Sugar High

You wanna know one of my favorite things to do here in Seattle?

Breakfast at Caffe Ladro

I must thank Leah for introducing me to the wonder that IS Caffe Ladro ;)

this place is where it's at for that quick cup-o-joe before work
I am a HUGE fan of all things coffee and their lattes can do no wrong. :D

And what's even more awesome is the baristas that work there. Right now the only ones I know by name are Honnah and Susan, but the guys that work there are amazing as well. I will learn their names eventually. But they're great. They are such great people to talk to and they have great taste in music and they have fun working together, which makes the environment that much funner. I love walking in and they're all making coffee and singing along to some Smashing Pumpkins or Bon Iver or Joan Jett tune and it's just so refreshing to start the morning off with great coffee, free wi-fi, and yummy breakfast foods.

I have been a Starbucks girl for the longest, and don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Starbucks from time to time, but Caffe Ladro is where it's at on workday mornings :D

Just thought I'd share :D

Maybe

So I watched The Time Traveler's Wife today, and overall, I thought it was a sweet story. But that was about it. :( I thought the film could have been made better and the acting was sup-par. But it did get me thinking. If I could travel back in time and let myself know a few things, what would I say to myself?

So, here's a short list of some things I think might have been beneficial to hear if my older self told me. :D

1. Don't wear the Tweety Bird shirt to your first day of High School.

2. Don't waste so much time goofing around in songwriting class. There's actually some really awesome stuff to hang on to.

3. Try some ethnic foods a little earlier in life.

4. Don't take spanish for foreign language. You'll regret it if you take spanish instead of french, like you're gonna want to.

5. Don't try to be like other people.

6. Don't make the joke about kicking Kelley out of your office because she said, "YOUR MOM" during her first year. You'll only have to try to convince her over and over and over again that you were joking.

7. Don't get so consumed with technology that you forget about the people around you.

8. Eat healthy. McDonald's before EVERY football game is not good. Ever. Come to think of it, stay away from McDonald's altogether.

9. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with others.

10. Move to California and work your way up the corporate ladder at Apple Computers ;)

What about you? What are some things you wish you could go back in time and tell yourself??

In Smithereens, The Search For Affinity

Amanda here, reporting live from the Apple Store in University Village (U Village) . . .

I JUST BOUGHT SNOW LEOPARD!

woo hoo! I'm soooo stoked! A more efficient operating system for my beloved beauty of a laptop? Don't mind if I do! :D I've heard mixed reviews about it today so after I do all the install stuff, I'll let ya know how it all goes.

Wow!

So many things to report as of late.

1. I bought a plaid shirt!


I know what you're thinking, "don't they wear plaid in Texas?" Yes. yes they do. They also wear huge belt buckles, but that doesn't appeal to me either. And most of the time when they're wearing plaid, it's tucked into jeans so as not to defer the attention away from said belt buckle. It's so different wearing plaid up here in Seattle. There's such a hip vibe from the various stylings of the plaid top combo here. I've been wanting one for a while, and now i have one! And I REALLY like it! I've been on a yellow shirt kick as of late, so it's grand :D


2. Reading Rainbow is no more. :(


And my world slowly crumbles, as I can no longer roll over in my bed on Saturday mornings, turn on the TV and hope to stumble across a new episode that encourages me to

TAKE A LOOK, IT'S IN A BOOK, THE READING RAINBOW . . .

My voracious appetite for reading can be traced back to many episodes of Reading Rainbow. I can still hear the voice of the man narrating KNOTS ON A COUNTING ROPE. Alas, I shall simply have to make up for it by buying more books. . . so maybe it's not such a terrible thing after all.

Though I must add, having been a 'teacher' in various capacities and reading over essays with ATROCIOUS grammar and spelling, it does sadden me that an already crumbling education system doesn't have the outsourcing that is Reading Rainbow. Heck, I know some 25 year olds who could benefit from a few hours with Lavar Burton.


3. Snow Leopard is mine!


That's right, it's mine!! And I can't wait to install it! My Friday evening will consist of cleaning up (thanks to Don for sharing THIS article) and revamping my laptop and installing SNOW LEOPARD! I love my Mac! And I love all that my Mac can do! And if my Mac was a guy, I'd marry him! Alas, I shall simply have to hunt down a suitor who is as madly in love with Macs as I am. . .

4. My niece started Pre-K!

my 'babycakes' is growin' up *sigh*

For a while her parents weren't sure if they were going to "bother" with enrolling her in school and OH HAPPY DAY—they DID!! I cannot tell you how much I value education. Even if it is at a ghetto school in the projects. . . we'll work to get her to a better school soon! But for Pre-K, I'm pretty alright with it. :D

5. TV Premieres are just around the corner!!

Which ones have made my "TV Show Schedule?"
These ones:

(Bones)


(Lie To Me)


(One Tree Hill)


(CSI:NY)

A Mirror Is Harder To Hold

Hello everyone!

