just laura

After a long and lovely weekend (that included lots and lots of driving), I’m now home! Saturday was Rebecca’s wedding and it was much fun! Today was getting up at 6am and driving 5 hours through snow and hail storms, then sitting in planes and airports from noon until 8pm. I’m happy to be back home, but am rather tired now. :) More details and pics to come!

Between Wednesday and Sunday, I spent about 16 hours driving on Wisconsin highways. The last time I did a drive between MN and WI, I had Jens along in the car with me and time seemed to speed right by. It was in October after visiting for Mike and Eliz’s wedding, I was heading to WI to see Mary’s twin baby girls, the sky was bright blue, and the trees along the highway were turning beautiful brilliant shades of reds and oranges.

Of course, that was a year and a half ago and lots can change in a year. This year Mike & Eliz were welcoming their new baby boy William to the world. Mary’s twins were walking and talking, and we were now welcoming her new baby boy to the world. Last year Jens came along for the ride and then invited me to India. That was before Jens and I dated, before Jens cheated on me, and before Jens got an 18 year old high school girl pregnant last summer. My how things have changed.

Needless to say, this year I did the drive solo without Jens. Even though it was May, I alternatingly drove through hail, rain, and snow. And since it was the last weekend in the month, police were busy trying to meet their end of month ticket quotas (which I subsequently helped them do, oops).

The drive was otherwise uneventful and going solo afforded me many luxuries… pulling over to take pictures of barns, stopping for an impromptu mini-shopping trip at Khols, and blasting my Journey greatest hits CD without complaints from passengers. All in all, totally a worthwhile trip. :)

Please think positive thoughts for my Grandpa because he’s having a hard time this spring. He was perfectly healthy a few months ago, then at the beginning of March he had a reaction to a medication and everything went downhill from there. Lungs quit working. Trache tube. Kidney failure. Low blood levels. Staph infection. Surgery to remove infection. Collapsed veins. PIC inserted, then removed when it caused swelling. We had to fly my grandpa and his girlfriend from Arizona to Iowa for the surgery he needed on April 23, and he began a good recovery period. My aunt and uncle are taking care of him, getting him to doctors visits, etc. However, there’s more swelling now, and a rash, and the doctors had to have the tube removed, and he is off all meds so they can try to determine what’s causing the latest batch of problems. Things aren’t getting any easier for him, so any positive thoughts for the family would be greatly appreciated.

I’m barely back from MN & WI, and now I leave for New York City in about 72 hours!
(Boo for working like crazy to get caught up, but yay for seeing friends in NYC!)

From fabulous prizes to live music from Smoosh, the Friends of Arthur Raffle & Auction promises to be good fun and even better for the soul. Date: Thurs May 19th. Location: The Showbox. Friends of Arthur is a non-profit effort that funds therapy and long-term care for Arthur. Suggested therapy care costs more than $25,000 each year and is the responsibility of Arthur’s parents.

Buy your $25 adult tickets now at ticketswest.com. $10 kids tickets available only at the door. Cash and Check only at the event, please.

Raffle and Auction Prizes: The Friends of Arthur is hosting a big RAFFLE and SILENT AUCTION this year. Raffle sales will begin in early April. The winners will be drawn at the May 19 event. You do not need to be present to win. Silent Auction items will be displayed at the May 19 event. Bidding begins at 6:30. To sell or purchase raffle tickets, please contact Katrina at 226-6119 or katrinakdavis@yahoo.com.

The Raffle and Auction will include amazing items from the following categories:
-Vacation Packages (airfares included!)
-Spa & Pamper Packages
-Food and Wine Deluxe
-Restaurants
-Mac Mini
-iPOD
-Music
-Lots of Art
-Jewelry
-Health & Wellness
and much much more!

Note to self: If you quit working till 2am, you wouldn’t be as tired

Happy Cinco de Mayo! (Ie. Let’s celebrate the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 by eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas!)

