just laura

Today I hired two more people for the team (beat the Monday deadline!) and now I’m off for a quick vacation! Whew!! I’m heading to North Carolina to visit family… it’s been about four years since I made it out there and I’m quite excited about the trip. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!

I’ve had more watermelon, potato salad, and coleslaw than any one person would need to consume in a weekend. Vacationing with the fam generally means sitting around lots chatting and eating… and I’ve done a good deal of both! I spent a lot of time hanging out beside the pool and hanging out in the hot tub… always fun when it’s in the 90s during the day and cool in the evening. Also spent some time watching cheesy movies with the guys. (Note to self: Moonraker has to be the cheesiest James Bond goes to space movie ever made!). All is relaxing and going well, and I’ll be heading home tomorrow to considerably cooler climates. It’s fun to see family, but alas, my vacation time is quite limited. Hope everyone had a terrific holiday! Take care!

Visiting North Carolina not only meant getting to see family, but also meant getting to see old stuff all over Grandpa’s house. My grandmother passed away a few years ago while I was in college, but her memory is still kept alive by her family as well as by all kinds of stuff around the house. Mom found this very cool, very funky, very old pair of shoes stashed away somewhere upstairs. They were platform sandals with fabric straps and wooden heels that had been carved into an island scene with palm trees and a cabana. I thought they were quite amazing… and might have been tempted to try them on if my feet were about 4 sizes smaller. :) They could easily be from the 40s and somewhere in the Pacific… I’m guessing Grandpa bought them for Grandma somewhere overseas when he was fighting in the war (he and some buddies from high school voluntarily enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor). More pictures will be posted soon! Take care!

I’m still sick from this summer cold that I picked up somewhere, but that’s not going to stop me from going to the Melissa Etheridge concert happening down at the Pier tonight. :) Yep, I’m skipping the Photo meetup, Veggie meetup, and the Photologger meet up for this concert, and I’m quite excited to do so. Yes, yes… I’m quite excited about every concert I go to, but such is the nature of live music. It’s gorgeous today… blue skies, sunny, warm. What better than to sit by the water and see a show while the sun sets over the water and mountains? (I think I also love it because it guarantees I’m out of the office at a decent hour… it forces me to not work late and not focus on my grant that’s due by Friday).

Speaking of things other than work… this weekend should be quite entertaining. It’s the Capital Hill Block Party… always a great source of fantastic local bands and good people watching. Last year I had a great time and took lots of pictures. It’s also the Oregon Country Fair happening down in Eugene… one big hippie gathering that’s supposed to be just fantastic. In addition, there are BBQs at Golden Garden for the full moon, camping trips with DJs out on Whidbey Island, and a proposed road trip to the Olympic Peninsula with Rod. Not sure where I’ll end up yet, but either way it sounds like fun. :) Hope everyone is well.

I’ve decided the Oregon Country Fair is too far away to make a weekend trip this weekend, and the camping trip was canceled b/c too many folks were away at the Country Fair. However, that’s a good thing because I’m now free to go to the Block Party on Sat, the Peninsula on Sun, and a BBQ Sun night. Life is good. :)

Life is also entertaining. A friend in Austin wrote to say she got an invite to a party from some random guy on Friendster. Well, I checked out his picture and lo and behold… it’s a guy I knew in college. We had mutual friends and used to go to a lot of the same parties… too funny! Gotta love Friendster!

I realize I misspelled “Capitol Hill Block Party” on my website this week. You’d think I would know better since I lived there longer than I’ve lived anywhere in Seattle, but nope. I still did it with an A instead of the O. Hmm… I admit my blog spelling might be rather sloppy, but at least I know that Fremont isn’t spelled with two E’s. :)

Either I’ve got hot flashes, or the heat today is eating away at my brain like no other day yet this summer. Makes me wish I were eating ice cream somewhere with air conditioning. Yesterday the heat didn’t affect me at all. In fact, Rod and I drove out to Port Angeles and visited the Olympic National Park and Forest, where the rain and mountain elevation kept us hikers wearing fleece, rain coats, gloves, hats, and scarves. The park was just beautiful… and the views extended from the Olympic Peninsula to Canada to Bellingham to the Cascades… wow! We did a little hike around Hurricane Ridge and will have to go back for a trip to the rain forest and hot springs. I bought a National Parks Pass, so I have a renewed interest in visiting more National Parks. More pics and details to follow later. :)

This weekend I also went to a bonfire at Golden Gardens. I was invited by a Friendster named Chris who had another friend hosting the event. The crowd was friendly, the s’mores were yummy, and it turns out I had met the girl who was hosting the shindig a few years ago at a pajama party thrown by a separate mutual friend. As always, I love coincidences like that. :) Keeps life entertaining.

I’ve missed the last three or four meetups I wanted to go to, but think I’ll try to sneak out of work early tomorrow to hit the Blogger meetup at Bauhaus. A little social interaction out of the office could be a good thing. Happily, I’m mostly done with my cold, so I should finally be fit for public appearances. Wohoo!

This whole working all the time thing has been getting me down a little bit. It’s not like it was in my tech job – this is a job I love and I’m very committed to putting in whatever hours necessary. It’s just that the necessary hours are seemingly endless and I’m starting to crave glimpses of the outside world. I’d love a trip abroad right about now… maybe I’ll just say f*ck it and schedule a vacation despite my insane work load. Three options to consider…

Japan – Rod is going to Japan in Sept for 2 weeks and if I joined him for part of that time I’d be able to stay with his sister and their family. Could be very cool… they live about 1.5 hours outside of Tokyo and I’ve never been to Japan before…

London – I have two friends whose respective tech companies recently moved them to London for client jobs. I’ve got free places to stay and good friends to see. I thoroughly enjoyed my first stay in London and would be more than content to go again… maybe seeing more of the UK this time around.

