Painting Pictures of Egypt

Tonight was my first ever Seder meal. My small group got together and we made it a potluck/Seder evening. It was a "Christian Seder" actually, not the legit traditional Jewish one . . . we only had 2 hours so we had to shorten it from it's traditional entirety. Though I'm kind of glad we did. I have a really hard time with really traditional things. Here's why:

1. I have a hard time being serious. My brain is seriously like spaghetti. One phrase from someone will trigger a funny thought or a memory and my mind just jumps on that wave and rides it until it meets another. There is pure joy and bliss in being random. Let's just say, my future husband will never cease to be entertained. I am, in fact, 99% random and 1% ridiculous . . . and sometimes they switch sides.

2. I have never been good at doing things "traditionally." In fact, more often than not, I hate doing things traditionally. I don't always like order or set rules and limits. It's something I try to work on, but more often than not, I lean towards nontraditional approaches to things.

3. I am accident prone. I will be honest, for the majority of the night, I sat on my hands. I had to. I get so fidgety and I get easily distracted. Most of the time, this results in spills, broken items, and frequent visits to the first aid kit. Needless to say, when it's a celebration of reflection and spiritual growth, such accidents are kind of distracting.

4. I don't really enjoy trying new foods. In fact, the majority of the time, I'm just fine with my standard comfort foods. So when you ask me to try new sorts of cheese and herbs and things I can't pronounce, something in me tries to find a way out of it. :( PS: I totally ate the horseradish . . . not knowing what it was. And since I didn't know what it was, I spread it on THICK. :| Never. Again. :|

All in all, tonight was pretty good and was a great learning experience for me. I actually had a great time and I was really proud that I caught my glass of grape juice before it spilled all over the table. The only downside was that to symbolize having a lamb shankbone, we just used a stuffed animal as representation. Did I mention that the stuffed animal lamb was sitting in front of me? BAD IDEA. Again, distraction and randomness comes full force and things like this happen:

(get it . . . they lost their shankbones!)

Here are some other photos from the evening :D I love my small group! :D

**to any of my Jewish readers that I may have offended with my stuffed animal lamb shenanigans, I apologize. I'm really working on it.

Blood Bank

Hello everyone!

I realize that the readers of this blog come from all different religious/non-religious backgrounds, but I am asking you to lift up some prayers/send good thoughts/send positive vibes/send non-sequential unmarked one dollar bills for my friends from Austin. They are 3 youth kids from my home church in Austin. Their names are Andrew, Micah, and Rachel Ansohn. They were in a head on collission today. This was an update from my friend Mariah:

Three of my friends were in a head on collision this afternoon and two were starflighted Brackenridge and the other is most likely going to have heart surgery.

I had the opportunity to be a mentor to Micah and Rachel personally, since they were in the youth ministry small group that I led. I know that the doctors that are treating them are competent and capable of fixing them, but there is also a lot of mental trauma and emotional trauma for them and their family that can come from accidents like these. They are so near and dear to my heart and I would appreciate any love you could send their way.

Thank you so much!

Love,

Amo.

some of my Flying Marshmallows small group members.
Rachel is the one in the pink shirt

An update about the accident:

Andrew's ankle was broken and Micah's wrist was broken. Rachel suffered the most injuries but is doing really well now!

thank you all so much for any well wishes or prayers or thoughts :D

Do What You Want, Be Who You Are

Sometime this summer I will be getting my first tattoo . . .

I am equal parts ANXIOUS + EXCITED + SCARED OUTTA MY MIND! I've wanted a tattoo since I was a teenager, but here's a little bit of something that you probably should know about me: i am deathly afraid of needles. Like, REALLY. The last time I got a shot was 2 years ago, and I cried. No lie. I shed tears. I have an incredibly low pain tolerance . . . did I mention that I'm not 5 years old? I'm not. But I still cried. I hate pain. So naturally, you can see why I've waited to get a tattoo. I can't guarantee that when I go to get one that I'm not going to cry. In fact, I'm 99.9% sure I will. Whatever day I get it done, I'm going to request the next day off so that I have plenty of time to cry every freakin' tear in my body because my friends who have gotten tattoos already have been up-front honest with me about the pain. It helps to have friends who can help me prepare. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still a fraidy cat. Especially after seeing the movie trailer for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO:



creep me out that has to hurt like no otha'!

I'm still gonna get one though!

I really wanted to have Vanessa (my niece) draw something and then get THAT tattooed on me, but last time I saw her, I asked her to draw something and she drew a creepy stick figure with a pumpkin head . . . and it was angry. So I'm gonna go with a no on that one. However, I go home next week and I get to spend 2 and a half days with her, so I'm gonna go for a do-over. This time I'll have her draw a few things . . . and pick the least creepy one. ;)

But as I've been looking at tattoos and contemplating which one to get, I've discovered others that I've fallen in love with. If I was truly brave, I'd get them—ALL of them (or at least some variation of them):







In fact, lately I've been drawing on myself often with Sharpies when I am waiting for slow computers to load/save/print things. Here are some I've done recently.








