef consultant and so I got to go to her first ever party! My kitchen is pretty well stocked... I've got new Caphalon cookware, and have a Kitchen Aid, a Cuisenart, a bread maker, a waffle maker, a blender, a crème brulee blow torch, a food dehydrator, and much more. Needless to say, I'm trying to avoid adding more big stuff. Happily, tonight I was still able to find neat little things to add to the kitchen. (A new paring knife was only $1… how fabulous!) Anyway, if anyone out there in cyber land is interested in hosting a party (free, just invite friends) or wants to attend a party if I host one, do let me know! It'll give Kathryn good practice, you get free food out of the evening, and you might even find some little gadget you can't live without. :) And, of course, you get to do it with friends. Tonight I had the pleasure of hanging with Mo, Shira, Shawn, Erin, Carrie, and the lovely and entertaining Zoya.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003Everyone ready for Halloween?I've been eating candy corn for the last four days but I'm still no closer to a decision on my Halloween costume. Alas... I still have a few days to throw something together. I'd love to be able to incorporate a giant tutu into the costume if at all possible, so if anyone has ideas, please do share!!
Monday, October 27, 2003Christmas Wish List, Part 1
Sunday, October 26, 2003It's that spooky time of the year!I love Halloween! I really do! Any time people encourage me to dress up in a costume and then give me candy to eat is a great time in my book! :) Last night I went to another theme party... this one was a Rocky Horror event with some of Caroline's friends. I met a whole new crowd of people, all were superbly costumed, and all were extremely fun and welcoming! I even got a great prize from the costume contest (I went as Janet). I snapped tons of pictures and promise to post them sometime soon!
Update: I posted the Rocky pictures!
Friday, October 24, 2003"Take Back Your Time Day"Something wrong is pervading the whole nation, say organizers of the new "Take Back Your Time" movement. The group, which has strong Seattle ties, hopes Americans will rally on Oct. 24, national "Take Back Your Time Day," to talk about how overwork and over-scheduling have thrown us out of whack.The United States once led the way in reducing work hours. Progress was defined as a better balance between work and home life. Now we have the longest hours of any mature industrialized nation, with the average American worker adding 199 hours to a year's work since 1973, according to the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. — and still it's not enough. Half of Americans surveyed by a Harris Poll said they were not taking a week of vacation over the summer, citing economic and work concerns.
Take Back Your Time Day is on Oct. 24 for dramatic symbolism. That day comes nine weeks before the end of the year — or about 350 work hours. Time Day organizers say the average American who has a job works that many more hours than the average European each year. Yes, they have smaller TVs, cars and houses, but they also have shorter work hours, four-week-minimum vacations by law, and more holidays.
Long work hours are not the only pressure on our finite allotment of 24 hours a day.
Go! Go! Go! Hurry. Hurry.
A 1999 report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project said that mothers with school-age children average more than five car trips a day. We give first-graders day schedulers to keep up with piano, French, soccer and tae kwon do lessons. Even when we are home, we're often too fried to do anything but watch TV. Or we've taken work home because we spent our workday in meetings, committees or answering e-mail, with no concentrated time to think.
"We have this mentality of rushing, which means nobody enjoys their lives because you're always thinking about what you have to do next," said Cecile Andrews, of Seattle, a longtime advocate of the voluntary-simplicity movement that's behind Take Back Your Time Day. "A society where people are not talking over the back fence is also a society where people don't vote, and this is a direct relationship to no time."
The topic is real enough that a bipartisan alliance including Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., won uncontested approval to name October "National Work and Family Month." Though Hatch wants labor rules eased and Kennedy wants them tightened, they agree that reducing the conflict between work and family life needs to be a national priority.
"People are tired. They're burned out," said Jeanne-Marie Maher, a Seattle-area doctor who recently stepped away from the profession that she loved after growing frustrated by the factory format of hurrying patients through. Now she's working as a life and health coach — starting with Katie Bill.
"The number of people I've seen in the last several years who had to take time off for stress is much higher than I ever remember seeing," said Maher. "They want their lives back, and they want time with family and friends."
It may not be easy
One goal of Take Back Your Time Day is simply to raise consciousness, the way Earth Day brought a national focus on the environment. But there are many barriers.
Earth Day had a budget of $185,000 the first year and dramatic evidence of environmental damage, which led to passage of major environmental legislation within three years.
