Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Weddings, Comic Shows, Launch Parties and Mad Men

Oh, and working out.  Which I also did this week.  Well, I walked the treadmill for 15 minutes, then did the stairstepper eliptical thing for 3 minutes, and thought I was going to die.  Gotta start somewhere, right?

Lemme back up.  Last Friday night was Kyle Steven's wedding (the same Kyle who handled the music at our wedding and also wrote and performed a song).  To sum it up, I left a comment on Facebook that said "That was the best concert EVER!!"  Kyle's band, with a different lead singer, performed all of best 80s hits, including Whole Lotta Love, by Led Zepplin, which Kyle sang to his new wife, Kristin.

Fan-freakin-tastic! 

But we had to call it an early night because, come 7am, we had to get up to work the Jet City Comic Show.  Todd had a table for Airship Daedalus with Brian, and I had a shirt that said "Crew".  It wasn't half as crazy at ECCC last year, so I toodled around, asked if I could with anything, mingled.  Most of the time, I hung out at Todd's table and hugged on my honey.  Not a bad day at all.

But I was freakin' exhausted afterwards, so Todd made the executive decision to grab dinner at a pub, then go home and curl up for Mad Men.  And that is why I love him.

So sleeping Saturday night was great, but up again (relatively) early on Sunday to shop for The Collectibles web series launch that was taking place at 2pm.  Todd had been up until 5am working on the final presentation, and he continued to work on it right up until we had to leave.  So getting to stand around with a glass of wine and chit chat at the launch was very welcomed.  There was no more we could do.  Except enjoy ourselves.

And we did!  We had about 50 people at the launch, and everyone laughed where they were supposed to and they ate all the food and drank all of the wine and beer.  I think they left happy.

Most of the cast and crew ended up a pub afterwards for some general decompression.  Ah.

And then back home so Todd could crash, and Landon (who crashes at our place occasionally because he lives far away) could drink more and talk until 11pm.

I very wisely took Monday off so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Easy Street, and then Landon went home and Todd and I shopped a little, then back to the couch for more Mad Men.  I gotta get caught up.

And then there's work, where I'm ACTUALLY working.  I know!

Whew.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Summing Up Summer



Happy First Day of Autumn (and happy wedding day to Kyle and Kristin!!  But more about that later...)

It's actually been warm and muggy for the past few days, which just goes to show that Seattle has absolutely no idea what a "season" is.  It doesn't care that in summer it's supposed to be warm and it winter it's supposed to be cold.  No sir.  Seattle is very defiant.

"Whateva!  I do what I want!"
 



This attitude is summed up best by this song and video on KOMO4 news.  Please watch.  We couldn't have said it better ourselves.  And our weather nerd, Scott, even counted the minutes of summer weather.

It's actually very depressing.

But enough with the past!  It's now fall!  Break out the gourds!  Prepare your Halloween costumes (I am ON IT!)!  Get ready to eat and drink and be merry for the holiday season!

Wait.  I've pretty much been doing that all year, haven't I?


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As a side note, I googled "seattle autumn" to find that nice picture up there.
And funny thing, this photo was stuck right smack dab in the middle of all of the beautiful fall ones.


No idea.  Go to the blog and learn about it.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

One More Thing...

Don't worry - it's fake.
But it's gorgeous.



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Brief Example Of My New Environment

As I am walking to the receptionist desk, Walters, a young guy, is throwing a steel business card at the wall.  It is loud.

Me: What the hell are you doing?!
Walters:  Think I can make this stick to the wall?
Me:  Uh, is it magnetic?  Or do you mean "make it penetrate" the wall?
Walters:  (continuing to throw it against the wall) I want it to stick IN the wall!
Me:  I think if you keep at it, you can do it.  But just be careful - it will come flying back at you and put yer eye out.

Me: (to the receptionist, as I'm walking away from Walters) It's like a daycare around here!

Monday, September 19, 2011

'Tis the Season!

I've already had a peppermint mocha this year.  I just couldn't wait until December.  Todd and I also looked at Christmas lights at Fred Meyer.  I want the big red 70's bulbs for the house, he says no.  Hmph.

I'm also pondering gift ideas, as my mother is already hounding me.  She's pretty much done with all of her shopping, but needs little last minute ideas.  So I started surfing.  And saving pictures.  And hyperlinks.  So I thought I'd share my (very short) list.  Make it easier for everyone.

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I aspire to wear hats this year.  I think I might get a new, black, wool winter coat, but one without a hood (like my current one) because then I can justify a cute hat.  Like these.....









Since I'm narrowing my complete wardrobe down to red, black, white, gray and pink, I think I need a new purse.  Red would go with my new wardrobe.  And you know how I love patent leather.