Well today is a REALLY busy day and I won't have time to write a quality entry, so I've asked my amazing friend Kelley (The Blog) at to write a guest blog entry! She is an amazing friend with great insight and I hope you enjoy reading her stuff as much as I do. :D

I'll be back in blog land tomorrow!

Love,
Amo
----------------------------

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."

Thomas Jefferson

Today, all over our planet big ideas are being argued and discussed and fought over. Wars are being waged. Elections are being held. Economies are growing and shrinking. Some people have too much, some have too little, some have just enough. That's the business of living, when six and a half billion people share the same home.

Good things are happening. Bad things are happening too.

Good things and bad things.

But it seems to me that lately when I turn on the radio, open a newspaper (yes a real honest-to-god newspaper, made from trees!) or check the news online it's hard to see that. I mean, it's easy to find articles and soundbites claiming all is well or all is ill, but that's just it - well or ill they claim, without much in between. As if we all woke up 12 months ago, or 18, or 3 years, or 9 and all the space between every extreme had disappeared. As if all that's left is me versus you, with nowhere for us to meet in the middle. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Nowhere does this polarization seem more obvious to me at this moment than in our American political and social discourse.

Are we heroes or villains? Traitors or patriots? Successes or failures? Humanitarians? Despots? Frauds? Honest people? Liars? Is America beautiful or ugly? Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?

Clarence Skinner wrote, "The line which separates Good from Evil runs not between men, but through them." Paraphrased, "The line that separates good and evil does not run between groups of people, but through every human heart."

I believe that Clarence Skinner had it right.

I also believe that sometimes I don't want him to be right.

I want a quick fix and an easy solution. I want a scapegoat, a simplification and an excuse. I want an ally and an enemy, with no complex shades of gray between.

I even want those things right now to explain away the kind of polarization that thrives on just such inclinations.

That makes me part of the problem.

And it is a problem, because when I let the discourse I am so privileged to have the opportunity to engage in, degrade to me versus you, I lose something valuable. I lose my honesty.

Some of my ideas and opinions and views are ignorant. Some of them are immature or silly. Some of them are wrong. Some of them may even be dangerous.

And that makes me versus you a lie.

Because I'm not all right. And you aren't all wrong.

When I stick my fingers in my ears and close my eyes, when I won't hear you out or look through your eyes I'm saying that I don't need to. I'm saying that my ideas are unexcelled, my reasoning flawless, my perspective perfect.

It's a lie.

It's an easy lie for me to tell.

It's an easy lie for me to believe.

So back to these radios and newspapers and websites - you know, the ones with the poles. If all I see and all I believe is me versus you then I guess I have my eyes shut and my fingers in my ears. And if I have my eyes shut and my fingers in my ears, then all I hear is myself. And if all I hear is my own self, then I'm hearing lies. Not all lies - because just like not everything I say or think is right, not everything is wrong either - but lies nonetheless.

I need to hear truth from you so I know where and why I'm wrong. And you need to hear truth from me so you know where and why you're wrong.

But that means we need our honesty.

It also means we need each other.

So I want to learn to see and hear you. And I want you to learn to see and hear me. Sometimes you might have to pry my eyes open. Sometimes I may have to drag your fingers out of your ears. But maybe if we do that long enough we'll make it to a different kind of place in our discourse, a different place in our articles and soundbites. And maybe it will be the sort of place where making progress keeps our hands and fingers too busy to bother our ears, and where we need our eyes too much for walking forward to close them.

I hope so.

Because then I think we'll be a little more honest.

And you know, this really smart guy had something to say about honesty once...

Note: Thanks Amanda for letting me word-vomit on your awesome blog. I was pretty much giddy like a schoolgirl when you asked if I would. And thanks Amanda's blog readers for slogging through this behemoth post (if indeed you did, and I don't blame you if you didn't.) Amanda already linked to my blog above, but - as you'll see if you try to click it - my blog is "private." Private doesn't mean you can't read it, however! If you ever want to check it out all you have to do is shoot me an email at kelleyarowe(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know. I'll add you to the reader's list and you'll receive a verification e-mail from Blogger letting you know you're approved. Annoying, but not too painful I hope. Thanks again. -Kelley

P.S. The post title is from a seriously awesome song by Jon Foreman (who is - funnily enough - a seriously awesome artist.) I would definitely encourage you to check it out. And then check out all his other songs. I mean hey, might as well while you're at it, right? ;)