A river burning from pollution is easier to envision than what is now being dubbed "time poverty." And while Time Day has the Internet as a tool, its budget, so far, is only $6,000.
John de Graaf, an independent documentary producer who works with Seattle's KCTS Television, edited the movement's recently published handbook, "Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America." He gets lots of nods when he talks about the big price we're paying with our health, families and community "for the sake of the economy." But he finds that people have little faith that they even have the right to try to change it.
"They say, 'It's part of the American culture. Businesses will never go for it.' People are far more resigned about the prospect of doing anything about it than they were about the environment."
Indeed, some critics say this is no time to think about cutting back on consumption or hours. If it's less expensive to work employees longer than it is to pay benefits for new employees, then that's how it must be. Too many companies are barely surviving as it is.
Cutting back is not an option for many workers, either. Some are working two jobs, often with no benefits, and still not making ends meet.
Amber Balch, governmental affairs director for the Association of Washington Business, says the polls she sees show that workers' biggest concern in this economy is not hours worked, but having a job and benefits. They want security that the job will be there tomorrow.
People who compare the U.S. to more socialized countries forget about the high cost companies here pay for benefits and for protecting themselves from litigation, she said.
But studies show the damage of burnout is mounting. U.S. workers are the most productive in the world, according to a new study released by the United Nations' labor agency, the International Labor Organization (ILO). But that's because American workers put in more hours; other countries are more productive per hour.
Some 80 percent of U.S. men and 62 percent of women work more than 40 hours a week, according to the ILO. Yet two-thirds of employees surveyed for the Center for a New American Dream said they want to work fewer hours and would be willing to trade pay to do it.
"We have accumulated enough evidence to prove that work overload doesn't benefit anyone," said Sharon Lobel, professor of management at the Albers School of Business & Economics at Seattle University.
Business leaders, she said, need to help employees find ways to take the load off — even through small changes, such as prorating benefits for employees who want to work less than full time.
At Xerox Corp., MIT researchers asked a group of engineers what aspects of their normal work prevented them from having enough free time outside of work. As a result, the company instituted a two-hour block of uninterrupted time in the mornings — and the engineers had more time at home and their first on-time product launch.
"When businesses encourage people to have a life, not just a job," Lobel said, "we pay back our employer with commitment, innovation and solid performance."
What can be done
Take Back Your Time Day is a national initiative of the voluntary-simplicity movement's Simplicity Forum, and a project of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University.
"The thing we hear over and over again is time," said Andrews, who has done things such as rent out two-thirds of her house to cut her expenses, thus buying herself free time, but is still surrounded by hectic professionals who set the pace. "How did the most powerful country in the world lose control of its time?"
We don't have time to enjoy what we have, say Take Back Your Time organizers, who find ready listeners among religious leaders. The notion of a day of rest and reflection goes back thousands of years in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, but now we don't have time for spiritual lives.
How did this happen? For one thing, technology — the very thing that was supposed to replace overwork with a new problem: what to do with so much leisure time.
Fifteen years ago, we were promised that our computers would become as easy to use as telephones. Instead, phones became as complicated as computers.
If we strip away the computer, the television and our many telephones for periods of quiet time, we can see how they've contributed to our minds becoming agitated, and how hard it is to slow down, says David Levy, a University of Washington professor in the Information School.
"Our outside is incredibly busy, and our inside is incredibly busy, too," says Levy, who is coordinating Time Day events on campus.
Initially, organizers of Take Back Your Time Day hoped that many Americans would take the day off work to discuss the possibilities of changing our culture and our lives, but most off-campus events now will be held at lunch hours or off hours.
"We realized that was a pipe dream in this economic climate where people are frightened," said de Graaf, the documentary producer.
Changes can come at a policy level or they can be smaller, personal changes. Go to the park on your lunch hour? Meditate? Take a pay cut and work fewer hours?
"It connects to almost everything," Andrews said.
The physical toll
Becoming overburdened is a gradual process. Martin Ringhofer, who has been in purchasing at Boeing for 25 years, likens it to watching your kids grow.
"I didn't realize it at the time, but the best way to describe it was just hectic, extremely high pressure," says Ringhofer.
Unplanned meetings at lunchtime or what was supposed to be the end of his day. Dozens of daily e-mails that required action. The pressure of overburdened co-workers who depended on one another.
