The girl with tears, Friday, after derby

When I walked into Swedish Medical Center on Friday, next to the hospital where I was just a week ago, a young woman, close to my age, was leaving in with red, blurry eyes in tears. I was hoping that wasn't a sign of my appointment to come. I had been "well cross that bridge when we get there" kind of attitude the whole week with my the diagnosis of my rotten omentum. Sure there was a chance it was cancer. Sure the doctor rarely took out bad omentums. Sure most bad omentums were tied to cancer. But there was no reason to worry until you were told it was cancer. However, about an hour before I left work for my doctor's appointment, my adrenaline was rush and I had "nails in my mouth" - I was so nervous.

I filled out the paperwork and didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before I was called in. Lara came with me, with the hopes that it was only good news, but with the knowledge that it might very well not be. Dr. Garnette was sitting in his office, he looked over at us and said, "Well, I just got your pathology report - ten minutes ago. And it looks like I have very good news for you." The rest of the appointment went about 15 minutes with him looking at my stitches (healing just fine), making sure I wasn't over doing it (I was only working 1/2 days), giving me the go ahead to go back to my sports (April 1st) and pulling out a dusty book to show me exactly what he did (took out all my omentum - at least he believes they got it all.) At the end of it all, he said, basically, he's never taken out an omentum that looked that bad that wasn't cancer. I was an odd duck and a mystery but I definitely didn't have cancer. I shook his hand, said it was great to meet him and left on a complete high.

And then freaked out when I got out on the street. I was pretty sure that there was nothing wrong but that 10% of doubt and the doctors major doubt had stressed me out. I texted my team and called the people who were waiting to know what the results were (obviously there were many more people way more worried than myself). I was so relieved. I was near tears. I wanted a beer to celebrate. I wanted to go home and take a name. I wanted to eat some lunch. I wanted to walk around. So I did all of it. I walked around - ordered some belated birthday gifts. Lara and I went to the Hi Life for a beer and sandwich. I dropped Lara off and went off to my hair appointment. What a great way to end a Friday.

Except it wasn't the end - I went with a bunch of friends to Burlesque in the Round - a part of the Moisture Festival. I loved it! It has as many wonderful and creative acts as last year. No one fisted a donkey pinata but there were a few more guy acts and some beautiful costumes and routines. I was telling one of my friends that this is what what I would do in my post derby career. She said she couldn't imagine a post derby career. I told her I didn't think about it often but I knew there would be an end and when that did come, the Moisture Festival would be the thing to take up my time. I love it. I love that I live in a city with such a lively underground of performers, variate, circus acts, burlesque, etc. It's another reason it's an awesome place to live.

**me and Monkey taking a nap

Going 14 mph in a 11o mph life...

I told Kelli who had her appendix out a month ago that she needed take it slowly and work only when she could but to take many breaks because she would end up right back in the hospital - because it takes a while to recover. Of course, taking a douse of my own medicine isn't as sweet or as bitter as I anticipated. Last night when I was laying on the coach after working a half day from home, I thought about just how active I was. I swim or skate derby 5 days a week. I have work meetings at least twice a week, a derby meeting and am often a social butterfly on the weekend. All of these things are great tools in managing stress and as an extroverted thinker, I need to be with people. So I was glad to go back to work today. And I got there at 10:45 a.m. and hit a wall at 3 p.m. before finally going home at 5 p.m. (I got a ride). Spent is the word. And the body hurts to let me know that I still have some time to spend this weekend in the slow lane.

Damn it.

Obstacles: kitties, snow, coughing

One thing I didn't have to worry about while in the hospital was Fezzy jumping up on my belly as is his habit.  My sleep last night was light as I was slightly afraid all night that he would jump on me. Lock him out of the room and he would sit at the door and scratch and claw.  While resting on the futon, he would give me devil eyes if I put my hand up forbidding him to step on my four fresh stab wounds.  He would peep (sometimes he's called "peeper") and give these half hearted meows to get attention. He wasn't thrilled, but like Monkey, eventually found a nice compromise on my legs on the fluffy hippy blanket.

I'm learning a lot being at home and watching TV which I so rarely do.  I'm learning about the latest workout machines, latest vacuum cleaners, and about how I should be buying gold.  I've been told the latest beauty secrets, got a 5 minute glimpse on the guy who hosts dirty jobs and how the UK thinks Obama is chilling our historic relationship.

Tonight I learned about Pavarotti for a while and "what attracts us" to men and women on this whole series purely about attractiveness - the genetic implications from looks to smell to walk.  While fascinating, I've also seen many repeats of random crime series that I've seen on late night television.  I don't feel awake enough to watch a movie. Of course, by being at home and not at the Rat City bout tonight, I heard a thunder snow storm roll in (thunder often precedes snowstorms out here.)  I also smelt my apartment fill with the smell of fire which got me off the futon in a flash.  I looked over the balcony and saw smoke billowing off the balcony and ran downstairs to the neighbor manager, my heart racing.  One of the dudes told me they were cranking out their grill (in a snow storm) and that was a while ago, blah blah blah.  I wanted to punch him.  I have such a dislike (fear) of fire - and now I'm totally wound up and awake in an apartment filled with a campfire smell.

None of this helps my whole want and desire to cough.  Since getting sick in the hospital, I've want to cough.  Of course, with 4 stab wounds, coughing is extremely difficult and painful.  I've accidentally coughed twice and the same 4 stab wounds  told me that was an extremely bad idea.

I think the best bet is to curl back up on the futon with Fezzy and learn about the latest whatever it is my life surely doesn't need.

Ice water, Omentums & lots of Love (long posting)

I got home this evening after two days at Swedish Hospital in Ballard.  What started with what I thought was a stress related stitch in my side (that actually stopped me from completing my derby practice on Tuesday), became a pain that I could barely tolerate, yet alone walk up right and turned to a quick trip to my doctor who sent me to the hospital with visions of appendicitis turned into an omentumectomy - or what I'm calling free "liposuction".  

I convinced my doctor that I would actually go to the ER at Ballard Swedish Hospital, I just wanted to go home first, get a night bag, put on my lucky bouting socks, pick up some mindless magazines, and have Lara take me so that I wouldn't have to drive or leave my car over night.  Lara drove me to the store to get US Weekly, Newsweek and Scientific American.  I don

't know much about hospitals seeing that the only time I had been in one for anything more than stitches was my birth - which I don't remember that much.  I do know f

rom all my experience with my mother being in the hospital - it's a lot of hurry up and wait.  Kind of like film too.

I try calling Pygmy on the way saying that I wouldn't be able to go swimming tonight because I was going to the ER.  She was trying to get a hold of me too to tell me she wouldn't be able to swim because she was taking her mother, who was visiting from WI, to the ER.   We had a series of very nice ER nurses.  One had never worked there and didn't know where anything was.  One came in real gruff and then relaxed once she realized we were rollergirls.  They did some blood work. No elevated white blood cells.  No raging infection.  They offered me drugs for pain (which I refused because I hate how they make me feel). When they did the CT scan, the night radiologist had concluded that my appendix had burst.  The resident surgeon didn't deem it an emergency  - get me hooked up on antibiotics (by this point I needed pain meds) and admit me into the hospital.  