The only pic I could find was from Dooney and Bourke, but gawd knows I would never spend $300 on a purse, nor would I ever accept a $300 purse.  I could probably find one like this in TJ Maxx or Ross.




I love the whole Anne Taintor line of stuff.  So bitchy, so passive aggressive.  Love it.  And there have been a few instances where I've wished I had a flask in my purse. 




And this calendar would be awesome for my cube.




I also love, love, love the Knock Knock line of stuff.  I think Super Boss would appreciate finding these stuck to his monitor.




And I realized the other day that I don't have a short strand of pearls.  My daddy bought me some ivory pearls for Christmas years ago that I still wear, but I'd like some bright white ones that are a bit chunkier.  And sometimes my long strand that I wind around my neck just doesn't work with the outfit.



I think I'm also finally finding my "look".  I've always wanted a distinct look, something other than jeans and a hoody.  Now that I'm downtown and dressing up, there's a few outfits that I've managed to piece together and I feel really comfortable and pretty in them.

Unfortunately, my look is not cheap.  Of course.  Mama used to say, "You've got champagne taste and a beer budget!" (She doesn't know that I can get champagne for a mere $10 these days....)

Betty, Joan and Peggy
Anywho, Banana Republic has a fabulous theme going on right now - Mad Men

I love it. 

My hips and boobs were MADE for this era.  Joan?  Oh yeah.  I can totally pull off this look.  And I love wearing dresses much more than pants - way more comfy.  H&M also has some very 60s dresses and suits, and they're much cheaper. 

So, this Christmas I will work on defining my look.  Gift cards (to most anywhere) for clothes are always appreciated.  I realize the hats above are not 60s really, but I can span the decades a little, right?

I should start working on my Christmas card list......

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Because It Can't Be Ignored

On September 11, 2001, I was living in my Market Street duplex with Kevin, a friend of my sister's.  Steve had moved in the month before, taking the upstairs bedroom, while my bedroom was downstairs in the basement, with it's own bathroom.  I had stayed the night in Steve's room, so we woke up together to his alarm clock, which was set to The Mountain.  Except the DJ wasn't familiar and someone was talking about New York and a plane that had hit a building.

Steve and I looked at each other in a sleepy stupor and said in unison, "What?"

We sat up, and Steve turned on the TV that was in his room.  And we watched the second plane crash into the building.  We flipped channels, wondering if it was real.  But every station showed the same image.   We sat on the edge of the bed, at 6:00am, and cried.

I remember thinking over and over, "What does this mean?  What is life like to going to be like now?"  I think Steve left for work, but I sat on the soft in the living room watching the news for two hours.  I didn't call in to work, I didn't shower, I just couldn't move. 

At some point, I did get cleaned up and made it into work, but no one was working. 

I didn't lose anyone that day.  I didn't know anyone on the planes, or anyone in the buildings.  But I can't watch footage of those planes crashing, or the buildings crumbling, without weeping.  I was 3000 miles away, on an opposite coast, but it was so personal. 

It still is, as I sit here and watch raw footage on TV.   I'm ready for this day to be over.

'Night.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Random Thoughts

Ah, happy Friday. Fridays in my office are very quiet. These guys work long days all week, so when Friday rolls around, the office is empty by about 1pm. Especially when it’s sunny and 80 degrees out.

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We've watched a crap load of movies in the past few weeks, but I’ve been slacking and not listing them on my movie tab. I’m working on updating that. Maybe today, perhaps….

[Update:  apparently not.]

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Work is going really well. I told Super Boss yesterday he should take me to lunch for my one month anniversary. He was baffled that it had already been a month. Then he said, “Okay, sounds good. Put it on my calendar.” I said, “Already done! You’re taking me to Tulio.”

I think this is going to be a beautiful working relationship.

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Kayleigh started high school on Wednesday. I have a daughter in high school. I think I’m more excited than she is. She gets a locker! And Homecoming is in October! Wheeee!

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I’ve had a latte this morning, but I want another cup of coffee. There’s free coffee here.

A blessing or a curse?

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Speaking of a blessing or a curse, I arrive at work at 7:15am. I make the coffee as soon as I come in, then I go to my desk and log into my computer, by that time the coffee is done. I go get my first cup, then sit down and read the news. All before 7:30am.

Sounds impressive for me, huh? Yep. That just means that come 8pm, I am falling asleep on the couch.

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Also, I’m finding that I’m not as hungry during the day. I don’t need to snack through my morning. Todd says it’s because I’m not as depressed now. I’ll buy that.

Well, now that I’ve written about food, I’m hungry. Shit.