Late one week in October 2002, Ringhofer joked with his co-workers that if things didn't ease up, one of them was going to end up in the intensive care unit. That Monday, it was Ringhofer, who learned he'd had three "silent" heart attacks and will likely need a heart transplant.
He's back at work in a position that still uses his expertise but with much less pressure. Now he enjoys his work again but has to be ever watchful of the strain.
He gets up early to eat a balanced meal and gets on the road early enough that he handles the traffic without adding stress. No "brown bag" lunch meetings for him. He walks instead. "When you take time for the important things, you feel better," said Ringhofer.
by Sherry Stripling: sstripling@seattletimes.com
Thursday, October 23, 2003Rock the VoteAre you registered to vote? Have you moved lately and need to update your voter reg? You can access either form online at http://www.rockthevote.com. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 22, 2003Guess Where I'm Going?Did I already mention on here that I'm going to India in December? It's true! As many folks know, I've been wanting to take a long vacation to somewhere new and exciting, and there's been much debate about when, where, and with who. Well, it's finally decided! I'll be gone for 3.5 weeks in Dec-Jan. I fly into Delhi and then will be traveling for most of that time with Jens and his family. (His sister studied abroad and now lives there). It's a rather long trip.... and while I'm kind of worried about missing that much work, I couldn't pass up the opportunity! Did I mention how excited I am? I've already started reading my Let's Go India and Nepal, and have been asking Jens tons of questions too. If anyone has recommendations on what to see or do, I'd love to hear it! Take care!
Tuesday, October 21, 2003High School ReunionMy high school is going to be featured on the upcoming WB reality show High School Reunion. They choose the class of 93... it was my brother's class and I had many friends that year. It should be fun to see who got selected for the show, who fights who, who makes out with who on national TV, etc. Yeah Round Rock!
Florence, OregonYesterday Seattle reported an all-time record rain fall for a single day... 5 inches! To a Texan, that might not seem like much... knowing that 5 inches could easily come in an afternoon thunderstorm. But for Seattle, 5 inches over the course of a 24 hour rainy day means big news. Hopefully the trees are now watered and the rivers are now running and hopefully we can now go back to the regular mist that carries us through the winter months.
Monday, October 20, 2003Public Service Announcement: It's raining outside... why not check out the Film Festival?NWAAT's Northwest Asian American Film Festival 2003 is only three days away! Here's a final update of what's going on:1) TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE ONLINE: Go to http://www.nwaaff.org/tickets for links to buy tickets and festival passes online. Online ticket sales close the day before each program, but tickets will still be available for purchase at the door.
2) FESTIVAL PROGRAM: Our official festival program is now available inside the current issue of the International Examiner. The Examiner is free in many locations throughout the Seattle area. Call 206-624-3925 if you can't find a copy.
3) FESTIVAL PRESS: Visit http://www.nwaaff.org/press to see the latest articles about the festival and its filmmakers from the Sunday edition of the Seattle Times, the current issue of Northwest Asian Weekly, Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, and Salon.
4) OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT RECEPTIONS: You are cordially invited to our private receptions after the opening and closing night screenings. Suggested donation is $10 at the door, but admission is free with your opening/closing night ticket stub or film festival pass. The opening night reception will be at Saigon Bistro at 1032 S. Jackson St, just a few blocks east of the Theatre Off Jackson. The closing night reception will be in the Wing Luke Asian Museum upstairs from the Theatre Off Jackson with food provided by Wild Ginger.
5) DOOR PRIZES: As if there weren't already enough reason to come to the festival, we'll have great door prizes at every event including DVDs, CDs, books, t-shirts, and more.
Wohoo!My family finally decided where we're going to meet for Thanksgiving: Sacramento! This fits the bill because: 1) it's warm 2) we haven't been there before as a family and 3) they have Embassy Suites (Grandpa's requirement). Best of all, it's close enough that the six of us who live in the Northwest can drive there! Yeah! Now I just need to convince Dieter to join me for the drive... and hopefully Meghan and Vince will come with us too!