My first night was not very restful as they wake you up every hour to check your vitals.  They were very nice people though and I was a "stellar patient" as I really had nothing to complain about.   Nothing had happen.  I had a synthetic morphine pain pump that would allow me to give myself a little juice when the pain became too much.  The doctor came and I told him story quickly.  I wasn't too keen on him at first because he was one of those doctors that will tell you what he thinks needs to be done as opposed to hearing you out.  However, his one conclusion was to talk to the radiologist a

nd maybe my appendix did burst and we could drain it (yeah!) and send me home with antibiotics.  But at this point, I was a mystery (which is not the first time I've heard this.) 

The doctor and the radiologist met and they found my appendix and my ovary (which was considered a possible problem) and were more baffled.  He scheduled me for surgery at the end of the day. He considered himself a conservative doctor.  He wasn't going to cut me open unnecessarily (AMEN) and was going to take a look around to see what they could find.  A mass was blocking the CT scan.  This was at 10 a.m.  Surgery would be at 5 p.m.  All of the sudden I wanted a glass if ice water - like a drug addict who needs their fix.  I became slightly obsessed and even more so since they said, I still couldn't have any.  So I brushed my teeth - like 4 times - to give myself some relief - but didn't drink the water.

Lara took time off from work and stayed most of the day.  Pygmy found me in the hospital and came by to visit.  At one point it was party central in room 426 overlooking Salmon Bay.  Pygmy and her baby niece would swing by.  Then Sonya (her sister) would stop in to check in on all of us.  Glitter Chicken (Danni) came by and brought me a lovely flower.  Kelli, from work, who had just had an appendectomy, (I kid you not) just two weeks ago at the same hospital,by the same surgeon, came by with a little note book.  We chatted about travel and language and other things while hanging out in room 426, over looking Salmon Bay in Ballard.  I send a gazillion text messages to my team, family and friends.  Talked to my parents.  Didn't answer enough questions.  Everyone left by 4 p.m. and that was just the time they came to get me.   

The surgeons were behind (kind of wish I could finish up that TB article in Scientific American) and I just looked at the ceiling in the waiting area of the surgery ward/department/theater - whatever it is called. I was freaked out about the bubbles in my saline line (which are not going to kill me I found out) when my doctor, now dressed in scrubs covered in clown fish and coral ref images (I was feeling really lucky) came by to round people up and get going.  I ended up talking about the band Snow Patrol with my surgeon who is older and heckling my younger nurse who didn't know how to use iTunes and ended up downloading the whole CD when they put the oxygen mask over my face.  The next thing I knew, they were pulling off cords and trying to get me to wake up.   

I was wheeled back to my room where Lara and Mona (my team captain and friend) were waiting for me.  They had been waiting the whole time and repeated essentially what the doctor had said them.  They pumped my belly full of gas and poked the little camera in. It wasn't my appendix or ovaries.  But my omentum - which is latin for "apron".  It is this fatty tissue that covers you internal organs - much like an apron or curtain - and had probably been useful at some point in our evolution - maybe when we spent more time running after our prey.  Who knows.  But mine was enlarged, twisted around itself (which is what caused the debilitating "stitch"), and full of cysts.  He had to pull this apron out a tiny hole and consequently I have an extra incision and a longer one to get this whole piece out.  They were sending to the lab for biopsy - though if it was cancerous - they usually see it evident in other organs and they all looked good.  He very rarely does this - remove the omentum.  In his words "it was quite laborious".

Mona left me with a vase full of beautiful tulips from my friends and dashed off to go to practice.  I was so grateful to have them there after surgery.  I took a drink of ice cold water (yeah! finally!) and that started me puking (all over myself) and then crying from the pain of puking which made my stitches hurt and then made me cry more.  They gave me something to stop the misery and gave me another pain pump.  I feel asleep.  I asked Lara to stay until midnight incase the doctor came by to tell me something, I needed someone to remember.  He didn't come by.  She left at 3 a.m.  

Renate (pronouced Renalta) woke me up to take vitals and make me pee (never had been so happy to do that) and cleaned up my bed, gave me a new gown, etc.  And I stayed awake for a couple of hours, watching the Today Show and CNN.  Texting a few of my EST zone friends who I might have missed in my flurry of texts.  I played with my iPod for a while and fell back asleep.  And woke up crying.  I was frustrated, exhausted, hungry and in more pain from laying on my back for the last two days then I was from the surgery.

Pygmy came by to visit with Sonya's chunky little baby.  I ate some french toast and then went for a walk around the 4th floor.  I couldn't wait to be checked out and the doctor would be in around lunch time.  The marketing consultants from work came to visit - I made a joke the the rebranding going on at work is killing us - they brought in some flowers and smuggled in an IPA. I visited Pygmy's mom who was getting discharged today.  And finally, my doctor came back, told me to limit my activity and though I usually ran a million miles an hour, I would have to get use to the slow lane and take it easy (which I completely understand).  And just make sure, on my check out slip they wrote "No Roller Derby until the doctor approves." He he he.

I went to the Bartell's to get my prescription filled and ran into a teammates boyfriend who could totally tell I was suffering and opened a check out line so I could scoot out quickly.   We picked up a couple of movies and curled up on the coach - with Monkey and took a 3 hour nap. (Kelli had left some soup and juices and dessert for Lara for taking such good care of me at the house.)  I ate some soup and toast.  I took a pain pill, watched America's Top Model and a documentary.  

I'll see the doctor again next week.  For now I'm laying low.  I'm looking at my omentumoctomy as my "free" liposuction.  I mean hell, I got rid of a layer of fatty tissue.  It just wasn't elective.

*photos of my lovely flowers.  Didn't think anyone wanted to see my stitches.  :p

Monkey outside, My Wii President

At 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, Janis woke up (all of us had rolled in at 3 a.m. after going to out to a bar where Lara was DJing all night) with "OMG, the front door is open. Where are all the cats?" I scrambled out of bed, pulled on jeans and ran out the door to look for the kitties who appeared to not be in the house. I walked all the way down the stairs with the thoughts of starting at the bottom and working my way up. As soon as I opened the outside door, there was Monkey, curled up by the storage units. She looked up at me and meowed. I dropped her off in the house (where upon she immediately became skittish cat and acted like she didn't know where she was.) All three of us were outside calling Fezzi's name when we found out that he had actually been in the apartment the whole time. What a way to wake up.

Tonight the Wii Fit was turned back on again. I haven't played in forever (though I managed to get the highest score in the slalom and not do so bad on the fish game). I totally forgot about all of the Wii characters that have been created - friends - made up people - Maya, J Friday, Pablo, Juan (he's great a tennis), Hildagaarde (she's the general character), Joolee (Lara's friend), Lizzy (another friend), even President Obama is part of my Wii community. And to be perfectly honest, I bet you our president actually knows how to play Wii. He was out drinking a beer at an NBA game last night. He shoots hoops in his spare time. He has two daughters. He's got one finger on the pulse of the country. I bet you President Obama plays Wii... if he has time.

You're guaranteed to give blood, pay taxes and die....

... was what my dad use to say to me growing up. Or at least he said it to me once and I remembered it. I only bring it up today as some of us are sitting around, playing a very, very silly Wii game and talking about beer. We're a crowd of delicious beer drinkin' Friday gals, enjoying the fine selection from Ballard Market when a friend in from San Fran lamented, "I love death and taxes" - which reminded me of what my father said - at least once.

