Last Train To Clarksville

Alrighty folks!

It's time for me to officially hit the road! That's right, it's me, all this stuff, and a bunch of Cliff Bars and Yogurt Granola Bars heading to the ATX on the Greyhound over the next 3 days!! Whee!

Look at all the stuff I'm bringing with me to keep me occupied on the bus:



My first stop is in Billings, Montana. From there, I hop on over to Denver, Colorado. Then, I'll get to have a long layover in Dallas, Texas—Chad and Katie are meeting me there and we're gonna get to hang! The coffee and laughs will be flowing! And from there, I head on to Cedar Park/Round Rock where my dad will meet me at the station and I'll finally be HOME SWEET HOME!! I'm soooo looking forward to hugging all my friends & family! :D I miss them a lot!

I've seriously got to find a way to make 3 trips home per year, instead of 2 . . . but we'll see how that all pans out. One of the first things I'll probably do, aside from tackling my family with GIANT hugs, is to eat my weight in Chick-Fil-A! Just kidding, but that WILL be my first meal! :D Oh sweet sweet #1 with Large fries and a Sweet Tea and some honey mustard sauce, how I have missed you!

Between here and there, my tweeting and facebooking will be minimal because

1. there are no outlets on the busses and i they don't guarantee power stations to charge electronics.

2. i need to take some time to take a step back and disconnect for a bit. This trip home will be a great time for me to reflect on life and to dream new dreams :D

So I'll have my phone off while I'm on the bus, but I'll turn it on when I get to each station. If you NEED to get a hold of me, you can text me or Twitter DM me or email me and I'll get back to you faster :D

In the meantime, pray that it's a good, safe trip for me!! :D

People Got A Lotta Nerve

I grew up watching people. No really, not just like, I'm a kid, I mimic adults and I watch them. But I definitely grew up intrigued by people—why they did the things they did. Why the cafeteria lady never looked happy; How my 2nd grade music teacher never criticized my poor piano skills; Why the boys on my baseball team in 4th grade were so trixy when it came to hiding the ball from me during practice . . . intriguing. I still people watch. I notice things and I wonder why people do what they do. I wonder if I sat down with a random stranger while they were just relaxing at a coffee shop, what would they say? Would we talk? What would we talk about?

I think it helps me as a creative to be able to explore these things, if not in real life, in my imagination. One of my favorite places to people watch is on the bus. It's like the melting pot of dysfunctional and crazy! I'm pretty sure thats why I'm on it ;) Anyway, here are some observations from riding the bus here in Seattle:

- Not all Twilight Saga readers are proud Twilight Saga readers. It's actually quite often that you'll see someone, young AND old included, reading a black coverless book. They are ever so strategically hovered over the book, and hiding the words on the spine, lest you think they're reading something other than Yeats. No no, it's Meyer. Stephanie Meyer. The sad fact is that I can spot the words on the page that I've read so many times and instinctively know which of the 4 books they're reading.

- Not all crazy people are out to get you. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely some wild ones out there, but for the most part, they're just trying to get somewhere. My favorite is this one guy who has a strange form of turrets that causes him to randomly turn his head and make the Chewbaca sound. No. Joke. It's quite entertaining. :D But I've actually gotten to talk so some of the "crazies" on the bus and some of them are genuinely just mentally handicapped or just want someone to talk to. It's always a unique experience.

- Rosa Parks is very much still alive. Despite attempts at fighting the "minorities at the back of the bus" stereotype, it's sadly still quite a frequent occurance. I ride the bus all the time, and it's so odd that there are still people who would rather stand near the front or middle of the shaky bus, in the aisle hanging on to the OSBars instead of plopping down at one of the 3 or 4 open seats at the back of the bus. The thing they seem to not understand is that there's actually MORE legroom at the back of the bus.

- Riding the bus is like a bar of chocolate, you never know which bus driver you're gonna get. Half the fun of riding the bus is the bus driver. In Seattle, all bus drivers are REQUIRED to call out each stop along the way over the bus microphone. So most of them will call it out and be all cool, calm and collected . . . others, not so much. One of the morning drivers on the #13 to W. Queen Anne feels the need to lean in to the mic and it seriously sounds like what I imagine Satan would sound like. Every stop is like a stop on the bus to hell. I promise. Sometimes when I don't have the iPod turned up enough, I hear his menacing voice over the mic and I say the sinner's prayer, just in case. ;) Then there's the bus driver of the #16 to Northgate. She has printed out probably 100 pictures of dogs and posted them all over the front inside portion of the bus. She also has stuffed animal puppies riding with her as she drives. She is a fun driver. She makes comments over the mic as she's driving. Like if she sees an accident, over the mic she'll say, "Poor people. They should've taken the bus." Sad but classy. I dig it.