I Like To Move It

You ever had those moments where you made a choice and then after making it, gone, "Why in the world did I do that?!?" Well I had a moment like that. On Monday night, I went to my FIRST EVER gym class by myself. Not only was it my first one in years (the first one being with a group of friends in Master's Commission) but it was called BOOT CAMP. What was I thinking? I have been working out on my own since January. But nothing compared to boot camp. Because in my daily workout, I don't do wall sits for 2 minutes while weightlifting. Call me crazy, I just never thought to include that in my workout routine. It kicked my butt. Though I should have known that when my instructor broke down the class routine and put COOL DOWN in air quotes, I shoulda had an inkling that I'd be sore and barely able to walk when I left . . . which . . . I was. Now, I don't need pity. I NEED to work out. I NEED to be healthy. But what had slipped my mind at the moment, was that I had agreed to help a friend move the next day. So when I was heading to her house, feeling every move in my abs, I imagined all the boxes that I would be lifting. The good news is that there actually wasn't a TON to move. So my abs and arms only hurt most of the time ;) I thought I'd share some fun photos with you guys from the move:

The sticker WAS on me. She doesn't know it's on her now ;)

I did all the HARD work ;)
for the record, we were done, i just wanted a funny pic

Helping Heather move a really light table

Heather hunting a kitty cat that paid us a visit

Elizabeth doing some heavy lifting ;)
again, we were about to leave

Watching the guys try to get a giant armoire through the hallway doorway

Gotta remove the top to get it through

So glad that Em got into her new place! It's such a cool apartment :D Also glad I got to work out my muscles and help my friend at the same time

Always Love

"Always love. Hate will get you every time."

I think Nada Surf is onto something here. . .

too bad that's not the case for this guy . . .

My friend Kelley posted that vid on my Facebook this morning and I was just so saddened by it. :(

I will be honest, I grew up with a LOT of anger and hatred against others and myself in my heart. I had plenty of reasons to, which I won't go into depth about for now. But let me tell you, if I could take back all those years of hatred against others and myself and anger and replace them with love and compassion and understanding, I would in a heartbeat.

"Always love. Hate will get you every time."

It's a truth that will save a lot of time, energy, relationships, and lives. Always love. It's hard, I know it is. I get annoyed with certain personalities just as much as you do. But here's the deal. Hatred against others solves nothing. Nothing.

I think the thing that hurt my heart the most about that teaching from Steven Anderson (I listened to the entire teaching) is that there were people in the audience "Amen"ing and cheering him on. So not only is there extreme hatred being conveyed throughout his teaching, it's being encouraged and learned by those in attendance. He is teaching hatred.

When I was a little girl, my parents went through a separation that led to divorce. My father was completely at fault, there is no doubt about that. But I'm thankful that even at a young age, I never stopped loving my father despite his shortcomings. What followed the divorce was years of fighting past my mother's attempts to teach us to hate our father. She would say he was the devil and that we should hate him and that we should never speak to him and so on. I never realized back then how much her thoughts and her teachings would play out in my life. I didn't hate my dad. I've NEVER hated my dad. My love for my dad has always endured, and for that I'm entirely grateful. But what resulted was taking on a mindset that it was okay to hate people. That somehow, if someone wronged me, it was perfectly normal to hate them and wish that they were dead. So I did. I manipulated situations to embarrass others and to give them "what was coming to them." As I've grown up and as I've developed in my faith, I've learned that it's not okay. If I teach others that it's okay to hate people that disagree with them/ that make big mistakes/ that say the wrong things at the wrong times/ that get on their nerves/ that look or act different than they do/ believe different things than they do . . . not ONLY am I teaching them to learn to eventually hate me, but I'm teaching them the COMPLETE opposite of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The thing I don't understand is that when Mr. Anderson says that he prays that Obama would die and burn in hell, it COMPLETELY counteracts the verses in the Bible that says that God desires that NONE SHOULD PERSISH and that ALL WOULD COME TO THE FATHER and that GOD IS THE JUDGE, not us.

And I think what some don't understand is that hate kills. It kills your heart, it kills your joy, it kills your life, and the hearts, joy, and lives of people in your wake. What is sad is that though I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I know others who are reading this and are thinking I'm off course with the heart of God. And they are thinking that I'm a horrible sinner because I don't hate homosexuals, or our President, or other people who don't necessarily share my same value system. And though that's completely not cool, I get it. As long as there is someone else to hate, someone else to blame, someone else to find fault in, we'll always find it/them. It's easy. So easy in fact, that the one place WE rarely look is the one place where we can start—in the mirror, examining our own ways, our own heart and saying, "How can I change my life, my heart, my mindset to build a bridge of love, to take time out of my life to invest in another's, to listen to SOMOENE ELSE'S story for a change, in hopes that good will come out of it?" We don't need to develop a community, a nation, a world of hatred against others. I need to build bridges and relationships that will last. You need to build bridges and relationships that will last. We need to build bridges and relationships that will last.