International Community of Youth is hosting a small benefit event in May and I’ll be exhibiting many of my Guatemala photos in their silent auction.

See my photography!
Saturday, May 21st from 1-4pm
Western WA Center for the Arts
Port Orchard, WA

ICY is a non-profit agency that provides young adults with the opportunity to travel abroad, and to learn about the places they are visiting through work service, artistic exploration, and cultural education. They are currently raising funds to send youth to Guatemala and hope that each participant develops the passion for becoming a true global citizen, as well as develops an interest in sharing their experiences in their local communities. For more information, please email icy_connect@yahoo.com.

Q: How tired am I?
A: So tired it took me most of the day before I realized my underwear were inside out.

Not surprising since I just finished a marathon of work this week… staying until 2 or 3am every night then going back in at 7am. Today’s conference went very well. And I’ve hired a part time person for my office to cut down on some of my work load. And I’ve hired two more new staff for my team that will start in September, and am waiting to hear back on three more offers! Yay productive week!

Now I’m finally home and need to pack for NY/NJ since I leave in less than three hours. Red eye flights aren’t always my favorite, but I suspect I’ll have no problem falling asleep tonight. Hope y’all are well!

Yesterday morning I arrived in NYC and met up with Suzan and friends for some exploring. Suzan, Jeremy, Harris and I spent a long day riding the subway, wandering Brooklyn, being super heroes, drinking coffee, visiting the Brooklyn Art Museum, taking pictures, eating Thai, playing darts, and whispering. Well, they were talking but I was attempting to whisper since I seem to have completely lost my voice last week. I’ve got allergies so I’m no stranger to sore throats, but this whole laryngitis thing is new and painful.

I’ve known Suzan for probably 8 years, and visiting them in NYC and catching up would much easier if we could actually talk. It’s hard to catch up when you can’t speak. I met Jeremy’s friend Harris yesterday too, and despite spending like 8 hours with him, the day consisted of mostly charades and painful attempts to hoarsely whisper in his ears. He was a patient, nice guy and we’ll be posting the link for his photoblog when I find out where it’s hosted.

Today was girls day from start to finish and my voice was still gone. Suzan called my old friend Laura for me (since I couldn’t talk) and we made plans for brunch. It’s been maybe 15 years since I last saw Laura and it was great to spend all day with her! I’d really wanted to introduce Suzan and Laura to each other too, and I finally got to do it in person today! We started with brunch at a vegetarian cafe called B&H Dairy in Greenwich Village (note to Rod & Clare: We should try apple & cheddar omelet next time at brunch!). We then walked and wandered lots, did some window shopping, saw a contortionist in the park, talked about boys, hit Times Square, ate dinner, and capped the day with a Broadway play. Christina Applegate just made her Broadway debut in Sweet Charity and we got to see her in it tonight (it’s only been open since late April). Sweet Charity is a Neil Simon play directed by Walter Bobbie (who did “Chicago”). I’d never heard of it, but did recognize the songs once we got into the show (“Hey, Big Spender” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now.”). The story was pretty cute, the theatre was gorgeous, it was fun to be on Broadway, and the tunes are really catchy in that stick-in-your-head and find yourself humming them later kind of way. Eventually Suzan and I headed home, and Laura and I said our goodbyes promising it wasn’t going to be another 15 years between visits! That catches us up to the present time and that means I can go to bed and rest peacefully knowing I didn’t neglect the blog for too long. Hope y’all are well! (And many thanks to sweet Caroline for delivering me to the airport Friday night when I was late packing, barely ready, unable to talk, and way too tired to be fun!).

My mom’s a wonderful woman who taught me about being a leader, and about being a strong woman in a man’s world, and about choosing a career where you’re helping people, and about the importance of volunteering, and about how to put condoms on bananas and all kinds of other important stuff that’s too long to list. I respect her greatly and while I couldn’t call her today (that whole pesky laryngitis thing), I did have my personal assistant and translator (i.e. Suzan) call from my phone and leave her a voice mail in my name. Happy Mother’s Day Mom!!

