just laura

Today it’s COLD! It’s barely 50 outside… about 15 degrees below what it normally is this time of the year. However, that didn’t keep people from coming out at 8am this morning for the West Seattle 5K put on by my team. :) The kids 1K was the cutest thing, and the whole event went fabulously! Definintely worth waking up early and getting out to West Seattle!

Oh yeah… I finally saw Bridget Jones’s Diary yesterday… was a cute movie! Hope I’m not 32, single, and crazy someday. :)

Went to a party at Elisa & Aimee’s yesterday… was fun to go and know most everyone there. Oh, went to a Mariner’s game too (vs Boston Red Sox). Both the game and the party were fun, social events… made for a good evening with good friends!

One year ago today, Dieter and I went out on our first date. :)

Today was the 2nd to last Ally McBeal before the show goes off the air. It’s been a three year run, and while I haven’t seen more than 3 or 4 episodes in the last three years, I’d still consider it a guilty pleasure. I kinda like the show… it supports the idea that you can be smart and still have fun. No one said you were required to be serious all the time, just cause you’re a bright one. Anyway, it’s almost off the air. Next week is the last show. Sad days!

In a short three weeks, my little tomato plant has grown tons! Look for a photo to be added soon!

Oh, Dieter and I saw Spider-Man last night. Cheesy movie, but fun effects! We saw it at the Neptune theatre… such a great old theatre from back in the days of yesteryear (1921 to be exact). Citysearch says it has “epic ambience,” and I’d actually have to agree. We sat up in the balcony level, and the detail around the theatre is great! Oh, even more to love… if you get popcorn, they have free flavor shakers, so you can have White Ceddar, Garlic and Parm, S’mores, etc. Too fun! What a great movie experience! A big thanks for Landmark Theatres for keeping the old theatres alive and competing with the new mega-plexes!

Sometimes people just suck. Like today. We hosted a completely free carnival for kids at two elementary schools in the Northshore school district. There was free food, drinks, coffee, and smoothies. Free carnival games with tons of cool free prizes. Free face painting and caricatures. Free basket ball and cake walks. Free books, painting sets, Harry Potter games, candy, and toys. And how some some sucky person repay the organization that gave all of this free stuff to their elementary students? Steal my digital camera, that’s how. And what good, may I ask, does it do to steal a digital camera? It’s not only sucky and mean, it’s plain stupid. You don’t have my cables to download pictures of this spectacular community event that you just ruined. You don’t have the software to read the camera’s photos anyway. You don’t even have the battery charger or replacement $80 batteries to take more pictures you can’t download. Lousy sucky people! The camera is probably already worthless to you since you’ve probably already worn the battery down. You suck! And you know what? You didn’t steal it from some rich snob at some corporate coffee shop sipping on a latte, you stole it from me, and I work at a nonprofit for your lousy kids, where I get paid less in a month than it would take to replace the cost of the camera. You’re a disappointment to your community and you suck!!

Ok, thanks for letting me get that off my chest! I’ll get over it shortly, and am actually amazing calm considering how pissed off I am.

Today I found a book, and in the inside cover, found a little note. Check out this website for some fun with recycling books into the wild: www.bookcrossing.com. What fun!!

Today I work up early again, and like yesterday, decided the most productive thing to do at the hour of 6am was to talk a walk. So, another 3 miler this morning. Felt nice, even if it did start raining nicely 1/3 of the way through the loop. Alas, guess it’s not quite summer yet, Memorial Day weekend or not.

Oh, but speaking of Memorial Day weekend… Seattle hosts the NW Folklife Festival over the 4 day weekend, a huge gathering of musicans from all over the world, performing thousands of shows, all completely FREE. What a beautiful world we live in!

Oh, and more to say today: it’s been a week full of friends getting in touch! Thanks to Chris, Alyssa, and Droopy for mailing, and for Beal, Charles, and Andy to all call. Nice to know my Tx friends still remember me. :)

Today is a rare blue-sky day, and I’m taking it as a day off. :) Don’t know what I’ll do to spend my time when everyone else seems to be working, but I guess I’ll figure out something. Suggestions welcome.

Let’s see… walking is nice, isn’t it? Monday I walked about 2 miles, Tuesday about 4 miles, Wednesday 4 miles, and today about 2 again. It’s functional, it gets me out in the decent weather, and it’s time consuming (perfect with all of my spare time). Now if I could just decide on one class or one hobby to pursue right now… I’d have something to do during the days I’m not working. :)

Just went to my buddy Jake’s website. Quite a nice redesign! I especially liked his naked picture… very artistic! Be sure to check out his site and send him lots of fan mail! :) geocities.com/jacobcmills

Love the Folklife!! Friday was a gorgeous day spent at the NW Folklife Festival! Erin and I went and we saw some great, free, live music in a beautiful sunny environment! How strange! Saturday Jake and I spent a long day out there! We got there around 1pm, and I ended up staying until 11pm, leaving only for food since the bands were still going strong! It was another gorgeous day, and saw lots of music! More Jason Webley music, some great music by this guy Jesse who plays drums in a band called Discohessive, more Taiko drumming, more folk, more jug bands, more banjo, more kids young and amazing. Dieter joined us after work to see Elisa’s show in the EMP’s Liquid Lounge then came out to the 5 Point Cafe to get some grub. :)

Today I went hiking out at Heather Lake with my lovely roomie Kathy. It was only a 4.5 mile hike, but it was gorgeous! The second half was still really snowy, with a mist over the land, waterfalls, and a gorgeous frozen lake at the top surrounded by mountains (including Mt. Pilchuck). How fabulous! Now I’m home again and heading out with Erin to check out a local Pagan festival for the full moon. Could be interesting…

Did I already mention what a crazy wedding year this is?? Katherine is getting married to Steve, after years of having a crush on the man!! Andy R. is getting married to a sweet girl and moving to Indiana! And I just got an email today from ex-boyfriend Chris, who is getting married next month to his girlfriend Aimee before they move out to New England in the fall! Craziness! How it happens that so many people seem to be hooking up while I remain single I do not know! Alas, big congrats to them for finding the right person!! It’s crazy, but really quite exciting!

And speaking of exciting, though obviously less exciting, I’m taking the day off work tomorrow and Dieter and I are going to see Star Wars, Episode 2. Ohhh…. Should be fun. We’ll be seeing it at the Cinerama theatre… one of two remaining Cinerama theatres in the world (the other is in England). “This massive, 90-foot-long, 30-foot-high screen, constructed of 2,000 independently angled louvered strips, provides a clear, brilliant picture for patrons sitting anywhere in the theater.” Cool. Our Cinerama also happens to have a digital projector… I’m told that’s the way to see Star Wars. Anyway, the tickets have been bought so we should be there tomorrow enjoying the show. Take care!