As you can see, I kind of like the simple ones, nothing frilly and nothing really Old English or biker style. Just simple, unique, and fun like me :D

As I said, I'd like to get more, but I'm going to stick with one now, and after about 5 years when the pain goes away (jk!) I'll THINK about another. One thing I do know that I want to stick to is having meaning to what I put on my body. Which is why I'm really leaning towards this one as a back up plan. I LOVE the book The Little Prince. I re-read it often. This would be a constant reminder of the lessons I've learned from that wonderful book:



And I'll end the post with an episode of UNDER THE SKIN featuring Andrew McMahon from Jack's Mannequin, because I love his tattoos and the meanings behind them.

Recognition

I found this website last night and the slogans it generated are hilarious!

You should go to SLOGAN MAKER and try it! :D
If you want, post your favorite result in the comments! :D

Don't You (Forget About Me)

I'm back in blogtopia folks!!

This past week has been pretty "go—go—go" and I'm finally at a point where I can really unwind. :) I was able to meet our press deadlines for our two latest journals, which is a pretty big deal for me because I seriously had about 3 days to make one of them press-ready and it was kind of hectic. But I love to test my limits and push myself, and now I feel pretty accomplished. Tomorrow should prove to be a slower day, though, and that's also a really good thing! :)

In an attempt to unwind from today's adrenaline rush, I've been watching funny videos on YouTube :D I think I hit the jackpot when I found a collection of AMC commercials advertising Forrest Gump, in which they created movie trailers for it in different genres. They are still making me laugh!

In other news, I'm going to be home in one week! I still have so much to do. I told a friend of mine that I was already shopping for gifts to take home to my family and she thought it was silly that I would start planning for my trip 2 weeks out. But here's the thing, I'm a procrastinator when it comes to that sort of stuff. Seriously. Like, I generally don't even pack 'til the night before and even then, I'm really slow about it and I get distracted. So, come 1:30 a.m. the day OF my red-eye flight, I'd normally be saying to myself,

"Crap! I forgot to get that _______ for _________! Great.
Now they'll be the only one I didn't get a gift for. How awkward."

Trust me, it happens more often than you think. So I like to plan things out so that I don't leave anyone out. That's like, the worst feeling in the world to me.

Tomorrow I get off of work early and I'm going to get the rest of my family gifts, that way they're all in my room, ready to be packed! Next week will be another busy week, since I only have 3 days to get things ready for a big mail-out after I get back from my trip. Plus, I have a lot of stuff going on in the evenings as well.

PS: I can't wait to go to the beach!!!!!!!!! :D

GUEST BLOG: How To Save A Life

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 friend Kelley (The Blog) to write a guest blog entry!

I'll be back in blog land tomorrow!

Love,
Amo

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If you could save a life by swabbing the inside of your cheek, would you do it?

The National Marrow Donor Program, the national bone marrow registry, can let you do that.

No shots.

No needles.*

No stinky alcohol wipes.

All you have to do is rub a Q-tip around inside your mouth.

And it's free.

Exercise your mouse-clicking powers on these links:

Educate yourself.

Join the registry now and order your donor kit (this is the swabby part.)

Or look for a registration and donation drive in your area.

So, what happens if you're a match?

Is your eggo prego? Check out umbilical cord blood donation.

Find other ways to get involved.

Please, please consider joining the registry. But don't just consider it. Do it. Please. Be a Q-tip Hero.

You + Q-Tip = Curing Cancer

P.S. My birthday is April 20th. Order your kit between now and then and we can call it my Birthday present. (...Because you were totally going to get me a Birthday present, right? That's what I thought.)

* Well, okay, if you're a match and you choose to donate there will be needles involved. But you can cross that bridge when you come to it. In the mean time, all it takes is a Q-tip. And come on, faced with the opportunity to save another human being's life, I'm pretty sure that in the moment you'll do the right thing, needles and all.

Note: This post is cross-blogged from my own blog. And speaking of my blog, Amanda already linked to my Blogger profile 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, though! 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. -Kelley

Oh Chariot

Hey boys and squirrels!

Today's a little hectic—we have 2 journals that need to go to press tomorrow/Thursday and I just found out about it yesterday. Originally we were scheduled to just send one, but now we've got double duty going on here. Thankfully, my co-worker Hugh is in here keeping me company and helping with the editing.

One funny thing about that is that earlier I made a joke referring to the classic line from KINDERGARTEN COP where the kid goes, "Maybe it's a tumor," and Arnold replies, "It's not a tum-ah." I only said the "Maybe it's a tumor" part, but Hugh didn't get it. :( But then I got to explain it to him and then I could not stop laughing about that line for seriously a good 5 minutes!

So I've been hearing something recently about some new-fangled health care bill or something . . . am I the only one whose heard of this new thing going around? i hope not. ;)

I know that a lot of my friends have already taken sides. I will admit, when it comes to politics, I tend to be more apathetic, if that. Politics don't interest me much and I CERTAINLY don't think they need to fuel fires of dissension among friends and families. Granted, this is coming from someone who admittedly isn't interested in politics and by nature, I'm an idealist. So there's that.