Please hear me when I say that I DO NOT hate Steven Anderson. I am however highly saddened and disappointed that people are jumping on board with his teachings about praying that Obama would die and burn in hell. I don't always agree with the President, but I respect his authority. And I DON'T want him to die and burn in hell. I dont' think that is what is going to "save" our nation. I think that any Christian believers who prays that prayer totally negates their credibility when they get mad that people would support abortion. Wanting someone to die, whether they are a governmental figure or an unborn child, is "6 one way, half a dozen the other" and makes us no different than those that we oppose.

IF you find yourself wanting something to hate,

Hate poverty.
Hate world hunger.
Hate child abandonment.
Hate social injustice.
Hate selfishness.
Hate pride.

Hate watching the heart of humankind deteriorate.

and do something PROACTIVE and PRODUCTIVE about it.

Always Love.

Fantasy

Shout out to all the LADIES out there! I am pleased and proud to announce the girly counterpart to FANTASY FOOTBALL!

May I introduce you to CELEBRITY FANTASY BOY DRAFT 2009!

CLICK HERE to go to the website (fantasyboydraft.weebly.com)

The Verdict

Once upon a time in blasé film infested Hollywood . . .

Quentin Tarantino helped bring back the art of major motion pictures. That's right, I said it. He's a cinematic wonder. I went to see Inglourious Basterds today and at the end, I clapped so loud. Lucky for me, the ENTIRE auditorium clapped along with me. It is truly a genius film. It brought in refreshed techniques and a strong script with it. It's been a while since I've been so engrossed in a film like this.

I went into it knowing kind of what to expect. I mean, when it comes to Tarantino, you can always count on tons of violence—very vivid violence at that, random dark scenes that spew from his creative mind, and lots of language. And I was so surprised! I mean, don't get me wrong, there were definitely elements of all of that, but for once I felt like the main star of his film was NOT the guns, was NOT the language, but was his characters that were so strongly defined and so keenly portrayed. I mean, there were SO many little details that went into the web he wove and in the end, you just find yourself expecting one thing and being completely surprised at the outcome. I won't go into too much detail because I want you to go see it with an open mind, ready to be caught off guard like I was. Yes, I thought it was THAT good. As a beginning screenwriter, I've read through a lot of scripts and I've written and re-written and RE-re-written some of my own stuff. And it's always so tough cause you don't want to write what's already been done, and I feel like a lot of the movies I've seen recently have just done that. I mean, I know that especially in this economy, the movie studios are looking for what they know works, such as predictable rom-coms and bloodlusty horror flicks that rely on bloodflow to counteract the lifeless acting and storylines. I get it. But Tarantino bent all those rules and in Inglourious Basterds, teaches us to connect with a character so strongly that just the mention of a name of an antagonist in the flick makes your stomach turn upside down and you feel as if it's your OWN NEMESIS that you've had to come face to face with.

I love that in each of the chapters of the movie, I was given a strong piece of the puzzle that left me wondering how it all tied in and when that chapter was over, I was like, "Wait, no, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??" In so many movies, they give it to you cause, sadly, if they don't, you'll probably never get it. But just as my mind was trying to wrap around what could possibly happen next, a new development came into the picture and it played into just a corner of what I'd just seen, totally blowing my perception of what might be coming up next out of the water.

It definitely inspired me to rethink some of my own screenplays and to challenge myself to explore plot twists I'd never considered.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't prepare yourself for a Tarantino flick, you're gonna hate it. That's just how it is. He is definitely a cinematically acquired taste. And after Grindhouse came out, many people lost faith in him as an artist . . . and I can't really blame them either—the trailer alone made me not want to even bother, but he totally redeemed himself with Inglourious Basterds. I think that any movie that can intrigue me, especially when I

A) am not really a fan of Brad Pitt
B) am not a fan of subtitles
C) am not a super huge fan of gore/violence
D) am usually turned off by the lame portrayals of just how morose Hitler is
E) am ruined from screenwriting and thus i pick apart every element of the movie

has become something of amazing art form. I really encourage you to watch it. I mean, go in knowing what you can expect from Tarantino, but be ready to be impressed in the cinematic quality it offers. From the soundtrack to the lighting, to the camera angles, and even to the wonderful supporting role portrayed by THE OFFICE's BJ Novak, I hope you get to clap at the end too. :D

Foolish Games

I had so much fun at Heather's Game Night/Un-Birthday party! I got to meet some new people and discovered some new foods. I can't remember the names of everything, but one guy was eating Fa, and so I got to learn what it was. And we also had Asiago bread with brie spread and then another kind of crumbly cheese spread and some wheat flour cookies. I'm pretty sure that the more I stay here, the more of a variety of foods I'll be experiencing. There are seriously SO MANY different ethnic restaurants here. I mean, in Austin we have like a strip mall that's called China Town Center or something, and here it's like EVERY neighborhood has a mass amount of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Panamanian, and Indian restaurants. And there's even Puerto Rican food restaurants, and Swedish restaurants, and all sorts of other cultural foods to try.