I did give blood (it gets complicated any time you're in Africa for more than 10 days and get tattoos), I pay my taxes and inevitably one day I will kick it. (Today is not that day.) I did get a root canal though. I think I was more nervous than it was worth and was teary-eyed as soon as I walked in the door. It took an hour to numb my mouth and 12 minutes to actually clean the canal where the nerve ending was and fill it will a root canal filler. The sharp pain in my chin surprised me (because the roots go down into the bones of your face.) It's amazing how everything is interconnected. And really, it's hard to believe it's all about giving blood, paying taxes and kicking it. Surely someone forgot to mention root canals...

Friday... finally.

I woke up to a pre-warned snowy morning. Sure enough there was a substantial dusting on all the cars and a bitter wind greeted me when I left. (Our block also didn't have any power.) I stood at the bus stop for 25 minutes with about 35 other people as three buses didn't arrive. I gave up and went back home to drive to work (which with the crazy parking prices doesn't thrill me at all.) Every bus stop I drove by on my way in was packed - as obviously many north end buses were running behind or not running at all.

I'm glad it's finally Friday. It's not like tomorrow is going to be an easy day - I still have a gazillion things to do at work (until our event on March 26) and I have the thrill of getting a root canal. I'm SO NOT looking for to it. I have a super sensitive epidermis (no my word - some an internist said when trying to give me stitches once), thus making things like stitches and tooth work seriously painful. (Of course I also thinks it makes my pain threshold really high too.) So I get to wake up and go straight into a painful situation. TGIFY?

And there's still no sign of Friday the cat. There have been no additional calls. No random spotting of black cats, nothing showing up at the pound. There was a record of a dead cat a few days after the inauguration but there was no info (like where they found the cat, the sex of it, anything) and we just can't speculate that it was Friday. Lara has a friend coming in from San Francisco under the premise to "find Friday." I'm sure they're going to have a good time hopping around the city and if they happen to find Friday - that would be sweet.

Pool karaokoe, Getting to work, Missing the festival again...

I love my hydro fit classes on Tuesdays. It's one of those great combinations of a hilarious instructor to makes us cheers at the beginning of the butt kicking. She plays great music covering Johnny Cash, The Beatles, ABBA and others great songs at the public pool. Tonight she made us sing "Sweet Caroline" (she does karaoke) - while doing ladders in the deep end. (You're actually sweating in the pool.) I've rarely had an instructor of a class where you had so much fun and so look forward to it. So much so that you want to go to hydro fit after an exhausting day at work which is quickly becoming an exhausting quarter.

I find myself taking the bus religiously these days - like I did when gas was $4 a gallon. I would rather be 20 minutes late than deal with the cost of parking which had nearly doubled since February (from $1.50/hour to $2.50). If you don't want to park on the street and go to a paid lot, they're slowly sneaking up to $12/day - $22/day. I've been taking the bus late - I've got the schedule memorized. Unfortunately all of this is going on when they're talking about cutting buses routes - hundreds of them - to deal with the all of the budget crises. Which begs the question of how am I going to get to work...

Today is Mardi Gras - Carnival - the festival before Ash Wednesday - before Lent - celebrated all over the world from the oldest in the US (in Mobile, Alabama) to Brazil, Italy to Trinada. There are costumes, beads, king cakes and other types of fun. When I dance with the samba troupe, we celebrated Carnival with a huge performance at a hotel in downtown Cleveland. Since moving to Seattle, I've managed to attend two festival here in town, get dressed up and dance like crazy. These last two years I've barely noticed Mardi Gras come. And when I did realize it was up on me, I didn't have time to get anything figured out. So here I am at home, after hydro fit, watching a documentary on Public Television about the Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama - the black Mardi Gras and the white Mardi Gras - and there is a substancial difference. It's not the same as heading out on the town but it gives me some inspiration to hit the road.

* Hey Peas by Nataliedee.com

** I think our new President is awesome - just an FYI.

Building a car...

Tonight, before practice, Carnies got together to clean our "adopted street" - a few miles from our practice space and down the street from one of our skater's house. Half of us started at one end and the rest at the other with the intentions to meet in the middle. Because of scheduling, it's been 8+ months since we've been there. And it needed some attention. We picked up tons of cigarette butts, beer cars, plastic bottles, and car parts. We started joking about having enough pieces to build our own car - we found a tail light and bulb, windshield wiper, bungee cords, to hold on the muffler we found, an antenna and pine cone car freshener. Ok, it's wasn't enough to build a car but it was a lot of stuff. At the end of the day we had 10 bags worth of junk, a couple of "thank yous" from people driving by and a clean, adopted street.

The Charms of Jean Pennee

I have this charm bracelet from my grandmother Clare that is cram packed full of charms. They're beautiful and old and in serious need of cleaning. I finally bought a cleaning solution a few weeks ago just so that I could sparkle it up and wear it out. I've worn it before and had much success snagging my tights or nylons (don't wear it with a skirt) but it also was a great conversational piece. People told me about their mother's charm bracelet (which I also have) and their great aunt's, grandmother's, their own. I have two from my grandmother. One I think she did most the work collecting on her own and one was a gift from her fellow employees at Penny's - maybe her 25th anniversary working there. My grandmother worked for more than 50 years, on and off, at Penny's - and was often recognized for it. I remember a couple of times visiting her when she was working (and the hilarious antics my grandfather would pull on her.)

I have a soft spot in my heart for Penny's. Of course, as a kid, I wouldn't be caught shopping there. But as I entered my career as a poor-ass non-profit fundraiser, I found Penny's was perfect. Their "professionals" section is styled after people my age and isn't full of frumpy blazers and shapeless clothes. They have some great dance-dance clothes and I've bought more than one pair of shoes from them. I like Penny's. I like to look great and not spend so much money on clothes. Though I'm no longer the poor non-profit fundraiser, I still like to shop there because it's comfortable and I know what to expect. It's also affordable. And it's my best kept secret. When people ask me where I got "that great top" - I tell them Jean Penne. They give me that "I don't know that boutique" look and I reveal my secret.

Of course, now that I work downtown and "babysit" other clothing durning my lunch breaks, I don't shop as much at Penny's. I don't shop much anywhere. But when I read about their 4th quarter dip at the end of last year (down like 14% or something) I decided to go visit them on Monday - after working for a bit - for their President's day sale. I was pleased to see that they were well picked over and there wasn't anything that drew my attention. That made me really happy. I don't want to see Penny's go out of business. But that's because I'm sentimental about my grandmother... and some of the great things I've bought there. And how I was able to look stylish - when I don't really like to shop - even when I only made two nickles and a dime.

*photo of the aweomse Penny's dress I got for Carol's wedding last year for super cheap. I LOVE it. It's cute and fits me like a glove.

Meeting Elvis & Chasing kitties

Today Elvis came running up to us as we were playing our musical instruments of the kitty treats in the box and the fork on the tuna tin. Elvin came right up to us and didn't say a thing. He was black and lean, similar to Friday but was a bit smaller and didn't have his fangs. Also, he didn't meow when he saw us. He was a very quiet Elvis. We met a lot of kitty friends while trying to find Friday - some walked us to the end of their block and others just meowed at us from their porch - but none of them were Friday.

