This has been my FIRST full year living in Seattle!
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some amazing things that have happened in my life this past year. I decided to give a month-by-month illustration of some highlights of the year. There were seriously SO many things that happened, but I could only choose one per month. So, without further adieu . . . cue the indian:
I'm seriously so excited for all the awesome things in store for the next year!
Hey everyone! Well, I'm finally here, home in the ATX! I kept a journal while I was on the trip, so that I could share the memories with you! So here they are:
ROAD REPORT ONE: I'm sitting here at the Greyhound Bus Station in Billings, Montana, happy to report that everything went well on the first leg of the trip! I got halfway through reading SLEEPERS and when we get back on the road, I'll read some more. Aside from some random texts to my dad to update him on where I am, I've been 'tech free' for a whole day! :D
It's amazing how freeing a lack of technology can be. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to reconnect . . . see what I did there?!? ;) but in the meantime, I'm enjoying reading, writing, and drawing on the bus.
I'm actually quite proud of my on-the-road eating habits. I've predominantly been snacking on Granola and Clif bars. I slept most of the morning away, but when we stopped for lunch, I had a hot dog and a big container of fruit, and lots of water! It's been really nice enjoying the countryside. Mostly it's been mountains and snow, neither of which I'm a huge fan of. Most people on my bus have been really quiet and have kept to themselves. Even the little baby on board has been seemingly chill. I think she cried once, for 5 minutes 'til she got her bottle . . . of course she could've been fussier and I could've just slept through it. ;)
One funny thing I saw on the ride from Seattle to Billings was a TACO JOHN'S . . . one simple name, SO many jokes! ;) But the slogan was: THE BEST WEST-MEX! I really don't even know what to think. Growing up on Tex-Mex has spoiled me. I cringed and laughed all at the same time. I imagine it tastes really fishy and like it's trying too hard, much like most Mexican food I've had in the Pacific Northwest. But once again, I'm biased and spoiled.
The next leg of the trip leads me to Denver, Colorado. I know it sounds silly, but I can't wait to get back on the bus. Each leg of travel brings me closer to home—to the friends and family I miss and love so dearly.
Well, my hand is cramping up from the writing, and it's almost time to load up for Denver!
. . . UNTIL NEXT STOP . . .
ROAD REPORT TWO: The Denver Greyhound Station is what nightmares are made of. The people working the station are so unaffected and rude. A simple question is seen as insubordination of sorts, as if every passenger should already know the inner-workings of the Greyhound system.
I was sitting at the phone charging counter and there were 2 metal chairs already at the little bar lined with power outlets. After sitting there for about 10 minutes, one of the station guards came by and demanded that we get off the chairs because they weren't to be used at the charging station. So he took them to a nearby table, where no one sat in them.
The good news is that I'm now on the bus, on my way to Dallas to see Chad and Katie . . and then—HOME TO AUSTIN!
Dear Denver Greyhound Station, GET OVER YOURSELF! Love, Amanda
PS: There's a guy on my bus that is originally from Louisiana. His voice reminds me of Remy LeBeau's! It's quite awesome! :D
. . . UNTIL NEXT STOP . . .
ROAD REPORT THREE: I finally finished reading SLEEPERS! I love the book just as much as I love the movie now! Though I DO wish the movie had included the Pizza Parlour scene. This mentally handicapped kid comes into the pizza parlour and, out of habit, puts all this pepper on his pizza, and this tough older guy comes in and picks on him and teases him. Then the guys (Michael, Tommy, John, and Shakes) all gang up on the bully and totally rescue the kid. It's sweet :D
Well, I'm here in Amarillo, TX and I finally caved and got some 'crap food' to eat. I know, I know, sad. But I DID hold out for a while. And although I know I shouldn't have dipped my chicken strips in that nasty thick truck stop gravy, I did. I'm 99.9% sure I'm gonna regret it, but oh well. ;)
The people on my bus have been quite interesting! This one guy on my bus keeps reminding everyone that he's a "JUGGALO" . . . which is a reference to the Insane Clown Posse, for those who don't know. The only thing that sucks is that this one guy who sat next to me on the last leg of the trip totally farted halfway through the ride. It was RANK! :| I mean, even compared to some of the MC van rides with the guys . . . it was nasty! So, he claims the farts, and then proceeds to pull out a medical mask to protect HIMSELF from the stench! Un.real. :( I guess he never heard about bringing enough for everyone. Needless to say, I'm going to search for a new riding buddy for the next leg of the trip. All in all, things are going well. I've been sleeping A LOT! I guess I needed it. ;)
. . . UNTIL NEXT STOP . . .