Anyone want to go to prom? It’ll be on Friday the 13th and the theme is “Date from Hell.” There will be people in bloody prom dresses, people in blue jeans, and people in anything else in between. There will also be dancing, karaoke, punch, balloons, and prom photos. We have everything a prom needs, but with adults instead of teens. If you want to go, leave me a comment and I’ll send you the address and details. :)

I’m home. My voice is back (and cracking). :) I’m working tomorrow then heading out of town again Saturday morning. Hope everyone is well! Don’t forget… prom is tomorrow for anyone interested! (Phil? John?)

Me, me, me! But don’t worry… in a few short days I’ll be back in town and I plan to sleep lots, eat regular meals, and spend some quality time reading on my couch. (Currently reading: The Corner, a book about inner city life in Baltimore where residents have the highest rate of IV drug use in the country). I’ll balance couch time with going out and appreciating Seattle… I have tickets for the Seattle Symphony, a KEXP party, an EMP party, and tickets to the Seattle Sounders (professional soccer).

Speaking of going out and appreciating life, Prom was last night and now that it’s over, my life is already less hectic. Helping coordinate a big dance with music, decorations, food, people, photos, and entertainment, all while being out of town for the weeks leading up to the event, was a bit of work. It was fun though, and I was glad to see people showing up, dressing up, dancing, doing karaoke, having their prom portraits taken, and drinking punch. Many thanks to Samantha and Caroline for coming out to the party, and for Jim and Rowena for taking pics at the dance! And while my posting of pictures is generally slow, especially when I’m out of town, today’s a special occasion! I’m posting this entry from my brand new laptop! And my new laptop works, and has memory, and even has a little disk drive for my camera’s memory. Yay shiny new working computers!!
Update: I’ve now installed Office XP and photo editing software! I feel so official!

In other news, while I am currently home from the NYC & NJ, I’m about to head out of town for two more (quicker) trips. This weekend will be a road trip to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Walla Walla, Washington. :) I’m looking forward to the trip… it’ll be bonding time with the girls, it’s been a few years since I’ve been to a balloon festival, and I never been that far east in WA. After I get back on Sunday night, I’ll get a little sleep before heading down to Portland for one more conference for work. I really enjoy travel, love seeing old friends, and love meeting new people on my trips, but after six back to back trips in six different states in four weeks time… I’m totally exhausted! And with that, I’m going to see if I can catch another hour of sleep before getting up and packing. Hope y’all are well!

I just signed up for this program; and wanted to let you know about it – in case you have a Washington Mutual account. Once you enroll, the school of your choice benefits every time you swipe your debit card.

First, you pick a non-profit public or private K-12 school to sponsor…
http://www.wamoolaforschools.com/

Then- every time you use your WaMu card, your school gets ca$h. If you don’t have a particular favorite school to sponsor, I can recommend a couple of schools for you that could definitely use extra help!

Chuck Palahniuk
www.townhallseattle.org
Wednesday, May 18 , 7:30 PM
“Called “an over-the-top gore fest” by Booklist, Chuck Palahniuk’s (Fight Club, Lullaby) new book Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three stories told by people who have answered an ad headlined “Writers’ Retreat: Abandon Your Life for Three Months.” The resulting macabre stories have a powerfully surprising emotional core that will please his many and devoted fans. Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street. ”

Friends of Arthur Benefit
www.friends-arthur.org
Thursday, May 19th at the Showbox (all ages)
Live set by Smoosh (doors are at 6:30pm)
Silent auction to raise money for Arthur’s treatment of autism

Seattle Works Day
www.seattleworks.org
Saturday May 21st, all day
Seattle Works’ largest day of service brings together hundreds of people to complete projects at local nonprofits, parks and schools, followed by a celebration of the day’s accomplishments.
Service Projects: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
AfterParty @ South Lake Union Park: 2:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Impact on the community: 365 days a year

U District StreetFair
www.udistrictstreetfair.org
Saturday & Sunday, May 20th – 21st
“Attracting more than 50,000 people and nearly 400 craft and food booths to the District, the Street Fair is an energetic and exciting celebration of arts and crafts, community, music, and food. You’ll find a whirl of color, craft, creativity and downright craziness! There will be two great music stages, a special children’s area with age appropriate events, a live theatre stage, and a wonderful medley of street performers.”