I must admit that growing up in Austin, I never really ate many "daring" foods. I always stuck to pizza, or burgers, or Olive Garden or Chili's or Cheddar's or Rudy's . . . now don't get me wrong, all of those places are amazing(!) . . . I just find it so crazy cool that I'm surrounded by all these authentic cultural places.

Joy once said that Seattle seems to be it's own foreign country . . . and I agree . . . so many people from so many cultures find their way over here and just set up camp. It's great! I still love walking by white people and being surprised when they speak German or Swedish or French fluently to one another.

So yeah, I've got a lot of food to discover, if I can just stop being such a "new food chicken." I'm seriously a wuss. I need to be braver and try more things.

As I sign off for this post, I'll leave you with some pictures from the night. We played a game called Formula D. It's a really extensive race car-esque game. You gotta move around the board with the skill of Sorry, but with the timing of Risk. I left early and we had JUST gotten around the first bend on this double-board game. It's madness! And there's so many rules. . . it was a bit confusing. But we had fun anyway. My favorite part was when we were taking turns around the board, Jason said something to someone and I was joking around and said, "Don't judge, Jason." And he is so funny and quick that he whipped back a funny thuggish attitudy (is that a word?) "I drank my judger juice and I'm growin' up STRONG!!" it was so random and funny and he just said it with such a funny accent. Totally made my evening. Overall great night :D So yeah, here's the pics!

Someone You Should Know

A special Video Blog from me and 2 of my housemates: Andrea & Geizel :D

song: Someone You Should Know by Lisa Loeb

Plan B

So the other night I was looking at vids on Youtube, trying to wind down. . . I kid you not, my brain is on overload so often. One thought to another. . . ideas ideas ideas. So sometimes I need to disconnect and unwind. So I was watching some Youtube vids and I came across some HORRENDOUS covers of USE SOMEBODY by Kings of Leon. Terrible. Disgusting. Country. Now, I'm not against country music. . . EXCEPT when you take an awesome rock anthem and you taint it with Southern twang. Not cool. Not cool at all. And please, don't think that I hate when people do covers, because I don't. But don't try to make a cover of a song, and then play it out of it's rightful context. Please. Just don't. I realize this makes me a jerk. And I'm okay with that. It's just my personal opinion.

Covers are special things. You either GOT IT or you don't. And some of the vids I saw. . . just don't. But it did lead me to this post, where I will share with you 5 of my favorite covers done by really awesome music artists.

SAY IT AIN'T SO by Weezer (covered by MoZella)


WONDERWALL by Oasis (covered by Ryan Adams)


SEND ME AN ANGEL by Real Life (covered by Thrice)


LOVE VIGILANTES by New Order (covered by Iron & Wine)


TIME AFTER TIME by Cyndi Lauper (covered by Quietdrive)


And in case you don't think I like covers done by "regular joes" here's one of my favorite covers done by a girl named Maisey Rika, who started small and got an album out on iTunes for practicing and getting better and better. If you're into covers. . . make them your version, but not so much that it takes away from the beauty of the original.

FLIGHTLESS BIRD, AMERICAN MOUTH by Iron & Wine (covered by Maisey Rika)

VIDEO BLOG: 14 Times

Nine In The Afternoon

I'm here at Cupcake Royale for a nice afternoon hangout with my friend Geizel, who lives in the Roosevelt House with me :D

This place is booming. . . the line is seriously wrapping around the corner of the block!

No lie, if I had to work somewhere just for fun, like if I had no worries about income, I would work here! It's such cool place and no neighborhood in Seattle captures my heart more than Ballard does. :D If life in Northgate wasn't so convenient for me, I'd move to Ballard. :D

I think if I could have a full-time dream job it would be just to write screenplays all day. . . although, these wouldn't be bad options either:

SONIC BOOM RECORDS (Ballard)

Okay maybe HE doesn't look too happy to be there, but being surrounded by all that music and in such a cool area, It's a music lover's paradise.

CAFFE VIVACE (Capitol Hill)

1. I could meet some awesomely interesting new people
2. I could learn how to make awesome coffee designs
3. Their coffee is yum!

SEATTLE SPACE NEEDLE (Queen Anne)

It's cliche, I know. But I LOVE going up the Space Needle and looking out all over the city. The opportunity to get to see that view 5 times a week is just magical to me. :D

THE SHOWBOX (Downtown Core)

Live Music. Every Day. Who could ask for anything more?