ROAD REPORT FOUR: I got an early Christmas present, in the form of Chad Sherlock and his girlfriend, Katie, meeting me at the Dallas Greyhound Station dressed up as Santa and an Elf! LOVED IT!! We got to hang out and eat some McDonald's . . . after driving around for a while trying to find this elusive cafe I found on Google Maps—YOU FAIL, GOOGLE MAPS! ;) I was really hoping to get some breakfast, but after ordering a Sausage, Egg and Cheese Meal (the #4), the lady asked if I wanted large fries with that and I was like, uhmmmm. . . then we realized they weren't serving breakfast at 3 a.m.—who knew? ;)
I had SO much fun hanging out with them and hearing all sorts of fun stories and just sharing with them about life in Seattle. They reminded me of just how blessed I am to have amazing friends, with such big hearts and the ability to just warm your heart with a simple smile! I love them! :D
The only thing that sucked is that I thought my bus was leaving at 5:25, so I was like, frantic about being back at the station at 5:00. But in reality, my bus wasn't even scheduled to leave until 6:45. BIG DIFFERENCE. Well, I just waited in the station, and did some reading from my Creative Screenwriting mag. I was really excited cause they did a feature on THE LOVELY BONES, which i want to see SOOOOO bad! It's one of my favorite books and I can't wait to see what Peter Jackson makes of it! Also, they mentioned a blip about how Peter Jackson and his team are joining up with Guillermo Del Toro to make THE HOBBIT. I'm so JAZZED! Man, if I could intern under someone in the film industry, it would DEFINITELY be Guillermo Del Toro. His creativity and style astound me. So yeah, THE HOBBIT is a must!
My dad met me at the station and it was SO good to hug him and to just get re-acquainted with Austin, this city I love :D Now I'm home and just chillaxin, having taken a shower to get that Greyhound stench off of me, and for dinner, we're going to RUDY'S BBQ! Then, tonight I get to go have coffee at Mozart's with Stephanie Bailey Cole, who I haven't seen in years! :D This is gonna be a great vacation!
It's time for me to officially hit the road! That's right, it's me, all this stuff, and a bunch of Cliff Bars and Yogurt Granola Bars heading to the ATX on the Greyhound over the next 3 days!! Whee!
Look at all the stuff I'm bringing with me to keep me occupied on the bus:
My first stop is in Billings, Montana. From there, I hop on over to Denver, Colorado. Then, I'll get to have a long layover in Dallas, Texas—Chad and Katie are meeting me there and we're gonna get to hang! The coffee and laughs will be flowing! And from there, I head on to Cedar Park/Round Rock where my dad will meet me at the station and I'll finally be HOME SWEET HOME!! I'm soooo looking forward to hugging all my friends & family! :D I miss them a lot!
I've seriously got to find a way to make 3 trips home per year, instead of 2 . . . but we'll see how that all pans out. One of the first things I'll probably do, aside from tackling my family with GIANT hugs, is to eat my weight in Chick-Fil-A! Just kidding, but that WILL be my first meal! :D Oh sweet sweet #1 with Large fries and a Sweet Tea and some honey mustard sauce, how I have missed you!
Between here and there, my tweeting and facebooking will be minimal because
1. there are no outlets on the busses and i they don't guarantee power stations to charge electronics.
2. i need to take some time to take a step back and disconnect for a bit. This trip home will be a great time for me to reflect on life and to dream new dreams :D
So I'll have my phone off while I'm on the bus, but I'll turn it on when I get to each station. If you NEED to get a hold of me, you can text me or Twitter DM me or email me and I'll get back to you faster :D
In the meantime, pray that it's a good, safe trip for me!! :D
Yesterday was PRETTY hectic, but the joy of knowing it's (1) SATURDAY! and (2) only 1 more day before I make the trip home on el greyhound made it all worthwhile :D
In other GREAT news, yesterday I was on Twitter and I discovered that Rudy's BBQ (my hometown favorite BBQ joint) was having a contest to see who could make up the best 140 character or less tweet of a holiday rhythm mentioning @rudysbbq. And i WON!!
I won a $25 gift card to Rudy's BBQ! :D
That's like, one of the most amazing presents ever! Especially since I leave tomorrow night to make my way to Austin, the land flowing with Rudy's BBQ, Chick-Fil-A and Chuy's! :D I love Texas food!