Photo of Cat in the Super Hero Supply Store, courtesty of Suzan’s friend Harris – http://bklynboy.my-expressions.com. I’ll try to post some of my photos sometime soon…

Note to self: Need to print and frame Guatemala pics for photo show this weekend. Then need to post Brides of March, Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, and hot air balloons.

Did I mention we went to a Wig Party a few weeks back? Talk about cheap entertainment!

You might have noticed I added a new link on the right side of this page… yep, my friend Sameer is officially throwing his hat in the ring for an eventual Congress seat. I think his site promises to be fun. In his words:

I’m finally starting a blog–and I’ve got a reason, too. You all know about my political ambitions that lie not-so-hidden underneath my IT consultant surface…well, now I’m starting to do something about them. I started a blog to share my thoughts on all sorts of political topics–with the intent that by late next year I’ll have a real platform with which to run a real campaign!

http://sameerforcongress.blogspot.com/

I’d be honored if you’d read and comment whenever you have time–with any luck we can pull a Congress seat off in 2006!

Thanks,
Sameer

One of my all time favorite Austin bands is coming to the Tractor Tavern later this month. If you’ve never seen them perform and are a fan of live music, they’re a must see event! Who wants to join me for this fun, high energy show??

Fri, May 27
two shows from our favorite wacked-out vaudevillians
ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS
KING STRAGGLER opens the late show
8pm & 11pm
$12adv/$14dos – both shows
www.asylumstreetspankers.com
Tickets also available at Sonic Boom!*

My friend Elizabeth is now on Live Journal and you can read all about her adventures in motherhood! Check out her site at: http://www.livejournal.com/users/et1004/.

Even my friend Erin has a puppy who’s now got a blog. Read all about Zoe the Wonder Dog at her new blog.

Anyone else have a blog I haven’t posted yet?

International Community of Youth is hosting a small benefit event in May and I’ll be exhibiting many of my Guatemala photos in their silent auction.

Solo Photography Exhibit
Saturday, May 21st from 1-4pm
Western WA Center for the Arts
Port Orchard, WA

ICY is a non-profit agency that provides young adults with the opportunity to travel abroad, and to learn about the places they are visiting through work service, artistic exploration, and cultural education. They are currently raising funds to send youth to Guatemala and hope that each participant develops the passion for becoming a true global citizen, as well as develops an interest in sharing their experiences in their local communities. For more information, please email icy_connect@yahoo.com.

I’ll be driving out there, so if anyone wants to join me, there’s space open in my car. :)

This first week back in town’s been hectic, but two exciting things have happened…
1. Thanks to the KEXP 500 Club, I had free tickets to see a performance of the Seattle Symphony last night! It was the first time in years I’ve seen the Symphony, and it was great fun!

2. I hired a p/t employee Thursday to help out around the office. It’s just a 10-15 hrs a week position, but even that should be a great help!

So, I’ve been out of town lots and am a bit behind on these things. Let’s recap…

Rebecca and James got married in WI at the end of April and it was a beautiful event. I cried every time she or her mom spoke, and I cried when I saw her dad being wheeled down the aisle (he developed a brain tumor last year and had a stroke four weeks ago). They were able to get him out of the hospital for he ceremony, and the family is pretty sure he was able to comprehend the wedding taking place was for his daughter. After the crying during the ceremony and the welcome in the reception, I laughed my way through the rest of the dinner and dancing.