Pygmy and I were supposed get together for an afternoon walk after my nap (after going to work for a couple hours at 6 a.m. on my home from dropping Megan and Jarett off at the airport) but between my nap and Lucy's nap, our paths didn't cross. She called me just before dinner and asked if Lucy could come over and see the kitties. I'm not sure the kitties had as much fun as the rest of us. Lucy had a lovely time trying to find the kitties "where are they?" she kept asking and answering herself "they hiding." I would help her find them. Keep her from getting to close to a cornered Fezzy - who thought it was fun for about a minute. She found something amusing just about everywhere and made me want to create a box of fun things for Lucy... should she decide to come over and visiting the kitties again.

*Fezzy eating a sea creature finger puppet that we had taken out for Lucy.

Enjoying derby, sleeping in on sunny days...

I slept in this morning, extra late, for no particular reason. I didn't go out last night - just stayed in and watched Pineapple Express, which was pretty funny. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and was thrilled to see an extra bright sparkly blue sky but decided I could use a little more sleep. And sure enough, when I woke up the second time it was gray and raining. But I did witness that the day had the best intentions to be bright and beautiful.

I went to hydrofit swim class again - different instructor (who was Heidi's instructor for the swim class.) He kept us moving... Megan and Jarett returned and we all went to Heidi's place for dinner (with Lara and I cutting out early to go to practice).

What a great practice tonight! We did a bunch of great drills - some of them more challenging than others but really it felt great to be working on problems together as a team. It's a great feeling to have - especially when you look up and it's time to go. I grabbed Megan and Jarett on the way back home and I'll be taking them to the airport at zero:dark 30. I'm planning going into work for a while... we'll see how that goes. I haven't had President's Day off since like high school.

*super cute picture of Fez sleeping.

End of the week...

Megan and Jarett returned from Hawai'i on a red-eye Friday as I finished a long week at work on Friday. Jarett stayed in bed with the flu and Megan wondered around Ballard. I didn't stay at work all day as I was pretty spent (never mind the fact that I had been out until 2 a.m. the night before for Katie's birthday.) Megan, Jarett, Lara and I went to a bowling fundraiser for my team - which was a great success plus a really great time.

Today after breakfast, they borrowed the car and headed up to Bellingham - I headed on a walk into Ballard. It was a perfect day for it. I went to this newer quilting shop for fabric for an apron I decided to make after spilling stuff on me while cooking Christmas dinner for my orphan friends and later went back to get frabric for dress I decided to sew (after finding a pattern on sale at JoAnn's.) I become very inspired walking around Ballard. I see cute little felted things, jewelry and purses. I don't have the talent to make many of these things but I can definitely sew and my goal is to sew something that I can actually wear to work as opposed to costumes.

The economy has twisted the arm of many businesses behind their backs and Mandrakes - an antique store of 19+ plus years, has finally cried uncle - literally. I saw the sign in the shop last week and walked by on my way to the quilt/fabric shop. It was is one of the more creative ways that I've seen a business reply with exaperation at the current economic situation. But it's too at the same time.

It a pretty nice day to be out and about - a lot of Ballard thought so too.

Roosters & Swimming...

I hopped onto another snowy bus this morning but couldn't stop thinking of Friday - the weather was miserable and I became obsessed with the idea if we didn't find him soon that he would become a feral cat. I emailed Lara and suggested that she call one of our friends whose currently unemployed and ask for her help and offer to pay her. Someone really needs to stop by during the day and look for him - look for this injured cat. She called her and she said she would be in the neighborhood and would look for him. She didn't find him but when Lara got in touch with the manager of the building across from us she discovered the injured cat had a home... and it wasn't Friday. And now we don't know what to do. Lara has given up home and I just don't know what else we can do. Bew.

However, when she called the pound today to hear the recording of found animals - they now had a rooster and a cockatiel. At the pound. If you're missing your's... try the animal shelter in Ballard. If you know where Friday is - let us know that too.

Today was another long day jam packed with meetings and deadlines and a board meeting in the evening to cap it off. I took the 7:45 p.m. bus home and decided I would go to Hydo Fit at 8:40 p.m. I got home in time to change and walk over to the pool. I had NO IDEA what to expect - I knew it would be a work out - but what a work out it was. And the instructor was hilarious. She had this 80's mix CD (yes, CD, not tape) and would sing parts of songs or tell stories while instructing us from the side of the pool. She was also familiar with derby (noticed my tattoo) and had been to the bout this past weekend. Unfortunately, near the end of class she slipped while trying to kick in some floaties to a swimmer and hurt her foot/ankle which she had just had surgery on. She sat in the chair and instructed the last 5 minutes.

I totally loved this class. It was completely different than lap swimming (which I love the sound of bubbles coming from my nose as I swim). And it will be good cross training for the Danskin Triathlon - which I signed up to do - again. (I didn't do it last time because of pulled hamstrings.) I am doing it with a coworker this time... we'll see if I do it this time.

*picture of Fezzy, whose missing his friend Friday, on the new orange sofa/futon.

Expectations of winters, commutes and derby...

I left this morning to cars cover with snow and ice on the streets, making my way to my bus stop I was careful not to slip as I didn't wear snow-appropriate shoes (did I tell you I don't have those anymore) plus I didn't know it was snowing until I was leaving and didn't have time to turn back. I tepidly crossed over a parking lot and street and made it to my bus stop. It was packed. I got the one seat left in the "joint" where second section of the articulate bus joined the first part. We picked up another gazillion people at the next stop and headed towards downtown Seattle in the new (since fall) bus lane on 15th. Lisa, the 15 Express super nice and cheerful bus driver, slammed on the breaks - people flew forward - an older man whose always on my bus actually flew thru the joint and bowled into the people standing in the front.

We all got our composure, helped up the man and eventually poured out of bus to grab another. Two cars had decided to pull into a parking lot in front of our bus. I guess they didn't get the public service announcement that it takes a football field for a bus to go from 35 to 0. Our bus driver was ok and eventually enough buses stopped by to pick of the throngs of people waiting on the side of the road. I need to send an email to Metro giving her props. The accident definitely wasn't her fault (and the bus wasn't damaged at all) but it would help for them to know how great she is.

This weekend my Peace Corps friends Megan and Jarett came in from DC. They were on their way to a wedding in Hawai'i and had a day lay over. I bought us all tickets to the Rat City Roller Girls bout at the Key Arena - which was pretty damn sweet. The jumbo-tron showed great hits and even more elusive penalties. The seats were comfy and we didn't have to arrive an hour early just to get a seat. We watch one game before we had to head out and grab something to eat. It was an impressive bout to take them to - as they had really no idea what to expect.

*drawing from Nataliedee.com.

Fridays, Lobbying, Crazies...

No matter how hard I try, I can't leave work early on Fridays. Any other day of the week I can slip out 20 minutes, 40 minutes and hour early to compensate staying late for meetings on other days. But not Fridays - there's always a message that needs to go out, something that needs to be written, the leftovers pile up and suddenly need to be done. And I never get out early. Today was no exception though I was absolutely exhausted and wanted to get out early, it didn't happen.

After deciding to stay in tonight (see "being exhausted" above), I cleaned up the apartment for Megan and Jarrett's visit tomorrow, ran up to Target to get some things and then Lara and I decided to look for Friday. She has put up another round of posters though the calls have tapered off and the cat trap hasn't resulted in a single cat - even with tuna and other delicious food out for him. So we took various blocks, calling his name and the "here kitty kitty." I'm super bummed over the siting of the injured cat and I can only hope that Friday is safely with someone. Though I wish they would turn him in so that he can come home. I miss him.