Okay so I know that these as JOBS would be different, but I really don't think I'd mind it as much :D

Streetlamps

Miracle of all miracles, I actually wrote a really sweet HAPPY love song today! Ha ha ha ha!
I was down by the waterfront tonight, looking at the streetlights and dreaming about that 'SOMEDAY' and this came out of it. I hope it makes you smile :D

STREETLAMPS
Will I walk up to talk up
just to look into your eyes
Looking at the sun do you see me smile?
There's a sweetness in the air as we walk out together
My mind says impossible
My heart says forever and we're

Staring past the streetlamps
Just past the pier
Hold my hand
Let me dance with you
and we'll hold each other as the sun sets the blues

Will tomorrow be reflected
in this moment where we stand
With lights in the distance
And heartbeats in hands
Something is sweet in your smile when we're together
My mind says impossible
My heart says forever and we're

Staring past the streetlamps
Just past the pier
Hold my hand
Let me dance with you
and we'll hold each other as the sun sets the blues

Here is my forever
In the image of you
Together whatever
I always choose you

Here's the audio track. . . if you're *brave* ;)

Stuck In The Middle

Not gonna lie. . . i need a visit home soon. I'm really hoping to be able to go home for Christmas, but all those details are still up in the air. It's amazing how much distance moves your heart to fully appreciate family and friends.

Don't get me wrong, I STILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE living here. . . it's just hard on the heart when you can't just drive to see the people you love and go have coffee with them and just talk things out that you want to. PS: these time zones kill me still! No lie!

Some big things are going on in my mind right now. Some cause stress. Others cause the world class traveler in me to be tempted to take impromptu vacations. . . that would NOT make any sense at all. I think it's just my way of imagining that I can escape the things that DO cause the stress. Oh well. . . don't worry Spain, I'll be there someday, walking your streets and taking in the old world beauty :D

In other news, I've been really lucky to get to hang out more with my housemates lately. I heart them so so so so so so much! They are truly amazing women and they make my life fuller! Truly. If you ever find yourself in a spot where you feel like your life sucks, take into account all the people that surround you on a daily basis and ask yourself, "How much more awesome would my life be if I took time out of my so-called-busy life to actually get to know that person?" and do it. It makes such a huge difference!

This past week I've felt stuck in the middle of so many big decisions, and I know those will get resolved. I'm not worried about that. I just need to refocus and move forward. To all my friends who have been awesome at keeping in touch, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And for those who aren't as in touch, let's work together on this. :D

Heart Shaped Box

Q&A with Amanda

That's right, it's time for another Q & A Session with me :D Thank you to everyone who has been sending in questions. And please keep doing so! Direct Message me on twitter, text my cell, email, leave comments, what have you.

1. PC or Mac?
I am a Mac fan all the way, which makes this a kinda easy question. My Mac has done more, faster, in a more efficient manner than ANY PC i've ever used, hands down. But here's the thing that most people do. . . they want to buy a Mac, so they do, but they go BIG and get the biggest machine all tricked out. . . and it's an awesome machine, but it's way excessive for what they actually NEED it for. For Graphic Designers and Videographers and other Graphics/Media Techies, I do recommend the bigger tricked out machine. But if you're using it for college to write papers and do like regular 9 to 5 jobbish stuff, there's no need for you to go all crazy with all the bells and whistles. Think about what you NEED and customize it to be the most beneficial for THOSE things. Also, if you've never spent more than 5 minutes on a Mac, but want to get one. . . go to the Apple store a few times before you actually purchase the thing, and see how well you do with the new interface. Don't let the machine defeat you. It's a beautiful thing and can work wonders and be your best friend, if you're willing to LEARN how to adjust to the different technology. But overall, GO MAC or go home ;)


2. What are your screenplays about?
So many things. Though I've learned that the majority of what I write is TRAGEDY. Dramatic Tragedy. I won't tell you what all of the screenplays are about. Some are in beginning stages and some are further along, but I'll give you 3 examples so you can see what I mean.

- LANE AND ALLEY : Lane (guy) and Alley (girl) have been best friends since they were kids. Now as adults, they keep in touch through letters they write to one another. However, what they write about themselves is far from reality and weaves a very tangled web. When Alley is attacked at her workplace, she takes a turn for the worse and finds herself in a VERY dark place and commits suicide. Through this tragedy, Lane discovers the truth about Alley and it challenges him to rethink his life and where it is headed. Alley's death gives him a new perspective on how to live his life to the fullest.