Here's the way I see it: Our health care system is currently a mess. More importantly, our insurance system is a mess. I have no possible solution in my brain that would meet EVERY need and would make EVERYONE happy. Obama won the election, and thus, we must trust him to make wise choices. They may not be OUR wise choices or what we think is best for our country, but the way I see it, we can either deal with the hand we're dealt and learn to be peaceable human beings about it or we can whine and flood our lives and the lives around us with ridiculous banter about who is going to hell and who isn't,* all the while not adding action to our opinions. If people are desperate for their voice to be heard politically, it would make more sense to work with the politicians they support and fight the fights together. That way in the end, if you don't win, there's at least the satisfaction of doing all that you could have possibly done to change things on a governmental level.

One of the main complaints is that our money is going to help someone who can't afford health care, with drug addicts and homeless people and other "lower class" people benefiting from our tax dollars. I'm trying not to be ignorant about all of this, but, is that SO entirely bad? Would we rather they die from a common cold or a treatable disease? Now I don't personally make more than 200k, but if I did, I don't think it would be SO bad if I learned to survive on less so that all of those around us, no matter what their social standing or personal habits are, could get the care they need? I feel like that's what I'm supposed to 'be about' anyway.

Is this situation fair? Maybe not. But, I've heard that life is not fair.** But from what I can tell, the bill has been passed and there's nothing any of us can do to change that right now unless you have direct personal ties to the White House or the Mafia.***

So what do we do? What are we going to do? What can we do?

Step One: Educate ourselves> HOW HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL AFFECT YOU (article)

Step Two: Assess our current lifestyle and our heart

Step Three: Adjust our sails.

Step Four: Read Psalm 20:7

I don't have all the answers. And I'm not too politically minded. But what I do know is that the government DOES NOT have the power to change my heart and my attitude/outlook on life. I've weathered some pretty hefty storms, going from a broken, lower-income family to a working-class young adult. And I can safely say that whining and getting angry has never helped me take the next step to push me forward through a trying situation. I am the only one who can make myself do the research, come to a rational conclusion, and adjust my sails.

I in no way intend this post as a personal attack against you, but simply an insight to my thoughts and to offer a few steps in a forward moving direction. Please feel free to share your thoughts as well in the comments section, but please, let's keep at least an ounce of decorum and civility with each other.

As a side note, I also read this really good post on Matthew Paul Turner's Blog about a Canadian Pastor who is questioning why Americans are so upset with the new health care bill. It's definitely food for thought.
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* Last I checked, that wasn't my job.

** My parents may or may not have mentioned this to me a multitude of times, growing up.

*** If you are in the Mafia, please don't kill me for posting this. It's just an opinion. And I'm just a peon. I mean no harm. And I like Italian food. :D

Something Like That

Yup, pretty much ;p

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Other Facebook shenanigans currently making my day:

(I didn't make this, but man oh man, it's hilarious!)

Almost Paradise

Yesterday Kayliegh and I went to Islander Middle School on Mercer Island to see the junior high kids their do a musical production of FOOTLOOSE. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, except that I was counting on the "angry dance" to be in there—you know, the dance that Kevin Bacon does in the barn. Anyway, they didn't do it, which was kind of sad. Another thing that caught me off guard was that instead of saying the ever classic "JUMP BACK!" that Kevin Bacon says in the movie, the kid playing Ren McCormack would say, "GET OUTTA HERE!" Kinda wished he'd said "jump back" instead, but oh well, whaddayado? My favorite was the kid that played Willard. He was hilarious and he played the piano in one of the songs and did a great job. I felt like his performance alone was worthy of the ten bones i paid to see the show. Although, by the end I was wishing I'd dropped a 20 spot in an effort to help them raise money to improve the terrible PA system they had the music blasting through. There were also some "guest celebrities" there . . . okay so maybe it was just middle schoolers that had uncanny resemblances to other grown up actors. ;) I swear one of the girls looked like Nasim Pedrad from SNL. A mini-me version of Kay Panabaker was also there, along with a mini-me version of Michelle Trachtenburg. ;) It was awesome! All the students did a great job!

Naturally I'm a sucker for musicals, and since Footloose is one of my favorite movies, I had a really fun time watching the middle schoolers sing and dance and re-enact their version of Footloose. It reminded me of the times I got to spend doing plays and musicals as a kid. It was also really sweet to watch them honor their teachers and the crew that helped out with the production.