Yesterday was our Lobby Day at the Law Center. We piled into the car at 7:30 a.m. and headed down to Olympia. Our schedule was pretty full - we were going to hear the Domestic Partnership bill in committee in both the House and the Senate. It was pure luck that we were there when one of the three bills we're working on and supporting this session was dropping that day. Of course, we should have expected it, but the Senate hearing chamber was filled with crazy antis. They were trying to give us stickers that were anti-domestic partnership, anti everything. There were like 200 hundred people there. And their testimony was crazy and irrational. We had firefighters wanting to insure benefits for their partners should they be killed in the line of duty and these people were talking about judgement day.

We left the hearings and a senator stopped by who was super supportive of all of our bills. She's always been super supportive of domestic partnerships because she married a Filipino man and she said, "I heard all the same stories. If God wanted people from different ethnic backgrounds to get married he wouldn't have made them different colors.... bi racial marriage will destroy the fabric of society... blah blah blah." I went with a volunteer to visit our reps and senators in our district. One of them needs to go (and I've thought that all the times I've been down to lobby), one was in committee meetings and the last one we saw was new, full of energy and obviously hasn't been beaten down by the system.

All and all it was a great experience and I was glad to be there - even with all the crazies. They reminded me that I'm on the side of the issues where I belong.

What the psychic said...

A woman called Lara on Friday to give her some tips on getting her cat back so Lara called her back, curious, and hopeful for any advice.  She talked about setting a cat trap - which you can rent at Sunset Hill Pet Supplies (just up the street) for $5 a day.  You will most likely catch other neighborhood cats as well, but she got her cat back that way and so did another one of her neighbors.  One thing she brought up which I had never heard of but makes perfect sense, is that Friday could have been attacked by a raccoon or dog and could be confused and afraid - disoriented.  So if you set a trap (with an article of your clothing and food) - you just might get him.  She also said, "I know this is going to sound weird, but before you go to bed at night, visualize a golden orb or globe above where you live so to lead your cat home.  I have told that to many other people and their cats have returned.  I'm a psychic."  She's also a crazy cat lady but her idea turned out to be more common than we thought and there is no harm in visualizing a golden orb before bed.

Interestingly enough, yesterday a woman who lives right behind our apartment building called to say she found an injured, very skittish black cat who a gash at the base of it's tail.  She couldn't pet him or get him to come to her but she thought he fit our description of Friday. Lara went to the place and called for him but he didn't appear.  So today she went to the pet store, rented the cage, got food and set up the cat trap (after warning the neighbors that she's going to do this and not to let out "Bob" and "Patches.")

I'm kind of hopeful that this is going to work and that all of these nice people who have called with their advise and hints on "how to catch your cat" works.  I hope we catch him and he gets to come home - be dry and warm and snuggle up on the new futon.  I also wish the psychic had told me about my enormous car repair and impending root canal.  But if Friday comes home, that's a good start.

Opening Season two, 100 points and the Men's Bathroom

Last night was the opening bout of Jet City Rollergirls second season.   My team, CarnEvil, went up against the Pink Pistols - the 2008 champions.  It was a typical long day (except I wasn't in charge of much - and that was a relief - no lineups, no floor set-up, just a regular volunteer/skater for the most part.)  I wasn't sure what to expect - we felt ready - with a mostly new team of skaters, only three weeks worth of practice into our season - it was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.  And it was a tough game.  We started out neck and neck with points and at one point managed to pull ahead by 12 points.  By half-time we were down by 25 points - which is nothing for us as we're often down at the half.  We met them point for point in the second half, though we were never able eat out that 25 point difference and we ended up losing 100-132.   It was a great game and if we had been able to hold Molly Python, it would have been much closer.  We were thrilled by the game we played!  We put our heart and soul on the track skated away rather proud of how well we did.

I had a particularly good game as I got lead jammer status all but once or twice (which is one of my personal goals for the year) and was able to skate around, grab 4-5 points (sometimes 8-10) and call it off before they had much of a chance to gain too many points on us. It was a really effective jamming game for me and I was thrilled.  I am also so damn proud of my team - many of them skating for the first time ever and all of us really working hard.  It was also great for me and everyone, to have a full roster for once.  It's easier to play a cleaner and more effective game when you don't have to go in two or three in a row before a break. 

 

I sold some raffle tickets at the after party and got home around 1:30 a.m.  I had told Pygmy that we would go to Ikea before Jon went to a Super Bowl Party (I needed a new futon couch - badly and had been trying to make it work my schedule more than a month).  I managed to get to her place by 8:30 a.m.  We got to Ikea for their 3 day sale at 9:15 a.m. not realizing the store didn't open until 10 a.m.  - which cracked us up.  I had read about the restaurant opening at 8 a.m. and offering free breakfast...  I have done this to Pygmy before - waken her up and dragged her off somewhere long before we needed to be there - and she's absolutely not a morning person.  (I am neither a "morning person" nor a "not a morning person" - I am a carpe diem - when I'm up, I'm awake and it's time to start living)... however I didn't get in as much trouble as I have in the past because Lucie insures that Pygmy is up earlier these days.    We ate the free breakfast and loitered in the kitchen area.  Pygmy went to the bathroom and then I did and when she saw where I came from, she started laughing thinking she had used the men's bathroom.  We couldn't figure out where she had gone when a man next to us was shaking his head - smiling.  He laughed saying that he had seen Pygmy walk into the men's bathroom - thinking she would realize it.  Between the beating I took on the track the night before and general lack of sleep, I thought it was the funniest thing ever. 

The store eventually opened.   We did our shopping - managed some great deals - kept the impulse buys down to one each (pop up containers, 3 for $3.99) and came home by noon having had quiet an adventure in shopping.

*photo of Torture racing Jude O'Chopp to the inside line. photo by Edgar Diaz

My President was speaking to me, keeping it in perspective and days off

When he thanked all of those people who took a pay cut so someone else wouldn't lose a job. Tomorrow I am off for the day. I took a 5% pay cut which turns out to be 12ish days a year that I don't work (since it will be difficult to take off 30 minutes each day a month or whatever I am just taking off one whole day.) I'm rather looking forward to it because it's the day before a bout and I want to run around and get things done (never mind I have a dentist appointment, need to pay some attention to my car, etc.) I am not a martyr taking the day off - nor for taking the pay cut. It needed to be done. We needed to balance the budget. We didn't want to fire staff - I couldn't imagine being able to do my work without them. I'd gladly take a pay cut to keep my staff. I would gladly pay more in taxes if it meant that everyone could have access to health care too.

And that being said, more jobs got cut in the Puget Sound area today. Starbucks and Boeing both are laying people off. My friend at Expedia just got laid off - they're laying off people in all the departments. However the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Equity law was signed today - meaning that you can't pay me $.78 per $1.00 you pay a man for the same work. It's a huge step for this country and I am super proud and thrilled to see it moving foward. There's even going to be a rally at the same place we have our bout on Saturday with WA Senator Maria Cantwell. There is going to be some powerful stuff going on for women on Saturday - this month already - this year.

Tomorrow I hope to fix my computer (so I can put pictures on my blog), go to the dentist, do some stuff with my car (I think it's an e-check year), take a nap, make food for our team dinner. It's going to be a nice day off. And I really don't mind that I'm not being paid.