- City Bus is code for "speed dating." I cannot tell you how many times old dirty men have hit on me on the bus. What's almost AS surprising is the look they get on their face when I tell them "Thanks but no thanks." Look, I'm not TRYING to be hurtful, but really? the bus. the bus. Romantic flicks strike again . . . What would be better? If I told them, "Look, sorry but I'm really not into dirty old men."? Just sayin. The city bus is nice for a convenient hello or some small talk, but asking me to join you for dinner at your place, when I don't know you but I'm sure I saw you walking out of The Lusty Lady, isn't going to save you a space in my heart. Do people REALLY think this works?

- Seattle Metro is a Bark and Ride. It's so wild for me to see people bring their dogs on the bus with them. I'm just so not used to that. I enjoy seeing all the puppies, I just think it's funny when you walk onto the bus and there's a dog sitting on the bus seat next to it's owner, wearing it's little doggie clothes. I feel like sitting next to the dog and asking it to come to my place for dinner . . . uh. just kidding. ;) But it's really random. Cute, but random. What I find completely unnecessary is when owners get that pissed off look on their faces when someone asks to sit where the dog is sitting when the bus is jam packed with people.

Rise

Okay so today I'm going to share yet another little fun fact with you about myself.

I have this odd thing that happens when I ride the bus to work every morning. Somehow my subconscious has trained my body when to wake up when I fall asleep on the bus.

To explain further, here's some background info:

Every weekday morning I take the 41 bus from Northgate to Downtown. On it's way to downtown it goes under a bus tunnel system. The first stop after the bus gets on the highway (I-5) to downtown is Convention Place Station. The one after that is Westlake Station. My stop is Westlake Station. The bus ride to downtown is approximately 20 minutes in the morning. I'm usually out before we even get on the highway. But without fail, I will wake up just as soon as we get ready to stop at Convention Place Station—before the driver announces the stop.

This might seem fairly normal. However, for someone who is unsuccessful at nap-taking, it's so bizarre to me. And it's always at the same time—every morning.

So after I get off at Westlake Station, I go up the escalators to 3rd and Pine where I wait for either the 13 or 2 bus to Queen Anne, where I work. I get off at Mercer and Roy in front of Metropolitan Market. And again, without a vocal arrival notice, I will wake up just after we pass the Key Arena stop, which is one stop before mine. And I'm awake and ready to get off the bus, and head to work.

This is completely strange to me. I have an internal alarm that I didn't set. Crazy and cool all at the same time!

Welcome To The World

I was talking to my mom the other day on the phone and she asked me what I was doing at that time. And I told her, "Oh I'm going to Cupcake Royale to write." And she goes, "Good. I'm glad. You've always liked writing."

And it's so true. I've also always loved reading! When I was kid, more time was spent in the Library than at the Playground or at the Mall. I have such a deep appreciation for the written word and for all sorts of creative expression.

Which is why I think it makes me really happy to read the POETRY ON BUSSES that is featured on the Seattle Metro Busses. They're the little panels that you see when you look up where all the advertisements and rules and regulations and such are. Each poem is written by a local. I just love reading them and some days they really speak to me.

I'm posting a few up here, 3 from 2007 and 3 from 2005. They're interesting. They're beautiful. Enjoy!

Drive In, Drive Out

Isn't she lovely...doot doot...isn't she beautiful... doot doot...

Okay, enough with the love song... though I must admit... that beauty of a car sure deserves it.