Anyway, here are 2 pictures and some videos from the evening:

Opening number: Footloose

(footloose)


(hurts so good)


(holding out for a hero)


(ren fights for the dance)

Earlier I updated my status saying

The J.High show of Footloose DIDN'T include the 'angry dance' :( So I'm going to blast the song while I cook & do my own in the kitchen

And a lot of people requested that I record it and put it on YouTube. I didn't record me doing it when I was cooking, but I DID have one of my housemates record me dancing to it around the house. I had her do it around the house because it would have just been boring confined to the kitchen alone, and because we had to do some strategic filming, since some personal information is on our house whiteboard hanging in the kitchen. So I apologize ahead of time if you feel cheated. I hope it makes you laugh anyway:

As You Sleep

I seriously don't know why my sleep patterns have been so out of control lately. It seems that ever since the latest Daylight Savings Time, my body has been in one endless cycle of jetlag. I have been having a lot of trouble falling asleep at night lately. I try to go to bed and I just lay there, restless. I set my alarms (yes, i need more than one), and I turn off every single light so I'm not distracted, and I get all snuggled up in the blankies . . . and then I just lay there. I try closing my eyes, but they just open back up. I try counting sheep . . . the sheep jump over the fence and hop on over to a nearby table where they're enjoying coffee and chocolate—tell me WHO can sleep when the sheep are having all the fun?? ;) But seriously, I have tried everything I know. I've gone to bed earlier to try to wake up earlier, I pray for sleep to come, I listen to soft music, but they don't seem to do anything to help the situation —I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Eventually I fall asleep and then I wake up late, not feeling refreshed, and getting the sense that I forgot to do something. I am NOT a morning person as it is, so working a job where I have to be on point so early in the morning ready to take on the deadlines and other job requirements while not flying full steam ahead sucks. I can't remember an instance of Daylight Savings Time that has messed with my sleep patterns quite so much. But this past Daylight Savings Time has me beat. I'm desperate for a remedy. I hate being late and rushed in the morning, but as of late, it's the 'STORY OF MY LIFE!" :(

Oy vey. I need help.

I might be officially losing my mind. So, I guess I just wanted to let you know now that if you get a call from a mental hospital asking you if I've been rambling on and on about Daylight Savings Time attacking me, perhaps you'll have a little bit of grace and suggest they NOT go straight for electro-shock therapy. Plead a good case for me—please!! ;)

So now I'm going to bed, hoping for some rest because I have a lot to get done tomorrow. Let me know if the sheep I'm counting call you up to come over for coffee and chocolate.

Sing It Out

I think we've established that I've got a wonderfully quirky side, right? Right. I thought so.

In that case, it should come as no surprise to you that I do wonderfully quirky things on a daily basis. Things like singing along to the songs playing on my iPod while I'm waiting at bus stops or walking to and from places. What can I say, I love music and I love singing. I really love when a song comes on my iPod that is the perfect song for the mood or what I'm looking at. For instance, one morning I was riding the bus to work and Hello Seattle came on just as I looked over and saw Puget Sound peeking through, waves glimmering in the morning sun between streets. It was gorgeous, and the song was perfect.

For the record, I've gotten NUMEROUS texts and Facebook messages from friends here who have seen me walking from one place to another or standing at a bus stop playing air guitar and/or singing to the music coming through my headphones. I like that a lot—both doing those things and getting those texts. Is it a bit embarrassing, yeah a little. But it's cool because though they may seem mildly embarrassing to me at first, the smidge of embarrassment is quickly dissipated when they tell me that it made them laugh/smile.

With that, I thought I'd share some of the tunes that have been playing in heavy rotation on my iPeezy as of late:

1. AMBULANCE by EISLEY



2. CASUALTY by CAMERA CAN'T LIE



3. DREAM CITY by FREE ENERGY



4. TIMES by TENTH AVENUE NORTH



5. GOLD GUNS GIRLS by METRIC

Is not "embeddable" :( and I really only like the acoustic version . . . so if you want to hear the acoustic version, click on THIS LINK.

It's been a nice mix lately! And if you happen to be in the area, be on the lookout for the quirky mexican chick rockin' the air guitar at the bus stop! ;p

We Are The World

I love Twitter. There, I said it. I do. I get a lot of flack from people often telling me I'm wasting my life by having/using Twitter. And you know, maybe I am to a certain extent, but I'm okay with that. I actually find Twitter to be a powerful resource. It helps me stay connected with my friends and other people that I like to learn from but would never get a chance to be around in full-time in my current position in life. A lot of people tell me I just need to have Facebook and not Twitter. But I find them to be two completely different social networking tools and since I know how to use them both "properly" (in my opinion), I get different things from each. I think for most people, social networking scares them. Maybe it's right for you, maybe it's not—that's for YOU to decide. It's also up to you to decide how to use them and what boundaries to set. I know people who maintain the balance without "losing their souls." (As I've heard others state about the dangers of social networking sites.)

One of my favorite people that I follow on Twitter is JEREMY COWART. I probably wouldn't have even ever heard of him if I wasn't following Parachute on Twitter. They tweeted one day about a photo shoot that Jeremy was doing for them. They posted his Twitter handle and I went over to look at his site. I was completely stunned at how amazingly talented he is. And it was a huge bonus plus when I discovered that he is very much into faith and social justice.

Today he tweeted something that has just been resonating in my own heart lately concerning the situation in Haiti:


Jeremy was a huge supporter of serving and taking care of the people in Haiti after the disaster struck. He flew over there to help, not just take pictures. In fact, he stated in a message to people in his social network about how his primary concern in going was the people, and not the job of being a photographer. That is honorable—yet he remained humble about it all. Ever since he went over, he's been doing all he can to provide help for those in Haiti.