Off to lunch.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I Love Graphs and The Sun Sucks

I'm really not cranky about this, but I love a reason to use graphs.

My cousin Tricia mentioned all of the rain they're having on the east coast and how can I stand living here in rainy Seattle?  The rain is a funny thing up here.  Technically, we don't accumulate that much precipitation.  But we lead the masses in number of dreary days per year.

Which is why I like it here.

Take a look at these graphs I found on the innernets.  Green is DC, red is Seattle.




Neat, huh?

While I do enjoy some sunshine, it's really getting on my nerves now.  The traffic report talks about "sun spots" - places where the sun is directly in front of you and it literally slows down traffic. Maybe it's because we're the furthest city north but the sun is just huge and blinding and a major pain in the ass.

Which always makes me think of the Adam Sandler comic routine "Joining The Cult".
(Warning, it's Adam Sandler, so there is frequent use of the f-word.  But it's still funny.)

[Sounds of Basketball being shot around]

[Sandler:] "Hey man, I'm joining a religious cult."
[Allen:] "Now, that's ridiculous."
[Sandler:] "Well, I'm joining it, so you gotta sign up too."
[Allen:] "What are you talking about?"
[Sandler:] "Hey, don't fuck me on this, man, just sign up."
[Allen:] "No, I'm not going to join a cult!"
[Sandler:] "I can't believe you're pulling this shit on me after Monday night --"
[Allen:] "What?
[Sandler:] "-- I wanted to watch Monday Night Football and you wanted to watch that other show and we watched your show -- I did that for you!"
[Allen:] "Yeah, well, you kept flippin' back to the game."
[Sandler:] "I WANTED TO SEE THE FUCKIN' SCORE! Whadda you gotta do that's so important you can't join the religious cult with me?"
[Allen:] "Well, I was gonna go sunbathing."
[Sandler:] "Oh, boy, no no, I don't think you should do that. Because this guy, Russell -- he's the leader-guy of the cult --"
[Allen:] "-- yeah --"
[Sandler:] "-- he was rambling on during one of the speeches about the sun being bad, like the beast can't come out because the sun's too bright and the sun hurts his eyes or something -- you show up all sunburned and that guy's gonna get pissed at you and me!"
[Allen:] "Well, I'm not in the cult, so I don't have to worry about pissing the leader guy off!"
[Sandler:] "Look, I'm -- starting to believe in some of the stuff the cult guy's been saying -- some of it makes a lot of sense!
[Allen:] "Well, good, but I don't want to join the cult. We can still hang out; I just won't be in it with you."
[Sandler:] "The point is, I'm not gonna have time to hang out with you because I'm gonna be fuckin' busy with this fuckin' cult!"
[Allen:] "So I'll visit on weekends -- we'll work it out."
[Sandler:] "No, the weekends are like the busiest time -- that's when we go to flea malls and fuckin' malls and talk people into joining, man!"
[Allen:] "Can I join for just a little while? I told my dad I'd go visit him in Florida in three weeks."
[Sandler:] "Well, just, we'll ask then, but we gotta join now."
[Allen:] "What's the hurry?"
[Sandler:] "THERE'S A GIRL I WANNA MEET THERE, what the fuck's your problem?!"
[Allen:] "Well, I mean I don't really have to believe in this stuff, do I?"
[Sandler:] "No, no, just tell everybody you believe in this shit -- when they say the sun sucks, go,
"Yeah, fuck the sun, I fuckin' hate it too, long live the beast."  
(I say this aloud in my car, when I'm blinded by the sun. I crack myself up.)
[Allen:] "I don't know, man. This is crazy."
[Sandler:] "Look, they're gonna give you clothers, a free haircut, you're gonna get food --"
[Allen:] "-- it's not gonna be one of those weird haircuts, is it?"
[Sandler:] "It's gonna be a haircut, all right? You said you need a haircut, they're gonna fuckin' cut your hair.
You're going in, saving twelve bucks, just fuckin' do it!"
[Allen:] "Do you think the hot girl has a friend for me?"
[Sandler:] "Yeah, sure, and if she doesn't, she'll go out and recruit one for you!"
[Allen:] "Well, all right. But, hey, if I don't like it, I'm going to escape, man."
[Sandler:] "OK, that's up to you."

[Three weeks later!]

[Chanting repeatedly] "The night time is the right time! The night time is the right time!"
[Sandler:] "Hey buddy, are you glad you did this?"
[Allen:] "Oh, this is the best thing I ever did. Thank you."
[Sandler:] "You're not mad at them making you, uh, kill your father, are you?"
[Allen:] "You know, it's like they said. It was the only way to save him."
[Sandler:] "You're a good guy."
[Allen:] "You're a better one."

[Chanting resumes]