So before I left to come up to Seattle, I sold my car, which is awesome cause it was all profit (the car was given to me as a donation). And since I've moved, my father has (on more than one occasion) offered to buy me a car. A Mini Cooper, by the way. And though I feel like a complete dirtbag most of the time for turning down his awesome offer, I rest assured in the fact that I can get to and fro in Seattle just by using the Metro Transit system. I mean, I do sometimes wish I had one, but for some pretty selfish reasons, like wanting to just drive to IKEA (which is in Renton- outside of Seattle) or to Alki Beach or to West Seattle to explore. But on the other hand, I'm super glad I don't have to pay for insurance or gas or damages...or my ever frequent traffic violations. Yes, I know. I'm a model citizen... NOT. I've gotten my share of legitimate speeding tickets, I've changed lanes withouth signaling (yes. i'm THAT girl...sorry), and I've cut people off on the highway. But dont' worry, I won't be doing any of that anytime soon.

I say all this for two reasons.

ONE: I was reading an article on msn.com about how the Mini Cooper is actually one of the top choices for cars with the most value. Now, after having a car crush on the Mini (specifically the indi blue with white racing stripes), I must admit... if I were to BUY MY OWN CAR, the Mini would win, hands down.

and TWO: I read another article that made me think about all the crazy driver things I do, and how much of a hypocrite I am because I would pitch the biggest fit if anyone damaged my Mini Cooper due to being distracted by silly things like putting on make-up, changing the station, or trying to be a Speed Racer (all things I've done before). I've actually had a conversation once with my friend, Don about how astounding the human brain is, in regards to everything we do when we drive. In that car ride discussion, Don pointed out that he was driving, paying attention to other drivers, thinking ahead about directions, talking, listening to me speak, as well as everyone else in the car and listening to music. Which seems pretty standard, but when you think about all the attention needed to successfully stay in between those bright yellow lines, it still makes me drop my jaw in awe of the power of the brain. It reminded me of an excerpt from the arcticle I just referenced, which I'll post here, since you may not follow the link to actually read the article.

A recent study of cell-phone use while driving, published in the journal Brain Research, helps explain why. When the brain is asked to tackle two tasks at once, it gives priority to the more deeply ingrained skill. Since we learn to talk before we learn to drive, our brain power goes into the conversation instead of onto the road, causing us to miss visual cues and experience impaired peripheral vision and coordination. Researchers suggest that the same holds true for other distracting activities, which means that magazine-reading, mascara-applying and toddler-disciplining drivers are very likely at the same risk of accidents as cell phone users.

Imagine, then, what occurs in the brain of someone engaged in not just two activities, but three or four. Talking, eating and driving. Driving, shaving and singing. Perhaps the most outlandish documented example of multitasking while driving comes from research conducted by Nationwide Insurance in 2007: A respondent from San Antonio, Texas, admitted to having shaved her legs, eaten a taco, applied makeup and consumed an alcoholic beverage all at the same time. Against the odds, she lived to tell her story.

Trash / Treasure

Today I did something that I have never even contemplated doing before in my entire life. I went dumpster diving for bread today. I must admit that I am very prideful when it comes to things like dumpster diving. I only did it once when I was a teenager, and it was because it was at a thrift store and there was some peer pressure involved. Well, Jason (a guy in my small group) offered to give me a ride home from Westside today and on the way, he was like, "I need to stop at the bread dumpster on the way home." So I agreed to go and the whole time I had to convince myself that it wasn't going to be completely gross.

So for those who are curious about why I would go dumpster diving for bread, let me give you some context.

There's this bakery in Fremont (neighborhood in Seattle) where they have dumpsters full of bread that they didn't sell the day before (or something like that)...so it's good bread, and it's in packaging...but you just go and pick what you want out of the dumpster. there were like 10 other people out there with us all foraging for bread! it was funny. but i don't have a new job yet and it's free...so i did it.

Since I can be a germ-aphobe about some really silly things, i just kept calling it a "bread bin" so the inner germ-aphobe wouldn't jump out of me. it wasn't unsanitary...but when i think of dumpsters...that's my first thought. but it was quite good. and i got a ton of free bread. :D

So now I don't have to worry about buying bread for the rest of the month!

Here's some pictures of the foraging:



also...another funny thing happened to me today!