- THE SHADOWS OF CHERNOBYL : Lara, A young woman discovers that the family she's grown to know is full of secrets. She uncovers a family secret about a brother she never knew she had who was affected heavily by radiation poisoning and is being taken care of by an orphanage that manages children with birth defects from the fallout of Chernobyl. Along with confronting the family that lied to her for so many years, she and her husband must decide whether to remove him from the orphanage and care for him themselves or to let him stay there as they raise their own family from a distance.

- BRAVERY : Evie Glassman has spent the past 6 years of her life in a New England boarding school thanks to the expendable income of her widowed, multi-millionaiire business tycoon of a father. Before she leaves for college, her father asks that she spend one summer with him at the company mansion in Cambodia where their international headquarters is set up. When she arrives, she is reunited with an old friend, Spencer Fairbanks who is interning with her father before heading off to college himself. As their summer romance begins to grow, Evie discovers that her father, the one person she trusts, very well may be her worst enemy. Hidden beneath the marble floors of the mansion lies an underground child slave labor operation. It is up to Evie and Spencer to muster every ounce of bravery they have to come up against Evie's father and set the children free once and for all.

See what I mean, dramatic tragedy. I really WANT to write a fantasy-like fairy tale and also a comedy. . . but everytime I try, I just "don't got it." Amazing how you can be funny in real life and not on paper. . . or computer. ;)

3. What do you think about the whole Seattle/Depression theory? False?
It's so hard to say, being a transplant to the city. Most of the Seattelite's I've talked to about it don't think it's that bad. I mean, it's true. It happens. People get the Winter Blues here. And understandably so. But I think that over the years, the city overall has gotten better at providing resources for people dealing with depression. One thing that IS true about living in Seattle, and which may actually be a big factor in depression is the theory of "THE SEATTLE FREEZE"
for more on that, check out these sites:

Seattle PI Article
Youtube Video about Seattle Freeze


4. If a person was raped, would you still be against abortion?
I think it would be up to the person. I know that personally, if it were me, I wouldn't have an abortion. I've seriously thought about this one for a while. I don't have it in me, in my heart, in my mind or anything else to get rid of a life like that. But every person is different. If someone had been raped and came to me about it, I would ask the following questions and just let them decide:

1. If you keep the baby, will you be able to live with the possiblity of seeing your attacker's face everyday? And if so, would you love that baby any less? Would you love yourself any less?

2. What are ALL your options and what is the wisest choice for you and for what you believe in?

3. If you do decide to have an abortion, will you seek counseling to help you deal with the strong emotions attached to 1. the rape and 2. the guilt you may encounter from time to time

4. Regardless of your choice, do you promise not to lose sight of how valuable YOU are through all the good and bad days?

I think that when a woman is raped, she already has so much to think about and making the decision to keep the child is a big one, but I would also always suggest having the child and putting it up for adoption.

5. I like your funny stories. Share another one!
Ha! okay, okay. Hmm. Okay so this one I was actually reminded of today. So one time I was helping to plan this girls retreat thing for Master's Commission and when we got out to the place, I realized we needed to get some groceries. So me and my friend Kelley went to the nearest grocery store (HEB) and got supplies. Turns out we couldn't use the company card for some reason so we had to call another staff member to come rescue us. While we were waiting, this big awkward creepy guy walks up to the teenage bagging lady who was helping us and gets all up in her space, rubs her elbow and says, "I uh... heard you played a little game last night. . ." Me and Kelley were SO creeped out, and I didn't know whether to just bust out laughing or like smack the guy for being a creep. It was funny though.

Left to Lie

Got to go to El Corazon last night to see OWLS TO ATHENS and BOBBY LONG! It was so much fun! I got to meet cool new people and got to listen to some awesome live music! I'm seriously so grateful for having grown up in the Live Music Capitol of the world. There is definitely power in music. It can lift you up, help you understand someone better, and be a great outlet for all those things you always wanted to put into words but never could.

Even watching the opening band (whose name I didn't catch) and seeing this kid. . . literally I think they were freshmen or something. And when he was playing he looked so nervous, as most would expect. . . i mean, it was a pretty well known and respected venue. . . and he was part of the opening act for BOBBY LONG . . . so it was understandable. But I just remember thinking, "Man, once that kid learns to relax and work the audience, he'll be on his way." I really did enjoy all their music though. I just wish I had gotten their names.

