just laura

Tonight will be Jason Webley’s big show of the year! I’ll be there with Rod, Kat, and Clare. Care to join us?

This week I finally bought a new digital camera after my previous two were stolen. Not only is it a cool little camera, the software makes little HTML albums for lazy picture posters like me! Now I have no excuse for not posting pics in a relatively timely manner. Check out photos from Halloween and from the Jason Webley concert! You can go ahead and tell me how impressed you are!

Last night was Chris’s 28th birthday so we went out to celebrate with sushi! I had some pretty great veggie rolls… though we all agreed that the chef was a bit inconsistant with his wasabi portions hidden stealthly in the sushi pieces. Some pieces were mild. Others were so hot you could feel your head burn from the inside out! Regardless, it was a lovely sushi/birthday evening spent with Dieter, Dena, Max, Michelle, and Chris. :) Hmmm…. if we just did a little breaking and rearranging of couples, we could all be pretty cute. Max could date Michelle, Dieter could date Dena, and Chris could date Cat. How great would that be?

MySpace.com is supposedly the new big thing. It’s faster than Friendster and quick to get on.

Dad sent me an AP news article titled “Monkeys Terrorize India Workers, Tourists.” Apparently as the forests are being destroyed, tons of monkeys are fleeing to Delhi looking for food. They know how to open the fridge, steal lunch pails from government workers, and pick people’s pockets. While I think I’d have to laugh if I was pick-pocketed by a monkey, it’d also be quite lame. Either way, I think I’ll be getting a money belt for my upcoming trip. :)

Saw this sign on Lake City Way on my way home from a site visit this week. :)

Today was a fantastic day… not just a day that I’m content to be alive, but a really great day! One of those days that you know the world is looking out for you and everything is going in your favor. :) Let’s hear it for the most beautiful 24 hours in recent memory!!

I realized (and Shane kindly pointed out) that I didn’t really explain much of why yesterday left me in a good mood. I think I must have been too excited to do a proper post. So, here it is now…

Something at work actually got resolved after 2.5 years of waiting! Talk about lightness of heart!!! It was one of those things you fight for and stick your neck out on the line for and even though it’s painful and scary you keep at it because you know deep down that it’s the right thing to do and just hope that the day comes when it finally works out. Last night it finally worked out! It was beautiful and cause for much celebration!

In addition to resolution, I got lots of good emails that kept my spirits up and kept me smiling all day.

* Found out one of my favorite Lauras is in Baltimore right now so I’ll get to see her next week when I see Sameer and John!

* Heard from Boston friends about our weekend plans (which is a good thing since I’ll be catching my flight out of town in a few hours and landing in Boston when I wake up!)

* Got this fun email: “I am getting no sugar from you this week.” Made me laugh. :)

* Got this very funny email: “Deficit spending is only fun for so long unless you’re president. ” Made me laugh out loud!

* Got these two fun notes: “It is a shame you will be gone so long. Who ever will I flirt with?” and “I’d like to flirt with Cat more but I never know where to find her.” Boys are silly. Reminds me of my college days when I’d meet so many married/gay/unavailable men who’d insist on flirting. Single guys = generally too shy to flirt. Married/gay men = all too eager. Alas. It should be sad, but it’s really more funny since they’ve plagued me for so long. :)

And to top it all off, it’s been sunny and gorgeous out for the past week and then some! What’s not to love about life? Hope everyone has a good week! I’m off to Boston and Baltimore!

Dieter finally cut his hair this week after growing it out for his Uni-bomber Halloween costume. Check out these great before and after photos (hair & beard vs. shaved & lambchops). We went out for lunch this week at my favorite Indian buffet place and the waiter was even more fantastic than usual. He told Dieter “You face is very nice looking, but your beard is dangerous.” That was yet another reason I was entertained and smiling all week long. :)

Today I’m in Boston visiting Chris and Aimee and that’s reason for smiles too! Tomorrow I shall visit Matt, check out the Freedom Trail, and hopefully see music at the Middle East. Yeah Boston!

I flew in town from Baltimore this morning and am now heading to our team meeting/Thanksgiving potluck. :) Will post some Boston pics and return emails later this weekend. Take care all!

The Original Lowriders will be playing at the EMP tonight and I’m planning to be there! “With four original members from the classic funk band that brought us “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” The Original Lowriders have that laid back, party vibe that made them such a hit in the 1970s. Taking their name from the classic song “Low Rider,” the band effortlessly mixes blues, Latin, rock, reggae, and jazz influences into a funky sound—a perfect translation of their sunny Southern California roots.” Sounds like fun to me!

This morning Caroline graciously helped me scan photo negatives and slides, so I’ll be slowly posting some of those shots in the coming days or weeks. (See above for Brian, circa 1997). Now that we’ve finished playing, I’m back at work trying to get caught up on grant requests and reporting. Fun weekend!