With the rainy season approaching and many of the Haitians still without shelter, I've been thinking and praying a lot about how Haiti has been slipping off the radar. I realize that all of a sudden there seems to be an influx of natural disasters and that we can't always save everyone. That doesn't make me want to remember any of them any less though. Our world is huge and crazy stuff happens, but I am not alone. We are not alone. It is our job as human beings to care for each other and help each other become the best we can with as much as we are able to give—whether that be with money, time, possessions, thoughts, or our voices.

The other day I was looking on MSN, as I do every day and reading the news updates and such. On the bottom side bar, they were tracking which topics were trending and which were fading away on Twitter. Justin Beiber and Avatar were up and Haiti had a big red down arrow next to it. My heart sank. Really? Justin Beiber and Avatar are more notable? I get that the majority of users on Twitter are teenagers and are currently obsessed with the Beibster. If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of pop culture. But after seeing that, I just couldn't help but worry that I might one day reach a point where I also become so consumed in pop culture that I forget about the world around me. It is my utmost prayer that that never happens.

It's amazing to me how all these thoughts that have been building up in my head all week have kind of made their way to the forefront of my mind even more, with a little help from social networking. In fact, this morning, my friend Cory tweeted this:

And I wanted to Re-Tweet it, but I'm 95% sure it would just come across as arrogance and elitism, and that's NOT what I'm going for. It really challenged me. I can't do anything but agree. I am sometimes WAY TOO in love with myself and not others. I've got work to do. I never want to get to the point where I lose sight of the things and people that matter. I'm just a small spec on this planet, and I have an opportunity every day to sow seeds of love, compassion, honesty, and kindness. I never want to miss those opportunities—I can't get them back.

Cherry Bomb

this movie is coming out this weekend and I'm still so completely unsure of whether or not I want to see it in theaters or just wait for the DVD. I'm at an impasse.

I mean, I really really want to see it. I LOVE Joan Jett and I would love to see a movie that celebrates where she came from and how iconic The Runaways were to chick rock. I love Dakota Fanning as well. She's one of my favorite actresses, and has been ever since I AM SAM. I think she's an amazing actress who just gets better and better with each role, so I'm really excited to watch her bring Cherie Currie to life on the big screen.

. . . but then we get to the one thing that is my big deterrent. Starts with a K, ends with a Risten Stewart. "The Stew," as I like to call her . . . is by far one of my LEAST favorite actresses. Her entire personality off screen in interviews annoys me. I feel like every role she takes is the exact same role, just with a different name. I don't think she's a good actress at all. She just is not my cup of tea. I ALMOST didn't watch New Moon because of how poorly I felt she did in Twilight. I fast forward her scenes when I watch Into The Wild. I REALLY wanted to see Adventureland, but I just can't because even in the movie trailer she annoys me. Cake Eaters? Forget it. I won't even look for YouTube clips.

There are just some actors and actresses I can handle and some I just can't. She, unfortunately is one of the latter. So here I am, really really really wanting to see it, but I just don't know if I'll be able to enjoy it if I do. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so picky about movies, but I am. I'm probably going to regret NOT seeing it on the big screen. So I guess the next step is trying to convince myself that it's not really The Stew playing Joan Jett. Maybe if I just pretend it's someone more awesome . . . like Barney. :| Okay okay. That was harsh. I got a few days until it's released. I got time. We'll see how this goes.

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BONUS PLUS!!!

i JUST found this and it's entirely everything I'm talking about!

Better Days

Today was a fun day at work! Every Tuesday, our publications team (4 other people + me) meets to go over details, update everyone on what we're working on, make any necessary announcements, and share artwork that we've done recently. Well, we just got done with a crazy busy publications season producing 2 huge projects in a short amount of time, with another project still needing to be maintained. It was definitely a trying time for us, working together to make sure things got to press successfully.

Well today for our publications meeting, I decided we needed to take some time to relax and celebrate—so I threw us a small fun little party! We had so much fun just reflecting on things and enjoying each others' company. I really am blessed to get to work with the team I get to work with.

One funny thing I will point out, is that on the sign, you'll notice an asterisk and a little lined footnote at the bottom. This is a play on our publication style ;D We have a lot of people that we ship resources to in different countries, and sometimes our English colloquialisms don't translate well. To remedy that, we include footnotes at the bottom of the column that that particular word is in. The majority of the time, we use the phrase, "In this context, _____ means ______." So I figured I would add some fun flair and made a little footnote about our team. :D Also, the RIP stands for Rational Island Publishers, not Rest In Peace. I know, I know, it's a bit confusing. ;) It feels really good to have those big publications done, and it's also relieving knowing that we are back on our steady publications routine.