The good thing is that my time at home will be a healthy length of time (8 days) and I'll get to spend one full day of quality time with Vanessa and I'll get to have some down time to just slow down, before I head back home, to this BEAUTIFUL city I also love!
Yesterday I was riding the bus and I was looking out at the water and then at the city buildings and all the people swarming around the streets and hanging out in Westlake Plaza, riding the carousel and enjoying hot chocolate and it just reminded me how wonderful and diverse and fun Seattle is! I'm definitely going to miss Seattle when I'm at home, but knowing that I have lived here for a year and a half and that I'm still so madly in love with this city is very comforting, and will help balance out the times I will miss it.
Tonight is all about cleaning and packing and then tomorrow is picking up last minute gifts.
I watched Inglorious Basterds again last night (LOVE that movie!) and it made me want to learn German and French more! So much so, that I might pick up a phrase book while I'm at Barnes and Noble tomorrow! We shall see . . . in the meantime, here are some photos I've taken as of late:
shoppers at Pacific Place Mall downtown
I'm afraid to try them . . .
Going up the escalator at Convention Place Bus Station
One might wonder what's so exciting about this pic. Well, let me just tell you, it's not everyday that the Seattle sky is so clear, or so blue! ;D
Okay so if you haven't been following me on twitter (ps: all my 'tweets' are on the right-hand side bar . . . over there ------->) then you know that every day since December 1st I've been sharing one random Christmas fact about myself. Well, since I needed to 1. get back into the blogging habit and 2. embed a video for this fact, I decided to carry it on over into Blogville. :D
So here it is: Amo's Christmas Fact #20: I made up a Christmas Rap once.
Okay, so really it's just a funny beat. But what happened was, I was carrying around this ring sizer thing one day and started shaking it and I thought, "Man, this sounds like sleigh bells!" So I figured I would capitalize on that and use it to aide me in making a 'phat rap beat' and adding in my own HO HO HO/record scratch ;)
It's 100% real and 150% ridiculous—just the way I like it! :D
PS: 3 more days till I leave for Austin! crayyyyyzaaaayyyy! :D
Today is a big day for me! It's my first ever Holiday Party at my new job! I'm really really excited. :D I'm doing a lot of new things today. I made a baked squash casserole thing for everyone and I hope it tastes really good. Also, as part of tradition for the office party, everyone does a "show and tell" thing. I WAS going to sing Winterlove by Parachute, but when I met with the entertainment coordinator, she said that it would be really cool to perform something I wrote myself. So I am. I'm going to be singing one of my favorite songs that I've written. It's called Mayday. It's all about how we get to choose whether we are going to see life and its trials as positive or negative and that we get to choose our response accordingly. Hopefully I will get someone to record it so I can share it with you all, but if I don't, you can at least see the lyrics to it below:
CHORUS: Mayday. Mayday. You sayEveryone's as comfortable as you But baby Someday You'll see that tomorrow is up to you
Fingers on the smoking gun Everyone is trying to run Away Let the rhythm take control Take you to a place where you know There's a star, a ray of hope and everyone's the same Mayday. Mayday. You sayEveryone's as comfortable as you But baby Someday You'll see that tomorrow is up to you
Laser lights and telegrams Try to define who I am Alright. Alright. Let the damage take it's toll Move beyond and then you know There's a goal, a common thread and everyone's alive
Bridge>> The tracks for trainsracing away They call you melancholy But every day is a brand new way and your chance to sway and Mayday. Mayday. You sayEveryone's as comfortable as you But baby Someday You'll see that tomorrow is up to you
Tomorrow's up to you And you know just what to do.
For the record, i disgust myself with the lack of bloggage (ew . . . what a terrible word).
Alas, I am here! I am still alive! Wheee! (and there was much rejoicing)
Things have been super busy lately . . . no lie!
It's officially 10 days until I embark on the 3 day journey back to Austin for Christmas!! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to see my family—they are COMPLETELY worth every single crazy encounter I might have on that bus!
A lot of people are a bit concerned that I'm riding greyhound, but I see it as an opportunity :D It's an opportunity for me to sleep (which i REALLY need) and to write (which i REALLY need to do)!
I've been really excited about some of the songs that I've written lately and the melodies that keep me company while I do. Here is a snippet of some lyrics I've written lately about a friend of mine who has been going through some stuff lately:
and I will do the unthinkable oh I will feed this chameleon. I'll be whatever you want me to be but when I get lost don't come after me you might lose yourself between the thorns I'm gone and I've never missed me more
I haven't recorded it in Garage Band yet, but the story is really teaching me a lot personally.