Sunday, October 19, 2003Wild Party!Last night Dieter and I went to a Wild Party that some friends threw! It was a dress-up theme party which is always fun in my book. They went all out in decorating the place... they rented a palm tree, had parrot movies playing on the TV, decorated all walls and furniture, and made a special batch of Jungle Juice for the event. They even decked out the little foosball players in zebra print and jungle print togas! I went in a lovely leopard print dress and Dieter went in a zebra print backless halter. Quite dashing! The photo above is of Dena and Dieter... they've always been impressive as roomies. :) Some of the costumes were pretty entertaining (Dena was a white tiger and her boyfriend Max was Siegfried)... but my favorite part was realizing you're sitting in a room full of drinking adults glued to the TV watching silent parrot movies. It was like I was living the scene in Singles where Bridget Fonda's character is throwing herself at her boyfriend Cliff (Matt Dillion), only he's not interested... he and the rest of the band members were too enthralled by the TV show about bees mating. Craziness. Fun party though. :)
Saturday, October 18, 2003Vancouver, CanadaI finally posted pictures from our trip to Vancouver when Suzan came to visit last November! Yeah for slow posting!
Friday, October 17, 2003i am cryingI just watched the first 10 minutes of i am sam and I'm already crying! Must revisit this movie later this weekend. Take care!Update: I watched the rest of i am sam and cried my way through the whole thing. It was a truly beautiful movie! Now I'm off to eat my leftover Ethiopian food (Dieter joined me for some Mesob yesterday... my favorite Ethiopian place in town!). Yummy dinner for a Friday night!
Two hours till sunrise...I just got home from the One Night Count... and while I was planning on coming home and crashing, I'm as wide awake as can be. So, what better way to spend productive time than Blog? Well, I'm sure there are tons of better ways to spend the morning hours, but blogging is quiet and won't wake the roomie, so blogging it is. :)The One Night Count tonight went pretty well. Tonight's weather was warmer than a few days ago (up in the mid-50s), though the winds and the rain were still pretty strong. Our numbers this year were lower than last years, but I'm guessing that has to do with the rain and not with decreasing number of homeless. (Last year's count was a perfectly dry, clear night). Anyone sleeping without shelter in Seattle, during the winter rainy season, has to be pretty creative to pick a place that's dry, safe, hidden, and poorly lit so police or security to harass them. In our 15 block stretch of the University District, we only counted 10 people. (In comparison, Stefanie and Erin's group counted 25 people in their section). Two of ours were under a makeshift tent, 5 were well hidden in various stairways, 1 man was living out of his truck, and 2 were sleeping very well hidden deep inside bushes and shrubs. The man with the truck was out pacing around 3am and we chatted with him for a while. He was an older, gray-haired man in his 60s who said he was tired of being harassed, tired of not having anywhere to go or anywhere to shower, and most of all, just lonely from living on the streets. After a few hours, we'd checked all dumpsters, stairways, bushes, alleys, and dark pathways in our 15 blocks, and now I'm home and wired (despite not having any caffeine in the last week).
I came home and was soaked through my raincoat, wool sweater, long underwear, jeans, and two pairs of socks. I immediately hung up my wet clothes to dry and changed into a comfy sweater and pants, fleece socks, and cozy robe. Imagine living on the streets and staying in the rain all night instead of just three hours, not getting the luxury of a warm shower in the morning, not getting to hang your clothes up to dry and instead, actually having to stay in wet clothes all day until it's evening and time to find a new bush to sleep under. Not an easy life.
Hopefully all of the different volunteers across the city were able to get a decent count, despite the rains, so social service funding will have accurate numbers to fund from. I'm not sure why our homeless population here is so high, but it seems to be growing and growing each year since the One Night Counts began in the 80s. Maybe it's because Seattle is the only major city in Washington state, so if you're going to be homeless in the NW, it's the place to be. Maybe it's because we don't get the cold and snow like places in the Midwest or East Coast (though I can't imagine the rains being that much more welcoming). I don't know. Guess maybe we just have a socially minded population with lots of social services... makes it a somewhat safe place for people who can't find that anywhere else.
Either way, while I could babble on about Seattle's homeless for quite a while (I'm still awake!), I'm doubting anyone will be reading this far. So, on that note, I hope everyone has a lovely morning! I know I have so far! Take care!