I was waiting for the bus to come so I could go to church...and this guy pulls off the road, into this jiffy lube parking lot... and rolls down his window. Now, I'm standing at the bus stop in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, covered by my big black trench coat, and a knit scarf (from my best friend!) and listening to my iPod. So I see him, as I'm looking up the road for the bus to come. And he rolls down the window so I'm thinking, "Oh. He must need directions." So I walk closer to him and he tells me his name (which i don't remember) and asks me for mine. So I (reluctantly) tell him, "Amanda." And he goes, "I was just wondering if I could give you my phone number." and I'm like, "No thank you." And he goes, "Well, can I have yours?" and I'm like, "Um. No. I'm sorry. I'm not interested." And he says okay. And then pulls out of the parking lot and continues driving down the road!

Now I know a lot of you are thinking, "GOSH AMANDA! GIVE THE GUY A SHOT! HE COULD BE THE ONE!" And let me tell you...he wasn't attractive..he wasn't white (I like white guys)...and he was old...like in his upper 30s lower 40s. So..no. I don't think I missed out.

I know he wasn't attracted to my body...cause you can't see it in that trench coat.
I know he wasn't into my personality...cause he doesn't know me...and seeing someone at a bus stop doesn't give you insight into that. I could've been a psycho!
I think he was just really desperate for a Valentine's day date. :(

Year 3000

Is anyone else disappointed that we're not living it up Jetson style? I am. I have been waiting years for my car that flies and for my robotic television that tells me what outfit will look good for every occasion.

I do kind of wish that there were technologies that would diminish our need for money... you know, like tele-porters, so that we wouldn't have to spend money on gas and transportation, we could just teleport from place to place.

Then again, maybe some of our more conveniences are more of a hindrance than a help. Me and my friend Kelley were having a discussion one day about the movie Wall.E and how it pretty accurately depicts the future that we as a nation are headed to. Relying on technology to make all the right choices for us is very scary.

I personally would LOVE to have a robot maid, but I would be afraid that it would teach me that it's okay to be lazy and to rely on technology to teach me discipline.

After finding out I had pre-diabetes, I made a conscious choice to make changes to my diet, to my lifestyle and my habits to promote a healthier body, so that I wouldn't have to live with diabetes. And it's going great!

But it also makes me think about other things I've been so negligent about. Like taking care of the environment. And maybe it's just because of living in such a green city as Seattle, but I find myself being more environmentally aware. I'm not saying that I'm this super massive uber "greeny" or a major tree hugger, but I'm learning to do little things here and there to help save a world that my nieces will grow up in. :D

I used to tease my friend Stacey because she was reading this book about "going green" and some of the things just seemed so extreme. But she challenged me to do just 3 things, and be consistent with them. So I am.

1. I use the public transportation system
2. I recycle
3. When I go shopping, I use cloth bags and not plastic.

It doesn't kill me, but it helps me be more aware of things. Now that I am eating more healthy, and taking better care of myself, and losing weight, I feel a greater confidence, and when I do things that I know make a difference in such a simple way, it feels great! So I am challenging you to do 3 things...consistently...to help the environment. They don't have to be huge. Just do something to help better yourself and the environment. Because when the year 3000 rolls around, I don't want my nieces to be floating around in chairs, weighing 300 pounds, lazying about just going through the motions. I want them to care as well, and be able to go on walks and give back to their community.



for ideas: http://www.earthshare.org/green-tips.html

Leaving On a Jet Plane

Well folks, I'm all done packing and ready to get going to the airport to fly out to Austin on the red eye. :D But to add some fun, I decided to make a video blog. I hope you like it! Thanks for checking out the blog!

Snow White and the 7 Pictures I'm Posting Here

It snowed today and I had such a fun time!!






It was supposed to snow yesterday, but apparently the weather forecasters were off by a day. :D Here's some fun pictures I took throughout the day. :D



Our Own Little White Castle



I Guess The City Isn't So "Bustling" When The Powder Hits



On The Bus To Work



After Going To Check The Mail




Me Thinking About A Fun Idea....


So on the way home from work, I was walking through all this snow and I thought to myself: MAN, I WANT TO HAVE A SNOWBALL FIGHT!

But no one was with me...so it wasn't gonna work out. So then I thought... OH I KNOW! I'LL MAKE SNOWBALLS AND THROW THEM UP IN THE AIR AND LET THEM HIT ME AND THEN PRETEND THAT SOMEONE THREW THEM AT ME!!

yes i know...sad. But it was FUN!!

Here's the end result:




thanks for enjoying the Snow Day with me!! Wheeeeeee!!! Fun!!! :D