Kombucha, Agreements and those really nice things in life

Tonight I raced home from a event committee meeting for work. Peeled off my work clothes, threw on derby sweats and skirts and grabbed my skates heading right out the door again. I managed to grab a peanutbutter bar (I call them "Fat Bars" because all of the calories are from fat) and a banana. I was a head of schedule by about 3 minutes - just enough time to swing by the store and grab a kombucha. I love kombucha - especailly the "ginger aide" favored one. Kombucha is a fungus that is brewed like a tea. I'm convinced that it is that secret ingredient to a healthy life. I always feel better after I drink one. It's slight spicy, fizzing (from fermentation) and just full of good stuff. And I needed one. I grabbed two and headed to the check out. Then I started that paniced look for my walet - which I had just had because I had bought gas on the way home. Not in my purse, not in my jacket - oh it was in my other coat - the one I hung up - but forgot my wallet when rushing out the door.

I looked up at the check-out person, Qui, who is a super friendly guy and often asks about practice (when I show up at midnight to grab some groceries after practice) and other things in my life. I pushed the drinks back and told him I couldn't buy them because I forgot my wallet. He said he would pay for them. I insisted that he not. He pulled out his wallet, gave me a ten, when I then gave back to him. He gave me change. I said, I'm off to practice when can I get it to you? He said not to worry, that he would see me around.

Going a million miles an hour, missing the details, he buys my kombucha. And it's a really not a big dealt. But I really appreciated it. It was really nice. It's a nice reminder to just slow down a little bit.

Oy! Monday

Today was a Monday every way you can think of it. It was a tedious long day at work. I had a million things to do and crimp in my neck that just made the day generally miserable. I had the finance manager come into my office multiple times to tell me how this week is the week where we're going to be able to tell how bad the year is going to be. I felt like I was fighting a cold. I only managed to scratch three things off my to-do list.

The work day ran smack into a CAB meeting (though that actually managed to go very well) where I was elected Co-Chair for 2009. I zoomed home so I could catch Heidi for a swim. Friday, Lara's cat, has been missing for a week wasn't home when I got there and the perons who likely has him - hasn't let me go. My computer went into perpetual "reboot" mode (um, that's a problem) - and I won't have a chance to fix it until tomorrow at the earliest - if I can even fix it. I was at my wits end when I went for a swim with Pygmy and Olga (yes, that's her nickname she calls herself) and forgot my goggles and cap and had to walk back home to get them. *sigh*

But then I when I got back and finally jumped in the pool, it was such a wonderful welcome. I just swam and swam until the knot in my neck simmered down and the stress of the deminished with each pull of the water, the bubbles of air coming out of my nose. Breast stroke down. Back stroke back. I took breaks when I wanted to - swam as long as I wanted - spent 5 minutes in the hot tub. And came home - feeling better.

And tomorrow will be Tuesday.

I'll give it another shot.

Footloose and fancy free...

Is what I feel like saying after the first week with our new president. It just feels a little more relaxed and a little more like we can breath a collective sigh of relief as opposed to waiting on pins and needles for the next dumb thing to happen. The mania of Tuesday carried me through the rest of the week - a rather intense week - which was wearing me down. And then I started to realize that I could be fighting the plague that seemed to be going around - which will cause you to slow way down. Who wants to be sick if you can prevent it.

Tonight I went to the Seattle Derby Brats & Tootsie Roller's awards ceremony (like our prom). It was at a super swanky studio in the neighborhood right next door to mine - Fremont. Lara was spinning, my friend Audrey was there (as her daughter is a brat) and a few other Jet City Skaters. It was really quite fun. They had an award for every skater. And they are just young girls. The Tootsie Rollers ranging from 6-10 and the Brats 10ish - 16 (which is a huge difference in age and development.) But it was awesome to be at a sport for a women's sport that is not man's sport that women do but truly a sport being created, crafted and regulated by women. It was awesome to see the mentorship of older skaters (from both Rat City & Jet City) and the younger skaters - even the Brats as mentors to the Tootsies - on the rink - on the dance floor.

I was talking to one of the Brat's grandfather (whose daughter is on my league and we sit together on the same bus.) He was talking about how great this sport is and how all these young women have stories and they all stick together. Once in derby, always in derby. He couldn't be more proud to be a part of it (and with three grown kids, he's been a part of many things.) He said when people ask him why men's derby (merby) hasn't taken off yet, he tells people it's because men aren't interested in learning the rules but just want to knock the crap out each other (and you need the rules to win.) I told him Merby hadn't taken off people really, men just aren't as cute in short skirts.

Kitties for Obama and Tears of Joy

Last night I think the kitties must have been just as excited as we all were about the election because they would NOT stop running around. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. when I heard Lara get up because of kitty friends running around. They finally quit chasing a bag or running like crazy monkeys down the hall but my brain was completely turned on. I finally go my mind to quiet down and then they decided to play hide-and-seek behind the closet door. Oh my gosh! Kitties couldn't wait for the new president... and wanted the rest of us to know!

Exhausted, I headed down to the Paramount, with Lara, and met a bunch of other friends there. At 7:15 a.m. there were a thousand people trying to get into the Paramount (much like the Playhouse in Cleveland). I parked the car and hopped in line with everyone else. It was so thrilling! It was 7:15 a.m. and chilly (not nearly as cold as it was in DC), pitch black with frosty breaths. We climbed to the second balcony and after claiming my seat, I skipped around to 2 or 3 coffee shops that didn't have lines to grab some coffees for my friends. I raced back and settled down for the inauguration.

It was wonderful and overwhelming. The older black man sitting next to me couldn't stop crying. He would wipe his eyes, wipe his nose and take a deep breath. And then someone would say something, Aretha would sing, Biden would take his oath, Obama would be sworn in, and the gentleman next to me would start sobbing all over again. My whole row was teary eyed but this man was sobbing - I wanted to pat his back - I wanted to say "thank god!" or "who knew this would ever happen" but he mumbled his own disbelief under his breath and then tears would roll down his cheeks again. And my humble experienced was humbled even more. The couple in front of me hugged each other often. We, as a group of thousand, would often laugh, sigh, or cheer collectively. I got text messages from Seattle, Cleveland, DC, Chicago wrapped in honest disbelief. It was an awesome experience.

I left to head to work (right upstairs - in the Paramount building) stopping by my car (in a piad lot) first to grab my bag that I left in the trunk. I got to an intersection and at a coffee shop a musician was playing the saxophone and people on the street burst into "America the Beautiful". Cars started beeping. A bus driver, seeing all of us flooding out of the Paramount, asked at the stop light, "How was it?! How was the inauguration?" We shouted a collective, "Awesome!" sad that he couldn't make it. What a truly beautiful morning.

We can change the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSJsEVf0pU&feature=related

Otterpop becomes a Derby Queens

Tonight, Mona, Maude, Bess and I were on our way back from the Oly bout in Olympia - when Maude asked Bess to turn down the heater (which Mona and I love) to which Bess asked, "Are you all warm enough?" to which Maude replied, "The Otterpops are just fine" - cracking us all up. I am an otterpop - I am cold like a Popsicle. Always slightly chilled.

Derby Queen is what the sash said that was slipped over my sailor costume - as 6 of us went as the Village People to our "famous people" themed Prom - last night. But the award for derby queen was really the award for 2008 League MVP. (wow!) How awesome is that!?!? I am flattered and thrilled. As my brother Mike would say, "It's pretty f*&#ing sweet." I'm, of course,completely in love my league,. And it's not because of the award but because of the direction we're going; the great strides we're making to help grow derby; better relationship building and playing a better game. It's a good time to be a roller girl. And Prom was a celebration of that.