Thursday, October 16, 2003Bloggy goodnessLast night was a Blogger meetup and you can read all about it on Jake's site. It was the one year anniversary of my first Blogger meetup, where I was introduced to TYD, Phil, Anita, Jerry, and other nice folks. :) It was at the Sit and Spin back in the day... the best laundromat/coffee shop/bar/live music venue/arcade in the city. Sadly, it closed down earlier this year and we've lost a great venue for music watching and hipster laundry. We've moved from Belltown to Downtown to Capital Hill, and now we're back in Belltown just blocks from the vacant Sit and Spin. We met last night at Uptown Espresso... a lovely venue for coffee and a lovely venue for decent sized groups (we had about 10 last night). Hope everyone is well. Many happy Oct birthdays to TYD, Tara, Jake, and Jerry! Take care!
Wednesday, October 15, 2003Where will you be at 2am Friday morning?Anyone interested in joining me for the upcoming One Night Count? A little background: Social services funding for homeless/street kids depends on an accurate count of people living/sleeping on the streets, generally done in the early morning hours. I think counts are usually done about twice a year, and the next one is coming up this Thurs night/Friday morning at 2am. I'm signed up to help with the U-District count... let me know if you want to help out too!
Tuesday, October 14, 2003Mirror Project!The Mirror Project just published my 10th photo on their website. Click here to see all of my photos. :)
Monday, October 13, 2003As Lenny Kravitz said so well..."I want to get away. I want to fly away. Yeah." I've been working lots this year and have been wanting a vacation to get away and explore. I did that a little after Mike's wedding and had fun, but that was a short weekend. I feel like I haven't had a "real vacation" in quite a while, though as someone this weekend pointed out, I travel out of state more than anyone they know. I guess perspective is everything because I don't really feel I've been on many trips this year. However... I guess if you include conferences and weddings and such, in 2003 I've been to...
Washington, D.C.
Des Moines, Iowa
LA, San Francisco, San Diego, and Tijuana
Austin, Texas
Monterey, California
Baltimore, Maryland
Whistler, British Columbia
Portland, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
St. Paul, MN and Waukesha, WI
Baltimore, Maryland (coming up in Nov)
Oahu, Hawaii (coming up in Nov)
Thanksgiving somewhere out of state too...I guess what I've been missing is the chance to get away and meet people and travel to new lands and learn about new cultures. Yes, I know I can do that anywhere, but I've been craving some international travel. I've been thinking of maybe Thailand, but any new culture would be good with me. :) Suzan has mentioned maybe doing something over the Dec holidays and Jens has mentioned the possibility of India (very exciting idea, but still a pipe dream at this stage in the game). Beal's still interested in London in the spring... but I don't know if I want to revisit places I've already been. Hopefully plans will be made soon for Thanksgiving, and then I can concentrate on December plans. :) If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!
Sunday, October 12, 2003More....Dieter joined me for another house warming party last night for a few gals from work. Was fun to see folks and fun to have lots of yummy vegan choices for food! We were hearing stories all night about their nudist 60+ yr old apartment managers/next door neighbors, and sure enough when I left a few hours later, I glanced up from the parking lot and saw a naked grey haired flaccid old man walking around his living room with all of the blinds open. I had a good laugh about that. :) It was one of many, many giggling fits during the night.After the housewarming party, I headed to Capital Hill for the closing party of Caroline's most recent movie. I was out of town both times they needed lots of extras for the movie, but I've got my Caroline connection and was invited to the wrap party. She's great... and is always looking out for me. :) The party was at the Twilight... home of hipsters and hipster karaoke. Apparently on Saturdays there's no karaoke, so I wasn't tempted onto stage to make a fool of myself. :) However, the DJ was spinning some pretty fantastic funkadelic 60s and 70s music, so I was more than content to dance by the bar. Met some nice folks from the movie, and even ran into some familiar faces (Nadav, a photo friend, and Shawn, a daddy who used to work at the same place I did). Was fun to catch up with both of them. :)
Today is cold and windy and I've had a relaxing, sleep in, and stay in bed kind of day. I've now managed to get up and am eating a nice warm bowl of chili. Life is good.
Saturday, October 11, 2003Co-ed happy hour?Sadly, my "go home from work by 7pm" plans were shot to heck this week upon arriving home from vacation. Seems world war three is actually happening inside my office building, and when not wrapped up in the drama, there's lots to do with a grant due Monday and 4 new interns starting this week that I need to train. I've been working pretty late nights, but managed to get out yesterday in time to go to a "co-ed happy hour" at Phil's invite. Seemed a bit suspicious to only invite girls and title the email "co-ed happy hour." ;) However, it was for a good cause since his Saturn just had it's birthday (he bought it 10 years ago on Oct 10). Upon arrival, us girls were outnumbered 2-1, and it was fun to see John and Mike who I met at the last happy hour. New to the crowd was Pete, who I didn't get to chat with much but who brought his new digital camera. :) Might I recommend the Duck Island Pub for anyone who needs a laid back bar to hit with a personable bartender, real food, and a jukebox that plays the Dropkick Murphys? Fun little place...