In other news, tomorrow I get to be part of an AMAZING movement! It's called Help-Portrait and we're going to be taking pictures of people at a housing project in Lake City and I'm SOOO excited! I'll be sure to post pics here tomorrow! :D
PS: I called my niece on her birthday a few days ago and she said the cutest thing:
"It's my birthday, but don't tell anyone, okay."
They were having a family only party and they're gonna have her main party in January as a double party with her sister, Annabelle. I guess she doesn't want anyone to know they weren't invited to the family party ;) too cute!
I LOVE this band so much! So much so in fact, that I'm thinking of singing their song, Winterlove for my work's Holiday Party! I know it's gonna be this huge brave thing, but since moving here to Seattle, I've noticed that a lot of the things I do lately are huge brave things. So why not, y'know? The great thing about the people I work with is that they are not as judgmental as others, so I'm sure that even if I suck they'll at least pat me on the back. ;)
Here's the song (i would of course sing a girl version subbing the "her" for "him" and sounding slightly less manly ;) heheheh)
In other news, Kelley gets here on tomorrow and I'm SO excited to have her here!! She's been such an amazing friend and I really really really love spending time with her! :D And we get to have lots of fun together for the next 2 weeks!
Here's just some of what we got planned:
- Space Needle - Experience Music Project - (maybe) Ride the Ducks - The Aquarium - Exploring Neighborhoods - Parachute/Kelly Clarkson Concert - Justin Nozuka/Sam Bradley Concert - Pie Night
and that's just the beginning! We're gonna be having sooooo much fun!
And then, in just a few more weeks, I'll be heading home to Austin for some much needed family time :D
I can't WAIT to hug all my friends and family! :D They make my heart happy!
I had a GREAT meeting last night with my Help-Portrait group! We met up at Cupcake Royale and talked details about our Help-Portrait event that we will be holding in Lake City. We'll be working with Low-Income Housing Institute to provide professional quality portraits for free to families that could otherwise not afford to have their portraits done. :D
For those who don't know what Help-Portrait is, it's a movement that is bringing together great photographers of all levels to use their time,talents, and energy to provide the less fortunate with a great portrait for the holiday season. My group has predominantly professionals, some who are almost pro, and then me—as amateur as they come ;) I really do enjoy being the hobbyist photographer on my team, because I feel like I get this awesome opportunity to learn more about professional photography AND I get to use this great hobby that i love to give back to people that I love :D
When I was a kid and my parents divorced, life was decidedly different. We went from living in a nice house, with tons of toys, and just about every privilege one can imagine to living in a small apartment with my mom, who was now a single-parent managing a job and 3 high-maintenance kids. Hand-me-downs became popular and we had to learn to make things last longer. I remember being selected at school to participate in some of the events they had for low-income-family kids and that odd feeling of "should I feel blessed that they're doing this or is it just another reminder that I'll never have anything fancy to call my own?" My sister, her boyfriend, and my 2 nieces are now also a low-income-family, and I know how great it feels to know that anytime I'm home, I get to do a portrait session (of sorts) with my niece and have some really nice photos to give back to my family. Thus, when I discovered this movement, started by famous photographer Jeremy Cowart, this event was a no-brainer—I'M IN!
I'm working with a group of Seattle photographers, to share the photographic love in our fair city. So far we have three separate housing communities that we are working with to provide family portraits to, as well we are seeking out at least one or two other locations. We estimate we will be able to provide at least 100 families with a wonderful portrait in time for the holiday season!
The awesome thing about Jeremy's vision for this is that it's ALL about others, and not about us (as artists/photographers). We aren't making ANY profit from the event and we're not using any of the shots to build up our portfolios. It's ALL about connecting with others in the way that only photographers can.
If you are living in Seattle and are saying, "Dude, that's cool! I'm not a photographer, and I wouldn't be able to be there at the event to help, but I DO want to help someway." Then please consider donating to the cause. We met last night and rounded up the guesstimation that with rentals and cost of printing the photos, it's about $3 per family. That's 3 bones! 3 smackaroonies! I'll be contributing my own money as well but our goal is to raise $200 for the event to be as successful as possible. If you are in the area and would like to donate three bones to help sponsor a family in need, please contact me by email: amomca@gmail.com or by twitter: twitter.com/amomca or by commenting on this post and we will work out a way for me to pick up the donation. I TOTALLY understand that this is a "strapped for cash" season and especially with the economy, it's harder to give, but if you DO have 3 dollars laying around somewhere, we sure could use it! :D
For more information on Help-Portrait, see the videos & links below:
Hey look! It's me! That one girl who neglects her blog at times :( boo. Bad. Amanda. Bad. Lame.