Annie is a friend of mine from church and her husband Chris plays in a band called Owls to Athens and they did so awesome! I love their tunes and it's great to know people who are just as into live music as me :D

Then Dave Hannon came up, and I must say. . . they were actually my least fave. They weren't bad, I just wish that Dave would've taken more risks with the guitar riffs. I felt like the majority of the show was being held up by the little flair that the drummer had. Which, it's good that the drums are present and accounted for, but when it becomes a drum show rather than a vocals and rock guitar show. . . I start to lose interest. One person should not carry the entire band. . . the band should give equally. . . be EQUALLY as daring to push the rhythms and to blast the voice to give clarity to the lyrics. . . which I barely understood :(

And then when Bobby Long came out, it was so epic awesome! His voice is so amazing and soulful. I LOVE when singers let the music speak beyond the lyrics. It was such an intimate setting and I had so much fun singing along. The ONE video I really wanted to record was for his song WHO HAVE YOU BEEN LOVING but my camera was being kind janky so I didn't get it. :(

But here's a youtube version:

Good, eh? I thought so.

In any event, it was a great night and I had so much fun! Here are some pics from the show:

owls to athens

bobby long

bobby long

owls to athens

owls to athens

bobby long

NEW CONCERT FRIENDS!!

Man's Best Friend

This week has just flown by!

Tomorrow starts a new one, which should be equally as awesome :D

Tommorow night I'm going to El Corazon to see my friend Annie's husband play with his band. They are opening for Bobby Long, which is amazing cause I enjoy his music too!
If you want to check out Annie's husband's band, OWLS TO ATHENS, just click HERE!

Today was fun—I got to hang out at Cupcake Royale with my friends Annie and Erica! We brought Annie's dog, Maeby [inspired by the character on Arrested Development] and another dog, Bailey, that she was dog sitting. Seattle is SO dog friendly :D

And EVERYONE kept stopping to say hi to Maeby and Bailey! I mean, you can't blame 'em cause they're cute pups, but it was seriously the equivalent of having a SUPER CUTE BABY. . . you know, where everyone stops by and notices the kid, but not the parents. It was so funny! We laughed and joked about it and just had a really great conversation about a lot of stuff. The fact that the cupcake of the month is Raspberry Lemonade was just the icing [see what i did there??] on the top. Speaking of Cupcake Royale, I bought some of their coffee grounds to make lattes at home . . . which I'm gonna do now. So enjoy the pics of our outing and I'll be back tomorrow night/Tuesday morning with photos and an update from the show :D

Annie and I walking Maeby and Bailey to Cupcake Royale

Maeby

AND i LOVE the new artwork at the Ballard Cupcake Royale!! I want one of these paintings so bad!!






AND PS: I found a new Amazon exclusive song by my new favorite band, Parachute! It's called STUCK IN THE MIDDLE and it's a great tune! You should check it out HERE!

Show of Hands

Well hello everyone!

I just wanted to share some more photos and some stories from the Jack's Mannequin/The Fray concert the other night. I would have posted sooner, but my internet has kinda been here and there and so finally I got a good connection after resetting things last night.

So Thursday after I got off of work, I headed to the Paramount to go to the show. And I should just let you know that the Paramount is so gorgeous inside! It's got such intricate decorations and little chandeliers and such, I was so surprised that it was a venue for a rock concert like this. It wasn't until the show actually started that I kinda got why. The crowd was not so active. Seriously I was like, "Are you guys listening to the same guitar riffs and drum solos I am? These guys are all rocking out and you're just standing there like dead fish? Lame." But at least I got to rock out and have fun. And I got to stand next to some other enthusiastic fans. I met Chris, who was so fun to talk to and just rock out with. He's a super huge Jack's Mannequin fan too, so we talked for a long time about that before the show. And there was this other girl in front of us who never gave us her name, but went on and on about how many shows she's been to. We all had such a fun time. Then there was this 15 year old girl who was really short and I kept an eye on her all night, keeping her company and making sure no ginormously tall people planted themselves in front of her.

Oh, and PS: IF you are tall and decide to wear a huge hat to a rock concert. . . GO STAND IN THE BACK, NOT FRONT AND CENTER. I swear that kid was the hardest obstacle to maneuver around for photos (end rant)

There was actually an opening band for Jack's Mannequin and The Fray, which we weren't expecting. And the poor girl leading the band was talking way too closely into the mic that we couldn't hear any of the lyrics and couldn't even hear the band name when she said it. It's Vedera, by the way. Great melodies and sound, poor concert form. It was funny cause I asked this chick behind me if she knew who the band was and she was like, "I think it's Jack Mannequin?" And I was like, "Hmm. No. That's not Jack's Mannequin. Andrew McMahon is the lead singer of Jack's Mannequin and he doesn't sound like that." :D She was OBVIOUSLY there for The Fray ;)

Overall, awesome show! I loved when Andrew jumped up on his piano and serenaded us with such passionate songs. They played all my favorites and I was just so super excited to experience them live. The Fray rocked it out too and at the end, they sang HAPPINESS and all the band came together at the end to join the chorus. Both JM and The Fray had great stage presence and it was such a wonderful experience :D

Here are some more photos:

JACK'S MANNEQUIN

THE FRAY