I was seated at a table with a few very funny (and wildly inappropriate) couples, and spent much of my evening laughing and dancing with them. It wasn’t Thursday night at Neighbors, but it was fun to dance for hours to cheesy disco, classic 80s, and ultimate party tunes like Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” I was also befriended early in the day by one of the single guys in the grooms party and he kept me laughing and dancing much of the night too. He not only dipped me during swing numbers, he also did high lifts with me, tossing me way up into the air! Yay! And craziest of all, even though I was the guest at their wedding, Rebecca gave me a gift bag full of goodies! (I was apparently the only Seattle friend to make the trip and I think they felt compelled to thank me for coming). They gave me Wisconsin chocolate and caramel, local honey sticks, a WI cheese themed mug, and my favorite Midwest delicacy… cheese curds! I had a great time joining their celebration and afterwards I made the drive back to Waukesha grinning like fool. :)

James steals a move from Top Gun and serenades Rebecca with “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”

JustLaura.com has been around a while, but the rest of the Lauras have caught up. I think all of the Lauras in my life now officially have websites! The newest is from the lovely Laura L… you can check out her blog at jeroboam.net. :)

Other Lauras of note…
Laura B: earthtolaura.com
Laura D: dansingani.com
Laura V: terpsichorepapers.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

Yesterday I made my first trek ever to Port Orchard for the ICY Benefit. It was at the Western Washington Center for the Arts and my pictures were scattered all around the room. It was an intimate (ie. tiny) crowd, but it was definitely a feel good event. I knew it was going to be a silent auction (I’ve been to many, many nonprofit silient auctions), but I didn’t know that I was the only contributor to the silent auction. Needless to say, people bid on my photos and I think 6 or 7 were sold last night. Always nice to know people will hang my pictures on their walls, and nice to help fund raise for ICY as I’m donating a cut of the sales to them.

Speaking of ICY… International Community of Youth is a budding non-profit that aims to send five high school students to Guatemala this summer. They will help youth develop an appreciation for cultural diversity, learn community development tactics, and gain leadership skills. While there, they will also study Spanish, trek in the jungle of Tikal, visit Mayan ruins, and help rebuild a local school. You can learn more (or donate online) at icyconnects.org.

In case you were wondering exactly where Dave Matthews was yesterday morning at 11:45am… he was eating brunch in the Jitterbug Cafe, just a couple of blocks down the street from my apartment. Yes, he was with his wife and kids, Rod and Clare confirm. Now you know. Now you cou can sleep soundly again. Carry on.

Just finished reading…
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) – A powerful, excellent book that I’d highly recommend.
Nine Stories (J.D. Salinger) – A super quick fun read.

Currently reading…
The Corner : A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (David Simon, Edward Burns) – A true, intense, and educational book that studies Baltimore’s inner city poverty and drug use. (Side note: Did you know Baltimore is the city with the largest number of IV drug users in the country?)

I’ve been invited to one Minnesota wedding, one Texas wedding, and one Florida conference this summer… and all three events happen to fall on the exact same weekend in August. Pretty bizarre, eh? Who knew Aug 13th was such a popular date? I’m bummed to miss Rheta’s outdoor wedding featuring a reception with square dancing, whiffle ball and s’mores. However, I’m excited to go home to Texas to see one of my oldest friends get married!

On an unrelated note, I’m excited to find out that I didn’t sell just 6 photos, I actually sold 11 on Saturday. Yay! And Phil, be proud to know I doubled and tripled the prices this time around. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. :)

I think I took a week of summer vacation back in 2001 (I went to Texas), but don’t think I’ve taken time off in the summer since then. So, when I just realized I have 8 weeks of vacation time I haven’t used this year or last, I’m actually considering a vacation. (Yes, eight weeks of unused vacation!). I’ve always wanted to see Alaska. I’ve always wanted to visit Argentina, or go back to Costa Rica, or see Cuba, or maybe visit Belize. I’m kind of leaning towards warm and sunny, but I’m always kind of partial in that direction. Anyone want to travel with me? Maybe early-to-mid August? Suggestions? Recommendations? Anyone?