After a couple of happy hours, I headed downtown to Rod's housewarming and birthday party. He just bought a very nice new condo in a high-rise building, with a large deck and views of the Space Needle and downtown. :) He also just turned 30, so many happy birthday wishes to Rod! Got to hear stories from his trip to Japan last month, and got to meet some nice new people. Also got to see the "other" Kat (ie. Drumming Kat not Fringe Cat) and I should wish her many happy birthday wishes since today's her birthday and party. Apparently it's a big party weekend and I'm feeling kind of popular. Five parties in two nights... when it rains, it pours. :)
For now, it's 10am and I'm off to work on the grant application. I'll have to write more later about some potential upcoming travel plans. :) Stay tuned...
Love Thy Neighbor...
Thursday, October 09, 2003It's that time of the year...
More Lomo!
Wednesday, October 08, 2003I'm back!Arnold is the new governor of California and I'm now back from my road trip. Both thoughts make me tired! But, before I get too tired, let me wish a belated birthday to Stef, and a belated anniversary to Charlie and Stef. Let me also give a shout out to Dan and Droopy... heard from both this week and I'm glad they're alive and well. :)As for me, I'm catching up on work at the office and will have to find time later to write more about the trip. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their weeks. I'm looking forward to a lovely weekend of happy hours and house warming parties. What are you looking forward to this weekend??
Monday, October 06, 2003Visting Mary in WI: my second trip!Yesterday Jens and I made the 7 hour drive to Waukesha to see Mary and the babies. We had a brief stop in Madison for ice cream and then kept on going till we got to Mary's place. It's been fun to see her and play with the babies, though I think taking care of twins has the possibility of turning any new parents into tired zombies. Apparently the girls are fed every three hours, then need diapers and cleaning, then sleep on and off a little until the next feeding. Doesn't leave much time for tired moms to sleep, nap, shower, or relax. I've had a great time holding and feeding the little sweethearts, but I don't think a day of extra support is enough to bring any mother back to a regular energy level. Today after some feeding and TV, Mary led the way to Milwaukee so we could see Vanessa and get some yummy veggie food at Beans and Barley. (The whole cafe wanted to ask questions about the adorable kids... I'm learning quickly that 5 week old super cute twins attract a good deal of attention). Afterward lunch, Mary took the girls home for a nap. Meanwhile, Jens and I checked out the art museum and wandered downtown before heading back to Waukesha to see more of Mary and the girls. It'll just be a short visit since we're heading out in the morning since my flight is from MSP, but it's been lovely so far. :)
Photo is from 2/2/2002 when I was a bridesmaid at Mary's wedding
Sunday, October 05, 2003The Whole Story (aka I Love My Friends!)I'm in Minnesota enjoying the sunny, cold weather while seeing old friends and meeting new ones. :) Mostly I'm thinking of how much I love my friends, and just how proud I am of Mike! Seeing him with Elizabeth is a truly beautiful thing... and I'm so glad to be here for their wedding weekend!!