Currently I'm looking at the floor of my room . . . well, I dunno if you'd consider it a floor. Basically it's a mass of paper and clothes . . . and bags and boxes . . . and a pumpkin carving book? how did that get there??? What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been!
My latest thing to report is how much fun I had taking the youth girls from Westside down to Portland for the Revolve Tour! It was phenomenal! I'll write more detailed stuff later, but just know that this weekend totally rocked for these girls (and for me)! A lot of people wonder How and Why I would ever be able to mentor junior high kids. I just CANNOT imagine doing something else! These kids TOTALLY captivate my heart! I love being able to bring life and as much wisdom as I can as they navigate the tough parts of growing up—peer pressure, boys, zits, popularity/unpopularity, stress, love, friendship, zits . . . oh wait. mentioned that one already ;)
But really, these students just WIN in my life! It was so awesome seeing them smile so big and to hear their stories and share life with them.
One really fun thing we did on the way up was that Cindy J. brought some foil with her (i recommend doing this on ANY road trip—instant fun!) and we made foil creations in the car! So what I made for myself was antennas. And then I would put them on and as we passed by cars on the road, I would look out the window with my antennas on and my head poised on top of my hand, senior portrait style, and just smile and wave at people. It was awesome! Most people did double takes, lots of people smiled, and one girl even mouthed, "OH MY WORD" as she saw me. :D Here's just a FEW pics of our time. There will be many more to come!
So I've come to the conclusion that a lot of this over-working is really starting to wear on me. I keep forgetting things everywhere, which equals running late, running early, not being prepared . . . and it sucks. :(
Alas, I gotta make it home for Christmas! I MUST see my family! Next year is going to be so packed with traveling already. I may only get to go "home" once next year. But we'll see.
Right now I'm sitting in the middle of Bellevue Square Mall in a comfy green chair waiting to meet up with some people from the Seattle area Help Portrait group. I'm SO SO SO SO excited to get to participate in this event! Don't know what it is? Check this out:
Yeah, so it's gonna be great!!! I LOVE giving back to people and the community! :D
But due to this lack of sleep, my brain is like perma-fried. So I showed up to the Starbucks at the mall to meet with everyone at 7pm. which, wouldn't be SO bad, if the meeting wasn't scheduled to start at 9pm. instead. So I did some exploring. The mall reminds me of Barton Creek Square Mall back home. Of course the fact that it's called Bellevue Square Mall doesn't really help in that arena. But it was so great to meet with such amazing, talented photographers in an effort to give back to the community. :D We're going to be working with the Low Income Housing Institute to take portraits of family members who can't afford them and I'm SO excited!!! Having come from a low-income family background, it's a blessing to get to make their day!
Well, I leave you now with a picture I took today of the American Flag flying on top of the Space Needle:
Okay so if you didn't get to watch this past Saturday's SNL, you really missed out :) (at least when it comes to SN—hahahaha) She was HILARIOUS!
My favorite part by far was her monologue song. It was brilliant!
I gotta admit, I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, I'm not a full blown "T.Swizzle" fan, but I do have some of her songs on my iTunes and I like them. I do. But when it comes to doing stand-up comedy, that stuff is HARD. I mean, to be funny to your friends is one thing. To be funny—genuinely funny—to a nationwide audience is a TOTALLY different thing, but Taylor Swift OWNED on SNL. If you get a chance, go to hulu.com and watch the collection. Though I must admit, the only one I didn't like was the jail cell one. It was silly and the fact that they've done it before just kinda made it the most blah part for me. But all the others were great! :D
My runner up had to be the Twilight parody, FIRELIGHT—soooo funny!!
Oh okay, my third place goes to the Carter & Sons BBQ commercial ;)
It's my birthday! Help me celebrate the twenty eight!
PS: today we're going to pretend that I'm turning 27 okay?? :D yay! hehehehehe! PSS: I failed math.
Also as a bonus today, I asked people to share a short/sweet memory that they have of times with me! Randomly throughout the day, I will post them here for all to see and enjoy! Thanks for 27 great years of memories and I look forward to more!