Yesterday was gorgeous and there were many highlights! I ate my lunch outside in the grassy front yard of my office building, which was too fantastic for words. After work I went to a reception at Caroline’s office and atteneded my first SIFF film ever. (For you out of towners, SIFF is the Seattle International Film Festival, the largest film festival in the county). We saw the world premiere of Earthling, followed by a Q&A with the producers. It’s a documentary by/of the family of Wolfgang Bayer, a renowned wildlife photographer who has shot tons of amazing docunemtaries for National Geographic, PBS, BBC, etc. The narrative was a little hokey at times, but the film was absolutely, amazingly gorgeous. As with all things in life, it made me want to quit my job and travel and take pictures. Wolfgang allowed his son over a million bucks out of pocket to make this film over the last seven years… if only my dad would give me a million bucks to go forth, travel, and document the process! I don’t see that happening anytime soon, so life must go on. :) Last night life continued at Big Time (with Phil and Randy), then at Ruby’s (met a fantastic friend of Caroline’s from CA), then the War Room, the Cha Cha, etc. It was a long, entertaining day, and a great kick off to Memorial Day weekend! Thanks Caroline!

I am! That’s right. Me. Cat. Well, I’m experimenting with it if nothing else. Sometimes. :)

First: I now own a pair of high heeled sandals with bows on them. Yep, bows. While I love my gay men, I think I generally disappoint them with my (lack of) fashion sense. I told a gay coworker about my heels with bows, and he just laughed out loud at the idea of me in bows or high heels. I silently pointed to my feet, with my painted pink toenails, and he was in awe. Yep, things are a-changing around here.

Second: I bought lip gloss (pink). Cute.

Third purchase: I’m now the owner of a polka-dot blouse with a bow on the front. I thought it was pretty funny, and wasn’t expecting to get compliments on it.

I’m not sure why the sudden fascination with bows or pink… but it keeps me entertained.

This weekend staying home in Seattle was exactly what I needed!

• # of bbqs: 3
• # of movies: 2
• # of brunches: 2
• # of Spankers shows: 1
• # of days at Folklife: 1
• # of cute boys: 1
• # of times seeing old friends I hadn’t seen in forever: tons!

My good fortune began Saturday when I was out with a friend for lunch and we ran into Dieter’s old roomie Jane. It’d been 6+ months since I’d seen her and it was fun to catch up! This morning I was lucky enough to hang out with my old friend Jane… we’ve known each other since we were 8 years old, we were classmates through high school, and hadn’t seen each other in over 10 years! She was in Seattle for a few hours and I’m proud to report she looks great, is all grown up, and was fun to catch up with after all these years! And I quote, ” I didn’t feel like 10 years had gone by!” We seem to always miss each other when I’m back in Texas… but hopefully we’ll cross paths again on one of my upcoming trips.

After meeting up with Jane this morning, I met up with ErinD at Folklife. Despite crowds of over 220,000 each Folklife weekend, in one afternoon of the festival, I ran into tons of folks… including folks I hadn’t seen in forever! First I saw Rod, Clare, and Kat… it’d been almost 24 hours since I last saw them. I also saw Zombie and Fester for the first time in almost 48 hours (and finally met Fluffy… Fester’s loveable, very social python). Then I saw my old friend and coworker Elisa… it’s been two years since she moved away to Oregon and I’ve been wanting to see her for some time now! And I even saw my old roomie Kathy… it’s probably been 2 or 3 years since I last saw her (we exchange emails and party invites every so often but we don’t seem to catch up in real life). Among other misc folks we ran into, I also ran into Ben, this guy who apparently runs in some of my same circles. We randomly keep bumping into each other at photo shows, music events, house parties, and work conferences… very mysterious.

And on that note, it’s 9:57pm and I’ve got to squeeze a few last bits of excitement into my Memorial Day weekend before it’s too late! Hope everyone is well!