I've been getting a bit reflective this weekend as I've been thinking back about "the gang." It's been an amazing eight years since I first met Mike in freshman classes, met Kat at freshman orientation, met Chris and Alyssa in student clubs, and started hanging out with Charles at college. Who knew back then that we'd stick together through four years of college, and then remain together the following four years after college?? (Not that we live anywhere near each other now... I'm off in Seattle, Mike's in the Twin Cities, Charles and Alyssa moved from Houston to Austin, and Chris moved from Dallas to Austin. We're still a bit spread out, but that doesn't stop us from annual parties and reasons to get together across state lines). Happily, we were all able to make it out here to MN for the wedding this weekend, and a little mini-reunion has ensued. :)
Thursday I met up with Chuck at the airport and all was well with the world. :) We went to a lovely Peruvian place in Uptown for dinner with his cousin Lisa and husband Eric (who graciously opened their home to Charles, who in turn graciously opened the couch up to me). :) They're saving us from the hotel life this weekend and that's good in my book. They're also very cool, fun, and have sweet pets that love attention. :) I actually met Lisa a few years ago when Charles, Andy, and I came up to the Twin Cities to visit Mike over the 4th of July back in 2000. After dinner, Charles and I headed over to Elizabeth's parents' house to meet both families and get to know the Maid of Honor. I've got to say, it's a really great opportunity to be at a wedding and actually have time to spend with the bride and groom. It doesn't always happen, and I know not to expect it, but it's a nice surprise when it does happen. :) Many weddings are packed so full of events and people that there's rarely time to see everyone you want to see. This weekend was great and every day we've had time to spend with Mike, both alone and in small groups of friends and in larger groups with families. How fabulous! I first met Elizabeth twice before, both times when Mike brought her back to Texas. Even that first time we met her, we already knew she was a keeper. :) Thursday after Peru food, we went out for drinks at the Old Chicago and I was (thankfully) home in bed by 2am. Whew!! I was one tired Cat after only getting 3 hours of sleep before an early morning flight!
Friday was another lovely day in paradise. Shopping and yummy Thai with Lisa and Chuck, followed by more family bonding and a tour of Captain Mike's fabulous new house. (Elizabeth doesn't move in until after the wedding). I was quite impressed with the decorating and the house, and loved seeing artwork and crafts Mike bought when we backpacked Europe back in 1999. (see photo above when Mike and I zoomed around the Swiss Alps and almost took out a bus load of tourists... we were hell on wheels!!). Friday afternoon I had the pleasure of spending quality time with Katherine! Yeah! I last saw Kat (and Charles and Mike and the whole UT-Austin gang) when I flew down to Texas in May for Kat and Steve's wedding. Their wedding was gorgeous, as was Katherine, but I was glad to have this weekend in Minnesota to catch up on a less hectic trip. Seems we're both working too much, but hopefully we'll both be in better places very soon. :) The rehearsal dinner that night was quite a trip... I enjoyed chatting with Emily (who did Teach for America) and her fiance Aaron (who's got an MBA in social services and has crazy food problems too... yeah gluten-phobes!). I also really enjoyed "Crazy" Uncle Allan who toasted the couple and made them wear stainless steel colanders on their heads for the whole night. Nice touch!! The evening capped with a late night chat session once Chris and Alyssa arrived from Austin... we spent hours chatting in the hotel lobby until we realized it was 3am!
Today's wedding day was entirely too stress free to seem like a wedding day at all. We did lunch with the groom (even got free rhubarb pie since it was his wedding day), and then headed to the Walker Sculpture Garden to check out the art in the gorgeous weather. (Instead of 27 degrees and rain like weather.com predicted, it was sunny and warm. Yeah!). After photos and sculptures, we did the wedding (lovely!) and the reception (fun... even got to meet Jens - a musician/science boy from WA now in MN, and his roommate Lucas who took me out on the dance floor for one entertaining jazz number). After leaving the reception, we decided on drinks since we couldn't very well have gone to bed by 11pm. Chris, Lyss, Kat, Charles, and I got some drinks and now at 2am, I'm home again and ready for sleep. Tomorrow I need my rest as I've got a 5-6 hour drive ahead of me as I make my way towards Waukesha to see Mary!!!
On that note, I feel like it's Thanksgiving, where we all have to go around and say one thing we're thankful for. I'll start: I'm thankful for great friends and an abundance of love. :) If there's one thing in life I've been blessed with, it's being surrounded by great people (from Seattle to Texas to many others). Thanks y'all! I do love you all... even if I'm bad about calling regularly or visiting!
Wednesday, October 01, 2003Minnesota, you betcha!Tonight I'm packing for a little trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The trip starts in MSP with four days of Mike and Elizabeth wedding festivities (including visiting with Charles, Lisa, Eric, Chris, Alyssa, Kat, Cathy, and Jeff). Yeah!! Then I'm off to Wisconsin for two short days to visit Mary, Dale, the babies (above), and hopefully some other folks I met on my last trip to Wisconsin. :) Should be a good trip!!
BLOG ARCHIVES
2000: May June July
2001: March Oct Nov Dec
2002: Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2003: Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2004: Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov
This is my personal blog. My opinions are my own and not my employers. Please play nicely.