Crater Lake – Not quite as worldly, I know, but it’s in Oregon and supposed to be amazing. I’ve got a national parks pass and will be just two hours from there when I’m at Meghan’s wedding in August. (As compared to 7 hours from Seattle). I’d have to figure out when to go… I’ve offered my brother and Stef a ride from the Portland airport to Eugene, but wouldn’t have time to see anything if I’m responsible for taking them back at 4am the morning after the wedding. Perhaps if I can make time for Crater Lake, they’d be okay with renting a car for the weekend? No plans yet. We’ll see.

Of course, all of these are currently pipe dreams. The responsible part of me doesn’t think I should make vacation plans for Sept or after if I don’t know what my employment status will be until late August. If my program is defunded (like Teach for America and Youth Volunteer Corps found out their programs were cut on Friday), I’d probably get laid off with two weeks notice. If that’s the case, I’ll have lots of time to travel and no money to do it with. Of course, I’ll still do my best to be a good unemployed person like this guy. And on that note, it’s time for me to leave the office. G’night all…

I want to trade…

Anyone have CDs or DVDs they’d like to trade? I’d love to! There are a few web sites that help the process.

http://cd-swap.meetup.com

http://www.swappingtons.com – list me as referal: jepsy

No blog meetup for me afterall. Too much going on. Argh!

Going to see Ani DiFranco tonight, and then the Doors tomorrow. Wohoo! Happily caught up with Niki last night for dinner. Was fabulous to see her… we don’t hang out anywhere near enough. Guess the same could be said for most of my friends that I tend to neglect when works gets busy. Hopefully things will slow down soon… until my UW class in August anyway.

This weekend’s Doors concert was fantastic! It was the first time they toured in 32 years and it was well worth the wait! The band had the original bassist and guitarist, and had the Cult’s Ian Astbury as lead singer. (Side note: Ian is a sexy, sexy older man who can easily hold the attention previously bestowed to Jim Morrison!). I highly recommend seeing their tour as they come to a city near you! They were rocking, and played all of the Doors songs you know and love, and even played two Doors songs never before performed live! So fantastic! I’m still living on my high from the show. :)

The sad news is that the House Appropriations Committee just sacked the supplemental funding request for AC last night. (Even though it passed in the Senate and the President backs it). The committee voted on straight party lines (and sadly the Republicans have majority). The good news is that last week’s visit with my new State Program Specialist went smashingly. She was the nicest person in the world, approved my grant, approved additional requests for funding, and did all of that while being very appreciative and supportive of both me and the program. (It’s always nice to feel appreciated every so often). Even if we loose one grant, I know that our second grant is still confirmed and even strengthened thanks to her support. Whew! Her visit was the best news I’ve had on the work front in at least six months!

Chance to be involved: If anyone is interested in supporting the AC supplemental budget request, feel encouraged to contact members of the House to encourage support, and contact members of the Senate to thank them for their continued support. This CommonCause website will allow you to type in your zip and automatically create a form where you can type your note and have it faxed to your reps. :)

This week I’ve been thinking lots about community, and about our collective responsibility to each other. My community includes some interesting players.

* The older gentleman with developmental disabilities who rides my same bus and shouts at random is now sporting a mohawk with his usual flannel shirts, gray pants, and fanny pack.

* The new Real Change guy at Safeway told me I was turning my back on god and homeless for not buying his newspaper.

* The kids at one of our summer programs I visited yesterday taught me to draw flowers, held my hand, and gave me hugs. I used my broken Spanish skills to practice colors with the little ones.

* An angry, crying, hysterical gray haired grandmotherly woman on the Ave this morning was screaming about hating all human beings. She told me (in loud screeches) that I should look disgusted because I just didn’t know.

* My bus driver last night went outside of his route to drop me off at Safeco for the Mariners baseball game (I was over an hour and a half late and he’s a baseball fan).

* One of my friends is in the hospital for the week and I’m very worried.

* My team at work is finishing up their year with me and the program, and will be moving on to the next stage of their lives.

And I’m right here, same as I ever was. Where are you this week?

Decided to make a run for it this weekend and escape to Whistler for a few days. I’ll be heading up tonight and hanging out by myself while there, but plan to hike around, ride my bike a little, take some photos, maybe do a rafting trip, etc. Should be a good break. As long as I can get some errands done before I go, I’ll be set! Take care!

This weekend I did two things: watch bike boys ride at breakneck speeds down Blackcomb mountain, and spend my time relaxing by wandering solo, hiking, napping, and reading. It was a fabulous, hot, sunny weekend and I’m quite content with the trip! :)

Tonight I’m supposed to head to the Woodland Park Zoo for their summer concert series Zoo Tunes. Tonight’s featured artist is Aimee Mann, and Pete Droge will be opening the show. I’ve been to the zoo here once, and haven’t been out to their concerts yet at all, so I’m quite looking forward to the evening. Of course, I’ll look forward to it even more if the tempratures cool down a little… yesterday was in the 90s and it was miserable (remember… no AC up here in the NW). Take care all!