S.G. > Happy Birthday!! First thing I thought of was your Turkey Dance! Hahaha M.W. > HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And camp Rise and your suitecase and the stairs, so good. I have more :) B.P. > :D bday!! Fav memory was def the 'we've got cookies!' night! Also, the family dinners, sat morning brkfast. ...too many to choose.. D.A. > Happy Birthday! and, via your request, cue the indian K.M. > meeting in Seattle,while Mark & I were @ a conf. Protein Planet, shopping,that hippie stringed instrument store & the ?able marquee. Going 2 lunch with you for the 1sttime in Austin & getting 2 know you a little. I knew right away-I'd found an "adopted daughter K.D. > Happy Birthday! One of my favorite memories of you - and this is a loooooooooong time ago, is all of your witty wise cracks from the color guard locker room, they were a riot! ... One of my favorite( and obscure)quotes is "how can we miss you, if you don't leave?" ;) Have a great Birthday! :) E.Z. > Happy Birthday!!!! Favorite memory??? How bout my entire first year! Snores-ville bunk-mate...LOVE YOU! Have a wonderful day! A.M. > Happy birthday!!!!! My favorite memory has to be all of us acting a fool up in the prop room! B.A. > Happy Birthday!!! :) I think to describe my favorite memory with you I just need one word.... BEENO! bahahaha I love you! ♥ E.A. > happy birthday! my favorite memory is the Portico Christmas party J.C. > HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! remember when we worked at hallmark and you snuck out to get free burts bees stuff then our manager came down stairs.. I was scared, but we didn't get caught! :) P.L. >Happy Birthday Amanda! Hope you have a fabulous day and maybe even get some Chick Fil A! =) My favorite memory I think has definitely got to be our summer trip this year....more specifically the "5", HAHA! Unforgettable! =) L.C. > Happy Birthday!! TOO MANY memories! chicken bank, life lessons involving water & media track C.C. > happy Bday! "My chicken bank won't put out!" D.M. > happy b-day, left you a vm (I'm kind of a creeper in it). Best memory, wow, too many. Shober receipts, HOF flyers, slapping Jordan, your music video, Let's Get It Started, dragons & HSM tattoos, your sweet MCA jeapardy games, & French fries @ McDonalds
Here's what I remember. I remember going to Chuck E. Cheese and going up front to the stage and my brother and other guy cousins going up to the female robotic character that dances around on the stage and looking up her skirt. No. Lie. Creeps. ;)
I also remember that I never really enjoyed their pizza. And that says a lot. Cause PIZZA is my weakness. And you know, they say that in your weakness, God is strong. And I gotta testify. In my pizza, God is strong! I love pizza. :D
I ate pizza today for lunch. I went to Pagliacci's pizza and ordered my pizza, got my pizza and stood in line to pay. Next to me was this chick who looked like she stepped right out of Sailor Moon. No. Lie. So naturally, I'm thinking . . . day before Halloween, office party, dress up, fun costume. I was a HUGE fan of Sailor Moon when I was a kid. So I did the only rational thing in my brain at the moment and I complimented her.
It went like this:
Me: I LOVE your costume! I was always a fan of Sailor Moon. You really rock the outfit. (all said with a goofy grin only a 6 year old could have) Her: (looking slightly offended) Um. Thanks, but it's not a costume. ME: (in an awkward attempt to recover) oh. sorry.
Luckily we were both paying at the time so it was a short conversation, after which I made a bee line for the door.
Okay. Let's get real. I've had awkward moments before. I mean, just last night some chick in a car next to me saw me sniffing my new coffee grounds from Cupcake Royale. I know I'm awkward and crazy stuff happens to me all the time. I get it.
But the look on her face seriously made me feel like I'd just run over her cat or something.
K.Rowe offered me solace. But a word to the wise, unless it's Halloween night, just let it go. just. let. it. go.
