Friends They Are Jewels

Reflections from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

I am really really glad that I have friends who are willing to travel up to see me and see this beautiful city that I live in. I learned so much from our "4th on the 5 Adventures."

I learned:

- that differences can be bridges to stronger friendships

- it's okay if things don't go according to plan

- more about how to "roll with the punches"

- even the seemingly strong, independent people have deep insecurities

- not everyone shares my view of the world, and that's okay

- I have beautiful friends

- I pick the lamest karaoke songs

- despite picking lame songs, I LOVE karaoke

- years change people, and change is a good thing

- Twilight should have been filmed at least partially in Forks, WA or at least closer to it. I guarantee that Olympic National Forest had some amazing meadows

- I'm a careful driver and obeying the law is a big deal for me, and I'm pretty glad about that

- Don't park your car on the street in front of my house

- Don't leave your iPod adapter in a nice new rental car

- My friends have good taste in music too

- I need to get over myself

- The years I spent in Master's Commission building friendships is something I will NEVER regret.

- Stay on the 5

To P.Lo and Joy: I adore you both :D I miss you already and though I wish I could have gotten over myself at various moments in the trip, you should know that you make my life better. :D

Northwest Highway

Day 4 Report from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

This is the blog post that explains why I chose the title, "4th on the 5." My friends came up for the 4th of July weekend, and we spent the majority of our time on I-5. Whether it was driving to and from the airport, or getting lost in western Washington, we spent some truly quality time on the 5. ;)

We woke up Sunday morning in Forks, Washington ready for a fun time at La Push Beach! We weren't expecting it to be quite as chilly as it was. It was really cold. :( But we went anyway. But first we decided to do a little bit of driving around Forks. We went to the visitor center and took some photos near Bella's truck and then came upon some friendly looking guys. We were hungry and didn't know where to go, so we thought we'd ask:

Hahahahahahhaaha!

Then we went down to the beach and me and Patsy drove to First Beach, while Joy walked the length of the beaches from Third to First on a path. Patsy was cold so she waited in the car and I decided to get out and enjoy the beauty of the overcast beach. Yes folks, it doesn't matter if it's sunny or not—i LOVE the beach. Being near the water is so freeing to me. I don't know why, it just is. Give me water over mountains any day! I got to climb on the rocks and sit along the water and I just got to take in the beauty of the scenery. I also got to relax and sing some songs that I made up while I was sitting there and just allow the words in my heart to come out of my mouth. I had such an amazing time! When Joy finally got to First Beach, we decided to re-walk the path she had taken and then go fly kites down near Third Beach. What she failed to mention was the hiking that took place to get there. The path led to a trail, and for those who REALLY know me, you know that i DESPISE hiking, climbing, etc. I'm not so fascinated with spikey leaves and bugs and rough terrain. Just. Not. A. Fan. At. All. But I did it and we got there and I got to fly my kite. :D I also got to take a swim in the frigid water! I kept debating whether or not to do it, but then I was like, "How often do I get to come to the beach?" So I did. And thought it took my breath away (literally) at first, it got better and I really enjoyed it.

As a recap of our adventures, here is a video blog:

PS: Stay on the 5 !

Living For The Night

Day 2 Report from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

Friday morning I went out to get something from the rental car because we needed to confirm something with Enterprise. So I walk out to the car and I find that our rental car has been broken into.

Yeah I know. It sucks. :(

We had to take the car back down to SeaTac to trade it out. The funny thing is that while we were there, the guy that was helping us out, Sam, invited Joy out to the clubs. :D He said he lived 4 blocks away from me by a giant guitar. Riiiiii....ghhh....t. It made for a good laugh.

This was our main day of touring the city. We went down to Pike Place Market and then ate lunch at Ivar's on the Waterfront. We also went to the Space Needle and did some other sightseeing. They also got to see where I work and we sat down for some coffee at Caffe Ladro. :D

That night we decided to go to Kona Kitchen for some Karaoke :D We had so much fun! Joy totally got drunk off of some of the local beer, which only made her rendition of Come On Eileen that much funnier!

Here's a video update from the day:


And here's all of our Karaoke goodness:

okay and just for the record: the "genius" guy in charge of the karaoke stuff forgot to turn on the 2nd microphone, so you can't really hear the first part. It was silly anyway :D

so one of the guys at the bar was pretty trashed by the time I got up to sing this one. You can see him showing off his "guns" hahahahhahaha!







AND some photos from our day :D

Joy and Patsy playing darts in my office :D

photo op with a stuffed bear down by the waterfront

Joy and Patsy at Pike Place Market

In front of the Market sign

A street performer near Beecher's Handmade Cheese

Patsy at Ivar's on the Waterfront

Joy and that stuffed bear sharing a moment

that one guy again

Patsy at Kona Kitchen. . . she was our karaoke videographer :D

Come Fly With Me

Day 1 Report from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

Joy and Patsy flew into SeaTac airport on Thursday night. Joy got there around 9:30 and Patsy got there around 11:45. The deal was that when Joy got there, she and I were to go to the rental car place, get the car and then go back to the airport to get Pasty. As we're pulling into the Enterprise Rental Car place, I ask Joy, "You didn't get an SUV, did you?" And she gets this bewildered look in her eyes. "What are you talking about?" she says. I'm like, "The rental car. You didn't rent an SUV, did you (I don't like SUVs)?" and she goes, "I thought YOU were going to rent the car."

epic. fail. on. my. communication skills.

Apparently, we each thought that the other person was going to take care of the rental car. So, after renting the car, we finally drive back to the airport and there's this SUV in the parking garage that keeps getting stuck.



After picking up the girls, we decide to head to Capitol Hill for some dinner. We stop in at this tiny hole in the wall bistro called BLEU, which is odd cause all the mood lighting in the place is red. But we had a great dinner—they have awesome nachos! And then afterwards we walked up and down Broadway and along the way stopped to participate in some sidewalk dancing. :D



Then we headed home and called it a night. :D

Three Times A Lady

Introduction to "4th on the 5 Adventures"

Two of my friends flew into Seattle this past Thursday evening to spend the weekend with me and to explore the city. We had so many adventures and we're going to share them with you through the next few blog posts! But first, let me give you some back story.

This is Joy. She's from Atlanta, Georgia. We were both in Master's Commission of Austin for our 2nd and 3rd years. Through the years we've become awesome friends and I learn a lot from her.


This is Patsy. She is from Houston, Texas. She was a first year student in MCA when me and Joy were 2nd year students. Patsy is one of the sweetest, most positive people I know.


This is me. You know me. At least a little. ;)

This whole excursion happened a while back when I intruded on their Facebook conversation about wanting to travel and possibly check out Seattle :D So the game plan was for them to come up here and take in the sights of the city, for us to all spend time together, and to visit Forks, WA where the Twilight phenomenon is based. We did all this and more. Now don't get me wrong, we had our differences and our little "spats" as Patsy, who i lovingly call P.Lo, would say. But the more I reflect on our time together, I'm honored to know people who can "sharpen" me and still love me through it all. And it only makes me adore them more. :D

TO P.LO AND YOJERTRON:
Thank you for being. :D

No One's Gonna Love You

This weekend was so much fun hanging out with my friends Joy (from Atlanta, GA) and Patsy (from Houston, TX)! We spent the weekend exploring Seattle and much of western Washington, mainly Forks, the 'home of Twilight." I am dubbing this trip, "The 4th on the 5." You'll find out why later :D Here is a sneak preview of some of our adventures:<













More photos and videos to come!