I've Got Friends

Today I got a call from my old housemate Geizel while I was shopping for souvenirs for my family downtown. She asked if we could grab coffee at the Panera near the Northgate Mall, so I said yeah. I met up with her and had a nice latte and she invited me over for dinner. I figured that since we were closer to my house than hers that we should just go back to the Roosevelt House. We stopped by the QFC to pick up ribs and vegetables to eat for dinner and headed home to eat. We had a great conversation on the way to the house. We were reminiscing over the fun times we had when she lived here with us.

One of my favorite conversations went like this:

ME: That's so cool that Rosalind might come back!
Geizel: What was her son's name? Wasn't it Kingle?
ME: hahahaha! It was Kataan.
Geizel: Oh I knew it was something like that.

It was so good to just laugh and laugh and have so much fun with an amazing friend. When we got home we made dinner and it seemed like no one was home, but there were! Karli and Gina were home and joined us around the table as we all ate and laughed about good times and shared updates on what we'd been up to recently. During our discussion, Karli came up with an idea to have a memory board of sorts in our living room. So we once again grouped up and went on a short fun trip to Target to get all sorts of fun stuff for the board. We laughed a lot and caused a few scenes in Target just being silly ;p .

When we got home, we all shared chocolate dipped strawberries and just enjoyed each others' company. I loved being able to hang out with Geizel and just have another fun night with the housemates. I really love the amazing people I live with. They truly make my heart happy!

A Different Side Of Me

They say you can tell a lot about a person based on their workspace. Since I feel that my home workspace is more "me" than my WORK workspace, which is basically just work publications and such, I figured I'd let you into my home workspace so you could tell a lot more about me. (Except I'm really just going to use it as a way to actually TELL you more about me) ;p

Here's my workspace:

(click the picture for a larger view)

Things to note:

1. My weapon of choice: A 15 inch aluminum MacBook Pro. It does all my dirty work for me. It keeps me organized, helps me design things, create videos, keep all my favorite songs in one safe place awaiting my mood's beck and call, cruise social networking sites, participate in iChat shenanigans with great friends, and email the parentals to let them know I'm still alive.

2. The Screenplay Workbook: A lifesaver to help me stay organized and focused :D Thank you paycheck and Barnes & Noble!

3. Hoops & YoYo Fun Notes book: This was given to me before I left Austin. It's full of love notes and funny musings from my friends that attended my going away party. I open it often and read it. It continuously brings a smile to my face. Here's a little fun snippet: Amiz! There's plenty of FRUIT!! HA HA!- J.Rob

4. A giant spindle of CDs: These contain a GIANT collection of my projects over the past 8 years. It's also got some mix CDs assorted in there that I've used on van rides back when I used to use a portable CD player to plug into the van speakers. On top of that spindle is a collection of other CDs and only mildly important papers that have been given to me.

5. Important papers all stacked up in one general vicinity: You know, things like electronics manuals. All held together by my nifty bookend . . . aka a CD case. You may also notice the hair clips hanging on the white wire above that stack. It's for when I have long hair and I need a clip . . . pretty practical ;)

6. Pens and stickers: I LOVE writing letters to people so I have a collection of different pens and stickers to add to notes that I send out.

7. My bookshelf: It's next to my desk space so that if I need to look at something for reference, I don't have to walk across the room to find it.

8. Software CDs and archive DVDs for my Mac: Because I generate so much stuff on my laptop that it bogs it down and I need to frequently "back that thang up" to clean up my Mac.

9. Cards from friends are really all over my desk: These two are valentine cards I recently got from my friend Joy. The one on the left in the red says: I LOVE YOU LIKE A CANNIBAL LOVES HUMAN FLESH. The one on the right in pink says: SOMEDAY I WANT TO ADOPT AN ASIAN BABY WITH YOU. I love my friends and their funny sense of humor :D

10. Kodak 35mm film for my Diana Mini: It's always nice to know I have extra film around for when that shutterbug in me emerges.

11. Blank note cards: pre-stamped, just waiting to be written and sent out when the urge comes to send some love to people across the miles . . . which is often :D

12. Cords Galore: iPod dock, camera cords, extra headphones, umbilical cord . . . uh . . . i mean . . . not THAT cord! ;) But all my other important cords and cables go here.

13. Sunglasses: to wear at night.

14. iPod Shuffle: charged and ready to go for the morning walk to the bus stop. Holds all of my On The Go tunes that can fit in it's 2 GB glory. I'm hoping it will have a new big brother soon> the iTouch.

15. Monkey tissues: My allergies have been acting up as of late and Cindy B. got me these cute tissues with monkeys on them. I love how fun and practical they are!

16. Bamboo figurine: I won this at an office Christmas Party in a White Elephant gift exchange. The funny thing is I think it was actually the best gift exchanged. It's really pretty and intricate.

17. Coffee Grounds: Because I need to have some reserves just in case I run out of my stash upstairs . . . which actually happens often.

18. Mouse toy that shoots candy out of its butt: Because it's funny and it gives me candy

19. Band Hero: for those times I need to take a break from working on stuff. To the left of my desk is my Movie/Games organizing tower. This awesome game is merely a part of it.