Wow. I tell you, these extra two hours each day are something else! ;) Granted, the nice early morning coffee buzz sure feels good :D The fact that my co-workers are ENTIRELY TOO encouraging and gracious towards me is quite humbling and refreshing as well. :)
I read online today that there are 4 new Chick-Fil-A openings coming up. None of them are in Seattle :(
Now, I DO love that Seattle has more locally owned business . . . i REALLY do. But I don't think it would kill the city to have one . . . just ONE Chick-Fil-A around. :D
Just sayin'
Please, please, please . . . if you are out there, and you are looking for a new adventure . . . PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE move to Seattle and open a Chick-Fil-A ;)
So I've been working here and there trying to edit my photos from the Owls To Athens show, and it's been slow going. Hopefully this weekend I'll post ALL of them up on Facebook. In the meantime, you can see them below:
The Venue
Obligatory bar shot
Female Guest Vocalist: Kendra
Strings/Keys/Vocals: Chris
Bass/Accordion/Vocals: Jon
Strings/Vocals: Matt
Drums: Tom
It was another fun show, and was extremely interesting because OTA is a folk band and the bands before AND after their set (Jettison Never & Smile For Diamonds) were these heavy rock bands, so the contrast was mighty fine. :D Also there was a heckler there that seriously had a beer in one hand and a mug with coffee in the other. And for the entire set of Jettison Never's, he kept heckling them and was like, "What is your band called?" literally like 5 minutes after they told the crowd their name for the THIRD time. It was so funny watching that guy.
So hopefully by this weekend I'll have more pics to add.
PS: Taking pictures at rock shows REALLY makes me want a 'spency, professional camera :D
PSS: You can check out the music of OWLS TO ATHENS at their myspace:
Man, it's been a long time since my last post. This whole holiday schedule work time configuration has left me with less time to do blog stuff, but I do want to keep this up, so I'm gonna work on scheduling some fun posts this weekend :D Some may be longer than others, so just bear with me. :D
For today, I was just thinking how I wanted to share some random things with you . . . you know, as if I don't do that ALL THE TIME. ;)
So here we go:
1. I've been listening to Christmas songs already! (I know, I know, shame. heap the shame) Most importantly, I've been listening to N*Sync's MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS. This song always reminds me of bringing hot chocolate over to the MC guys house as they decorated their house/s for Christmas. They would decorate it like so, clark griswold style:
Rich Wolter was the mastermind behind it all—He's my christmas lights hero ;) But anyway, they would decorate the house and then put a boombox by the window and would be BLASTING Christmas music into the front yard and anyone else within a 5 mile radius. Strangers would seriously stop by and take pics in front of the house. It was all a part of keeping Austin weird. ;) But part of that mix was this hippy hoppy song that i STILL get stuck in my head. But it's okay cause it always brings back the fun memories :D
2. I'm going to be a LADYBUG for Halloween! Now when I first thought of being a ladybug, all that came to mind was the ladybug man Francis from A Bug's Life. You know, this guy . . . But lest you be deceived, I will NOT be that kind of ladybug. I will also not be dressing up as a "SEXY" Ladybug. Though I have contemplated making a sign that says "SEXY" around my neck just so i can tell people i'm a sexy ladybug. It could work. hmmm. nah. you're right. it wouldn't. Instead, I shall be a beautiful mexican ladybug and I MAY even bust out with a rousing rendition of LA CUCARACHA just to remain true to my roots without the grossness of actually dressing up as a cockroach. 3. Lately I've been debating between which song is sadder . . . ENOUGH FOR NOW by The Fray, which details the strained relationship he had with his grandfather.
or
CAVES by Jack's Mannequin, which gives an account of going through treatment for leukemia during Andrew McMahon's battle with cancer.
They're both sad. But both beautiful songs. There's something so mesmerizing to me when you can take sad, tragic, harsh realities and make them beautiful expressions in art.
Speaking of Andrew McMahon (and let's get real, I could speak about him for a LOOOOONNNG TIME!) I've listened to ONLY ASHES by his original band, Something Corporate on repeat for the past hour. It's so good that I had the rock fist pumping while sitting at my desk. that's good. just sayin' :D
3. Kelley Rowe will be here in Seattle with me in a month! Wheeeee!!! She's amazing and I'm so glad she's going to be here to enjoy the city sights and sounds with me! Copious amounts of coffee and live music will ensue. Rest assured my friends, it's true. We're going to go see Parachute play at the WaMu Theater with Kelly and then we're going to go see Justin Nozuka play live with Sam Bradley at Neumos a couple days before she heads back to Austin! And we'll be sure to catch some live performances at Easy Street Records as well :D
Speaking of Parachute . . . Here's one of their new promo pics taken by Jeremy Cowart.
For those who aren't familiar with the band, that's (from left to right) Kit French, Nate McFarland, Will Anderson, Johnny Stubblefield, and Alex Hargrave
it's STUNNING! Will is gorgeous, and not just cause he's good looking, but his voice, his talent, the glimpses of his personality you see in their Video Fridays and interviews, makes me wish I'd have gone to UVA four years ago to major in music like he did. ;)
I love it!