The Otterpop wins MVP. Yeah!

Photos from Prom below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67749380@N00/sets/72157612721045312/

Brrrrrr....

The chill in Seattle isn't nearly as bitter as the chill in Cleveland, Detroit or New Year but it's definitely cold. The thing is I remember the deep freeze in Iowa in January of 1994. The governor declared a "state of emergency" - though we still had classes (it has something to do with having to pay nurses time-and-a-half - god forbid.) We were told NOT to be outside for more than 5 minutes, avoid bridges and rivers (where the wind comes whipping down with no barriers to stop it.) I made the mistake of getting off the bus a mile from my dormitory by the Iowa River. My eyelashes froze to my scarf and it felt like my core temperature took a slight dive.

That cold snap killed some people in Chicago and in other parts of the Midwest. The negative 20 with a negative 50 windchill took leave and the thermometer broke zero. You would have thought it was spring! People put on shorts and pulled out their Birkenstock - that's the difference between negative 20 and zero - shorts.

Zero felt balmy.

Thankfully it's been over a decade since I've said that.

What would you do?

I was watching a blurry ABC last night when I show came on, "What would you do?" They put actors through various scenarios where, for example, people see a guy drop a perceived date rape drug into a woman's drink. And they tape various examples of what people do. More often than not, people respond some way - by offering to buy her another drink or even confronting the guy. (Thankfully, I've never been in a situation like that before.) But I would totally do something - because I have and I've been yelled at while doing.

Walking down the street in Chicago with my friend Denise one summer night a woman and man were arguing on the street and he pushed her violently as we walked by. I turned on a dime and asked the woman if she was OK? and she started yelling at me to "mind my own fucking business". walked away and right into a cop and told him about the situation. I've called the cops on domestic situations and when I've heard people screaming at 3 a.m. in the park. Like the people on TV though, I've been stopped by friends who didn't want me to interfere. I saw a homeless man being harassed by police (or that's what I thought) and as I pulled up, my friend grabbed my arm and told me not to interfere.

It was an interesting show but goes back to that point that we need to keep an eye on each other... it does take a village. But it doesn't stop when we become adults.

Boundaries...

On my way to work this morning, I passed a man who was saying, "Well then I'm not going to work on the weekends if they're not going to let me work at home. Screw them. I already put in 20 hours on the weekend and they won't let me work a few days a week at home? Don't expect me to answer your email after 5 p.m. I'm off the clock." I could understand. My brother Mike hasn't taken a long (read: more than 4 days) vacation in 3 + years because of his business. My other brother has always worked a gazillion hours. My boss works on the weekends, I have friends that take work home. And I've been thinking of my work life balance and the boundaries you need to keep to keep work from flooding into life, or derby from flooding into work, spreading past its banks and mucking things up (much like the cows from this Seattle Times article who were flooded in on this piece of land last week.)

So creating boundaries... I'm doing better with some of them. Mondays are my nights to swim with Pygmy at the Ballard Pool a block away (in the "easy" lane, relaxing) and have a beer at the Tin Hat down the street. We get caught up on each other's lives, our common friends, some friends we only know from each other, hopes, dreams, ambitions... and then we head back to our homes keeping in mind all of these things. Monday nights are a great time to relax and control the floods of work, derby, volunteering, life...

With drawl...

Here I am on a Saturday night, sitting at home, watching last seasons Flight of the Concord, cleaning my skates, cleaning the apartment. I'm sitting at home because I don't want to go out (I did last night to Purr in support of the GLBT friendly bars who were threatened by some nut) and honestly I need the "holidays" to end. I need a break from so much food, tasty beverages, being out all of the time, snacking on left overs, going to happy hour, going out after happy hour, eating left over candy, drinking beer you got as a gift, staying up until all hours of the morning...sleeping in.

But it's hard.

I am craving something with a bit of chocolate or a tasty beverage. And not because I actually want it but because I've been doing it for the last 3 - well maybe 6 weeks. It's hard to come off of your high of gluttony and "resume normal life" which looks like working all day, skating, swimming, going to committee meetings, writing in my blog, going to board meetings, making your own meals again, going to an occasional happy hour. . .getting little sleep. Yeah.

*photo of random art on the street

Bleh, it's windy...

It took most of the day to get home, smashed between people who had very little regard for my personal space and an extra 40 minutes in the air - but I'm back home in Seattle - ready to face, accept, jump into the new year - woot! (It was like the flight home brought a transition from fun times with the family to work and the rest of my winter.)

Tonight, with two happy cats on my lap, the wind is blowing trucks off the road - the rain is forcing people out of their homes with fears of flooding. It's back to winter. It's the start of the derby season.

Here are some photos from my suprise visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67749380@N00/sets/72157612309413206/

The longest holidays continues, bald like a dolphin, salt


I got thru the security line at the airport tonight with ease. (Today had been a pretty chill day as many friends were back at work and a few of my plans got canceled - I just ended up hanging out at Mike's house.) I bought a People Magazine and Vanity Fair for the plane ride and curled up in a chair just to hear that my flight hadn't left Chicago yet and there was no way I was going to make my connecting flight in Denver to Seattle. I got in line after a couple minutes and after being given a couple options: I could fly to Denver and sleep in the airport - flying out first thing in the morning, fly to DC at 6 a.m. then direct to Seattle and be there by noon, fly to Chicago at 6 a.m. and take a 3 p.m. flight to Seattle. Having slept in enough airports, I suggested flying to Chicago at noon and then taking a flight to Seattle. She agreed and booked me for tomorrow. So I hoped on the RTA and headed back into the city where it had begun to rain - freezing rain.

Mike picked me up at the RTA stop. I had already gotten a hold of Jill and she was seeing "Milk" at the Cedar Lee so I agreed to meet with her and Jeff for a tasty beverage. Mike drove his truck to the end of his street before handing it over to me - I'm not afraid to drive on black ice - but in someone elses truck I am slightly nervous. I pulled out onto the main road and passed three salt trucks along the way - that made me happy - salt trucks. I had passed like 8 police cars on the way home last night from hanging out with Kathy where we caught up on a million things and made plans for 2010. Those are two things I rarely see in Seattle - salt and police. Both are necessary - sometimes.

So one more night on the super comfy sofa in the basement. I found some pieces to toys when I was cleaning up this morning. The twins got Barbies for Christmas and they got ones that were scuba Barbie complete with dolphins. Alexandre was combing her smooth plastic dolphin with the brush meant for Barbies hair when she looked up and said to no one in particular, "This dolphin is bald like Uncle Mike." Hilarious. Even if you step on that plastic dolphin 8 times and find other pieces parts after they've left.

The holidays that never end...

So I arrived on the red eye in Cleveland on Friday morning - slightly exhausted though not as horrible as some of my red eye flights have been in the past. I came home to surprise my parents for the "Johnson Christmas" gathering at my younger brother's (Mike) house. Mike and I ran around all day on Friday buying a few last things. I took a nap and then we headed out to see one of Mike's high school friends while we waited for Mark, Margie and all the girls to show up. Of course, in Johnson family tradition, we ended the night at 3 a.m. playing drunkin' Wii and falling asleep on the futon in the basement (which is really, really nicely redone). Saturday morning wasn't as nice to me as I expected but after a few hours of playing with the twins and an hour nap (at one point the girls yelling loudly in my ears "Aunt Michelle are you dead?!"and laughing hysterically), I was good to go for the rest of the day.