20. One Tree Hill, seasons 1-5: Because sometimes I need to take a break and watch some of my favorite episodes and just get lost again in the storylines and music. I'm currently in the process of obtaining season 6.

21. Memorabilia: Notes from friends, thank you cards, Save the Date postcards, Event Tickets. They help keep the good memories alive!

22. Easy Street Records Sticker: It's my favorite Seattle record shop. It reminds me of great music and the fun in-store performances I've been able to see. It also reminds me to check out their website to see what shows are coming up and what's selling like hot cakes in the stores. Plus, the sticker was free.

And as a bonus plus,
my computer screen also shows
you what is seemingly important to me:

Things to notice:

1. I don't like excess "things" crowding my desktop. I like to keep it clear of clutter with everything in an organized folder.

2. My computer is named MACtacular because, well, it IS! ;p

3. My desktop image changes frequently, but currently it's of a pic I took one night walking around down by the market. But it changes often between band photos, scenic photos, funny vector illustrations, quotes, and random designs.

4. My dock contains my most used apps. Those are (from left to right)

Finder, Dashboard, Firefox, iChat, iTunes, iCal, iPhoto, Address Book, Microsoft Word, OmniFocus, Celtx Screenwriting Software, Photoshop, Photo Booth, Poladroid (turns everyday photos into polaroids), Mac Journal, Accordance, MSN Messenger, Trash*

*I have a thing where I have to constantly empty my trash. I think it's one of my OCD things. I hate seeing it full of "trash."

What Are You Afraid Of

Let's just talk about this for a moment:

This is a creepy RV that has been parked along side our street for a while. Before you get to my house, you walk up the sidewalk and on each side of the sidewalk are trees. There is about a good block worth of sidewalk to get from the nearest housing to my house on Roosevelt Way, if you're walking from Northgate Way. So it's all railing and trees . . . and this single solitary RV. Now generally, RVs have fun feelings attached to them—this one, not so much. It's creepy.

I think the things that add to the creep factor for me are:

• Every time I walk past it, I try to sneak a peek in to see if there are people living in it. I have no proof thus far that says anyone is even in there. Then again, my cowardice precedes me and my peek is weak.
  

• It is there for a few days, then it leaves, then it's back a few days later.
  

• I have watched WAY too many CSI episodes to feel any amount of safety walking by this thing, even in the daylight hours.

• It's covered in a blue tarp and that makes me think creepy people live there for some reason :O

There is a chance that I'm overreacting and there are genuinely sweet people living there, just waiting for me to knock on their RV door and offer cookies as a "Welcome To The Neighborhood," but I'm just toooooo scared to find out. :(

Tomorrow

Yup. That pretty much sums it up. I am a procrastinator. Admitting it is the first step right? Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

For clarity's sake, let me run you through my general Saturday schedule:

11 a.m. Wake up
11:05 a.m. Wake up again
11:06 a.m. Go back to bed
12:00 p.m. Wake up and get out of bed & brush teeth/wash face/brush hair
1:00 p.m. Make lunch
1:20 p.m. Wash cereal bowl
1:30 p.m. Change out of jammies into daywear
2:00 p.m. Run errands or go write
6:00 p.m. Return home to make dinner
6:30 p.m. Put jammies back on
7:00 p.m. Clean room/work on projects/write/hang with housemates
11:00 p.m Go to bed

Tomorrow is starting early. I'm going to spend the morning with my new housemate, Amanda. We're leaving the house at 8 a.m. Much coffee will be required. I'm gonna hang with her for a couple hours and then I'm going to go open a bank account . . . I've procrastinated in opening up a local bank account . . . it's sad. I'm going to Ikea to get stuff for the house. Then I'm coming home to write and carry on with the rest of the evening.

I'm gonna be real with you guys for a bit. I'm not a morning person. I kind of feel sorry for Amanda . . . because until I get coffee in my system, I'm a zombie. I'm totally a night owl. I've ALWAYS been a night owl. In fact, I'm going to ask my mom tomorrow if she remembers me being a night owl as a baby. I'll report back. ;p I know I'm going to have a blast hanging out in the morning (this girl is so awesome!), it's just weird to know I'll be waking up soooo early. Maybe if I convince myself that it IS later it'll work out fine ;)

I really am looking forward to having a fun day tomorrow. I just wish I wasn't such a procrastinator. If I wasn't, I'd have the bank stuff and Ikea stuff already taken care of. I think more than anything, that's what annoys me. That I haven't taken care of these seemingly easy things. Oh well. Tomorrow they WILL be done, and I'll feel relieved :D

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter

I got some sweet stuff in the mail today!

This is going to be the weirdest story ever so I hope you're sitting down. . .

I'll wait if you're not. . . .

Sitting down?

Okay great!