And speaking of fun weekends… I’ve got no exciting news to report about the Lowriders concert last night since I ended up skipping the show. I had won free tickets, but when 9pm rolled around, I was feeling more like staying home and watching a movie. Guess that’s a sign of fatigue from my cold and from traveling all last week for work. Turns out I was too lazy to even put in The Hours DVD that Erin rented, so I ended up just watching bad Saturday night TV (Hack and some other police show with the guy from Coach). I never expected to be so boring at such a young age. Alas, it was pretty nice to fall asleep on the couch… that’s always a sign that you’ve had a relaxing evening. :)

Relaxing is a good thing since I’ve still got my cold. Probably doesn’t help when I spend so much time outdoors, wandering in the 30 degree temps and rain. Maybe I do need to visit a doctor. I head out to Hawaii on Wednesday morning so hopefully it’ll miraculously disappear by then! I’ve been too busy to even think about the Hawaii trip, but I expect the reality of it will finally hit me once Charles arrives in town Tuesday night! It promises be a fabulous little vacation to Waikiki, complete with visits from my old friend Eric and my old team member Amy!

Hope everyone else is doing well! Take care!

The Onion recently had a very funny story called Mom Finds Out About Blog. I laughed out loud… probably because it’s a fear many of us share! :)

Less than 36 hours till I’m on a plane to Hawaii!

Exactly one week till I’m heading to California.

Less than 4 weeks till I’m on a plane to India!

Today is day three in Hawaii and it’s been a lovely vacation so far. It’s great to have time to spend with Charles, but sadly he’s super sick and miserable (ear problems from the plane ride, coupled with a cold or something?). I feel pretty bad for him, but otherwise Hawaii is lovely. Everyone’s asked what we did so far, and the answer is we took it pretty easy. The first day Charles slept while I wandered the beach by myself. Thai for dinner. The second day we hit the surfing championships in the Northshore… very fun to see, but sad to return to the parking lot and find our rental car missing. We apparently got towed b/c our front tire was “touching grass.” A two hour bus adventure and $100 later, we had the car back and returned to Waikiki in time for a luau at Paradise Cove. Charles again opted to stay home sick in the hotel, so I hung with his friendly cousins (Vaden and Nelwyn) at the luau. Got the flower lei, watched hula dancers, ate some poi… was the standard luau experience. :) Amazingly, I haven’t taken tons of pics yet this trip, but do have surf and luau pics to post eventually. (Yes, I realized I slacked and never posted Boston/Baltimore, but those will be posted eventually too). Today was another low key day as we wandered the place where Charles grew up. His parents taught at a private boarding school and lived on site since before Charles was born. We wandered the campus, took some pics, had lunch with some very sweet teachers there who knew his parents, and heard fun stories about his parents back in the day. :) After the school visit, Charles went back to the hotel since he’s still not feeling better, and I finally hit the beach for some water and sun. It’s been sprinkling on and off since we arrived, but was happily sunny and warm the whole time at the beach. Tonight I got to see Eric/Droopy for dinner. He lives and works in Kaui now, he and his girl new girlfriend Ann flew to Oahu for the weekend. I did sushi with them and Ann’s friend Mandy. (Hopefully I got the girls names right). Eric seemed a bit overwhelmed by all of the estrogen, and eventually excused himself while the three of us girls stayed out later for some coffee, people watching, and girl talk. :) Speaking of people watching, I’ve seen a tons of mullets this week (very odd) and tonight saw at least 20 prostitutes… most of whom looked under 18 years old (sad). Guess with this many tourists, it’s a viable way to make a living, but I’m sad for whatever situation made them turn to this as an option. I couldn’t bring myself to take any of their pictures, but with the eye catching outfits they wore, I was sorely tempted to! Alas, it’s now 1am and I should probably head back to the hotel. We’ve got a 9am brunch reservation and I’m hoping to get outdoors afterwards and do something touristy (parasail? sky drive? rent a segway scooter? snorkel?). Hope everyone is well! Hope it quits snowing in Seattle by the time I get home on Monday! Take care all!

Just got back from the fabulous Hawaii vacation with Charles! Seems half way through the week he passed his cold and sickness along to me, but I was still able to enjoy the week and have a great time! I don’t think I’ve had that much relaxing freedom in my schedule for many moons! I took tons of pics (like the one above), and will post eventually when it’s not so hectic. I got back in town last night at 11pm, took Charles to the airport at 5am, am busy at work today, and will be leaving town right after work tonight to head to California (for our annual Thanksgiving/family reunion). Hope everyone’s well! Take care!

Met up with Meghan and Vince in Tacoma for the drive down to Sacramento. We stopped around midnight in Eugene, Oregon and then made it into Sacramento Wednesday evening just in time for the hotel’s happy hour… good planning on our part! Yesterday’s Thanksgiving with family was nice… as were the sales we hit this morning at 6am. (Did I mention Dad woke me at 4:30am to show me the Fry’s ad???). We’re off to ride the old steam train now… more later! Take care!