4. I ABSOLUTELY love fall in Seattle! It's so colorful and so accomodating to my personality. :D You know, sweet, breezy, and the perfect excuse for hot chocolate or coffee :D Just sayin'. I'm going to another pumpkin patch this Saturday with my small group, then I'm going to stop by another friend's house who has a holiday tradition of making homemade doughnuts, and then I'm going out with an ex-co-worker for dinner before she moves back to Reno where she's from. It'll be a busy, but sweet weekend and i can't wait to carve my new pumpkin on Sunday. One of our housemates is moving out :( and we're throwing her a going away party! The mexican food, chocolate, board games, and karaoke will be flowing people!
5. There's no place like home for the holidays! Thus, come hell or high-water, I will be coming home for Christmas! If you're in the ATX, mark your calendars now! I'll be home from December 24th (I fly in the 23rd so I'll probably get settled in that night) through the 1st of January (I fly out the 2nd) and then when I get here, hopefully my new friend, who i could've almost met at the Parachute/The Script concert will be in Seattle and we'll hang out before she & her friend leave back to Canada on the 3rd. One of the vacation days will be devoted JUST to shopping for gifts (probably the 24th) so if anyone wants to join me, please do! I realize I won't get to see everyone, but stay tuned to my twitter (on the right hand side of the blog) to keep up with where I'm at and give me a holla and we can join up quickly or you can join me for lunch, dinner, coffee, etc. :D it's gonna be so fun, especially since I probably won't be home again till next summer!
That's all for now! Stay tuned for more :D
Oh, and if you missed the video link from my tweet yesteday on how I get pumped up at home on Glee nights, here it is for your enjoyment!
I got to take a small excursion yesterday to West Seattle and came across some amazing art, both at Cupcake Royale and at Skylark, where Owls To Athens played live, along with Jettison Never and Smile For Diamonds. It was a great show, and I really enjoyed all the artwork at Skylark too! It got me thinking about some of my photography heroes—people that I would LOVE to learn photography skills from. So here are my top 5 thus far (you can click on their name to visit their site and see more!):
Audrey Hannah Photo She's a friend, and a FABULOUS photographer! She specializes in weddings and engagements and I cannot tell you how many times I look at her pics and think, "Man, I need to HURRY UP and get married before her rates go WAY up!" She seriously has mad skills! One of my fave of hers is this one:
Nathaniel Goldberg (no link available) This is my guilty pleasure pick. He's got great work published all over the place . . . but my fave of his by far is this sweet little GQ pic of his: I think we all know why. ;)
Jeremy Cowart I must admit, I had never heard of Jeremy until Parachute tweeted about doing a photo session with him and so I immediately headed over to his site and was STUNNED by the beautiful artwork he does! His techniques and editing and creative staging is phenomenal!
Jenny Jiménez She's a local Seattle artist who, much like Cowart, covers a wide range of styles. Her artwork was featured in Skylark and I was just mesmerized by the simple beauty of her photographs.
Chona Kasinger I stopped by the Cupcake Royale in West Seattle and saw Chona's work featured. It gave me such inspiration! She features mostly photographs taken at live music shows, but also has others in her collection. The ones that I saw at Cupcake Royale were mainly band ones though. They were just so rich and had great angles! I am a new fan!
Seeing all these amazing photographs makes me want to just sell a kidney and buy a super high quality professional camera and just have at it! :D Alas, I will continue to enjoy art in it's finest qualities as a spectator and amateur. :D
I am a mexican chick, born in Germany, raised in Austin, TX, and now currently living in Seattle, WA. I'm funny, weird, and just plain quirky, but then again, there's a lot of us out there. :) My favorite color is baby blue, I love pop culture trivia, chocolate, decorating, designing stuff and singing off key in public ♥ Among other things, I love family, friends, COFFEE, finding the humor in the silliest things, laughing, talking about old memories & making new ones ♥ I do NOT like cigarette smoke, wearing skirts, anything outdoorsy, the 80's, very loud people in elevators, rapists, certain shades of pink ♥ I am a daddy's girl all the way! ♥ I'm comfortable with being me ♥ I love making a difference in peoples' lives, helping, loving, teaching and watching them get to know Jesus ♥ I love my neice and hope to have kids of my own someday. ♥ I love God and I love living my life for Him and learning along the way!