So, there's this band that I LOVE called Parachute and the lead singer's name is Will Anderson. I follow him on Twitter and one day he tweeted about his sister's handmade cards and included a link. I was intrigued, so I clicked the link. It led me to

PLAIN JANE'S CARDS

I browsed the site and saw these really sweet simple cards and decided I really wanted to order some. I love sending letters to people. Don't get me wrong—email is great—I just LOVE sending cards to people. Something about sending handwritten cards is just so personal and more meaningful. To add to that, I love handmade things—they take more time to make and have a special touch that only it's creator can achieve. Those things considered, I knew I wanted to order some of these cards, so I did. And today, I got my order in the mail . . .

and i LOVE these cards!!

I love that in their simplicity they're so beautiful. I'm going to order more this weekend after I mail off the two I have now . . . I don't know who they're going to yet, but I'm sure the cards will "choose" their recipients ;p

All this to say, I HIGHLY recommend getting these cards. Even if you can't afford a million of them, you should at least get one . . . and then when you fall in love with it, get another . . . and another . . . and another . . . and well, you get the point. :D

I have always considered myself creative, but more so in the field of graphic design and other media arts. I'm not a knitter. I'm not a basket weaver. I'm not a card maker. Those things are wonderful and it takes PURE talent and dedication to do them well. Jane Anderson does them well. These cards are my new favorite things. Following that link has made me one happy chick! I wish I could meet Jane in person to thank her for such beautiful creations, but living on the complete OPPOSITE side of the U.S. kind of makes that tough. Instead, I'll just boast about her work to everyone I meet! :D

If you would like the direct order link from her ETSY shop, HERE IT IS!
And be sure to share the link with any of your other friends
that you think might like them!

You've Got Growing Up To Do

Hey everyone! Got some late breaking news for ya' today!

Okay, so maybe it's not *ALL THAT* ;p

Basically, I'm just changing the web address for this here blog :)

For the longest time, I've been using "AMOMCA" to represent my nickname (Amo) and the fact that I was in Master's Commission of Austin (MCA). But seeing as how I'm no longer in MCA . . . and haven't been in it for a little over 2 years, I figure it's time to make a change.

For those who follow me on twitter, you'll notice I already made the jump there. I'm no longer amomca on twitter, I'm amosays. Also, my tumblr address is amosays.tumblr.com so it's all geared up for the change. That said, the web address for this lovely blog is going to change to:

http://amosays.blogspot.com

So if you still want to (and let's face it, why WOULDN'T you??) want to keep tabs on this blog 'o' mine, you may want to make a note of it / adjust your bookmarks on your web browser. So starting tomorrow, I will be at the new blog address!

If you follow me on facebook, tumblr, or on twitter, (which you are TOTALLY welcome to do) when I post that I've written a new blog, I'll include the new web link to it, so you're in luck! :)

I'm not changing the content of the posts or anything like that, just making a little change to close one door of my life and open up to another. Also, if you notice on the top right hand column of this page, there is a section that says YOU ASK, I'LL ANSWER. This is a formspring link. You can feel free to ask me ANYTHING you want and I'll answer it. It could be silly, it could be asking my opinion on things, it could be asking me to join you for a dance party—whatever it is, feel free to ask! You can also submit your question anonymously, thus protecting your identity and letting me ponder to myself who it could be ;)

For clarification, my email address will stay the same, until I get around to changing it. But that will be another big change coming soon.

In the meantime, I will continue to blog here and share my life with you! I love you guys and I'm so thankful you take time to read my posts!

Lotsa love and bear hugs,
Amo

Funny Face

So I finally got a chance to watch this previous week's episode of Saturday Night Live on Hulu. I gotta admit, I've never really seen Zach Galifianakis in a movie before . . . unless you count the trailer for The Hangover. I'm pretty sure I need to see The Hangover, STAT though. Zach Galifianakis was hilarious!

Here is his opening monologue was PERFECT! His stage presence, charisma, and short joke jabs are totally my style.

Sometimes I think about how great it would be to be a stand-up comedian. But then you have to know that what is funny to a small handful of people, may not necessarily be hilarious to a large audience that will keep you employed. So I tend to stick to small scale comedy. You know, the kind where you tell a joke and your friends give you the pity laugh accompanied by the slight eye roll that says, "Oh no. Here she goes again." ;p

I love making others laugh, but I KNOW that I was not made for stand-up comedy. I just wasn't. I was totally made for small group comedy . . . you know, like 4 or 5 people.

1 to give the courtesy laugh

1 to give the "that was really funny but i don't know why" laugh

1 to laugh at someone else's laugh, thus making it seem they're originally laughing at you

1 to laugh at something they were thinking instead of listening to your bomb of a joke

and 1 to genuinely laugh. Just because they like to laugh.

yep, that's my kinda crowd ;) jk. I really do think I have some good jokes—not ALL, mind you, but a good handful.

But SNL has some of my favorite comedians: Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler (used to be on the show), Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Seth Meyers, and Jason Sudeikis. They just crack me up!

So to show you the humor i love, here is Zach's opening monologue:



and as a Bonus Plus, here is one of my favorite series of sketches. ANY TIME, and I do mean ANY TIME I watch Fred Armisen portray Patterson, i crack up laughing. And I'm known on occasion to respond to random questions with, "New Jersey!!" (no really, just ask Kelley)