With my brothers out getting some late lunch and Margie in the shower, me and the girls were the only ones around to answer the door when my parents and family friend arrived. My father did a double take and said "You're not suppose to be here." And my mother was thrilled. It was a nice surprise and no one had a clue though Mark had suggested it back in October. It was a nice surprise. And after many promises to the girls about opening presents (when Grammy gets here, after lunch, after your naps) we opened up some gifts, ate some homemade-ish pizzas, and got back to Wii (minus the drunkin' part for me.) It was again good times as the girls wanted to play and Mike, Mark or Margie would try to do Wii skiing or hula hooping holding a 40 lbs 3 year old twin - making it even funnier. They also entertained us plenty with their pink and purple boas and tiarras and microphones - singing songs that only they knew in rock star fashion.

Getting to bed at a much more reasonable hour (like 1:30 a.m.), the parents came back for bunch and lunch, some movie watching and hanging out with the little baby (who looks JUST LIKE her sisters did at that age.) Eventually everyone trickled out of the house and I was dropped off at Rebecca's house to hang out with her, her twins and 8 year-old son. They are just like Energizer Bunnies - also singing and running around (what is it with twin girls!?) without the slightest care that they don't know me from a random stranger on the street, in pink and white tutus like little forest fairies or wood nymphs (and they kind of look like them with their little noses and unruly hair). I followed them upstairs to look at some gifts they got for the holidays and Gabriel went on to tell me that they sleep in the hallway. I verified it with Rebecca and yes, her twin girls sleep in the hallway between her parents room and Gabriel's room. I think that's hilarious. Rebecca decided it was a battle she couldn't win - and what was the problem - at least they slept, with pillows and blankets on the floor.

And now with only a day and a half left of this very short trip, I'm trying to catch the other people on my short list: one of whom I didn't see the last time I was here, one with a new baby, and another who I spend a very short amount of time with. But without a car and less than 48 hours left in Cleveland, I'm going to do the best I can... until I can come back out again.

Happy New Year!

Last night I celebrated the end of 2008 at Highway 99 in Seattle with a bunch of friends. There were burlesque shows (two of the performers had fakes and caused quit a stir!), Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers (who are moving to Austin) and plenty of fun dancing and tasty beverages. Today I did next to nothing - lounged most of the day and then finally pulled out the Wii fit. WHAT FUN! Holy cow, I can see why people would like it so much. Of course, in my wii fit years it says I'm 46 years old because my balance (to the back and the right) and weight (average). Of course of some that is holiday sloth which will trim up and off when I "resume my regularly scheduled life". It's fun though. I'm really enjoying it.

In the midst of all the chatter last night, people were talking about their resolutions. JoJo wants to write more. Someone else wanted to dance. There was the "I'm giving up xxxx" or "I am going to do more yyyy." What I know about resolutions it that they have to be attainable or you're just setting yourself up to fail... I don't know what my resolution is going to be this year. Unfortunately, I am giving up the P-Patch this year. I LOVE doing it in the spring but it finds itself neglected come mid-late summer. Plus, I just feel like work is going to take it out of me this year - not that I'm not going to try and keep balance but it's going to be a tough one (I've had like 4 meetings on the budget and will most likely be getting a pay cut - which is ok if it means we don't have to lay anyone off.) In giving up the P-Patch, I'm going to make myself promise more summer camping and hiking. That will be one of the best things I can do for work-life balance - get off the grid as much as I can. I'm sure I'll come up with more solid resolutions as soon as the holidays wear off.

Happy New Year!

Waiting, the Odd Juan Out and wiii pain...

Tonight I met my friend Annika for dinner - Annika of living-and-traveling-all-over-the-world-who-I-visited-in-Egypt fame. We hadn't been able to get together in her nearly two weeks home because the snow stranded her in Edmonds and then pushed us up against the holidays. We (me, her and her friend Claire) met at La Carta in Ballard - possibly the BEST Mexican food ever - at least in Seattle. And there was a wait - there is always a wait. Even on a Tuesday night. We waited for 45 minutes but that wasn't the part that made us crazy - it was all of the people lolly-gagging, sitting at their tables, with their checks paid when there were 20+ people waiting for seats in the very busy, tiny Mexican restaurant. The three of us tried the "stair down" and even though of going and asking someone if they were about to leave (when they clearly weren't.) It took us less time to eat dinner than it did to get seated (of course by that time we were so hungry.) Rude. Really.

In spite of all that, we a had a great but brief time getting caught up and I was thrilled to be on her "short list" of people she visited with while home. It's hard. The first time she came back from living in Jordan she tried to see everyone. And I could relate - you have two hour visits with 7 different people each day - just skimming the surface of their lives. It is much nicer and just easier to manage when you can spend more quality of time with people. And that's how you end up NOT telling people you're home - because it's impossible to see them all. So you see some on one trip home and others on another trip. It's just better that way. But it's always nice to be on the "short list".

Last night, I created some wiipeople. Before Lara had gotten the memory card, I just selected different "people" for different sports and gave them different names. Juan and Padro were my characters for tennis - doubles. They were a pretty kick butt pair (and Padro was pretty strong in the front) so yesterday, before getting started I got to "create" Juan and Padro. It was silly and fun. And when you play other games like "find the two look alikes" you find yourself shouting "Juan and Padro!" "Maya and Aisha!" "Joulee!" Wiii people. Cute.

I was at work this morning when I realized that my arm was sort. I tried to think of what it could be from (swimming? carrying groceries? carrying my bag weird?) and the only conclusion was "wiii pain". Yes, I had wiii arm, tennis elbow, whatever from bowling, playing tennis and shooting UFOs. Of course, I found that hilarious and had to tell everyone about it.

*pictures of Rebecca's twins! Look how cute they are! And they're real!

Medium speed, rolling towards the sun, wiiiiiiii

This weekend I braved the malls in the desperate need to get a new swimsuit. After 8 years of sporadic use, it has given out over three months of more consistent swimming. Luckily, Pygmy directed me to a shop to shortcut all the craziness of the malls but it was close enough - and I got sucked into the vortex of the mall. It was completely overwhelming, as it always is, even not during the holidays. The funny ironic piece is I swung by Pygmy's house on Monday to check on it - she left me a wonderful Christmas present - a gift certificate to Sylvia's - where I had just bought my swimsuit.

(In the amidst all of the weekend insanity and jumping in and out of stores, Lara decided to get a Wii. And she didn't find any in the chaos on Saturday but managed to stumble on one at The Fred on Sunday - much like how she found the Wii for the family we adopted for work. It's been fun! Now I don't have to wait to go home to Cleveland to play wii bowl, or tennis. Woot!)

And thankfully the days are getting longer - the kitty friend hung out in the sun to prove how much they loved the sun. Kitty friends are good for things like that. They're also good at getting in the way when you go to throw a wii bowling ball. You don't expect kitties to lay down and roll around in the bowling alley - even the one in your home.

Ohio Winters...

That's what Nataliedee.com calls this image... except it could have been Seattle Winters, or Portland Winters, or anywhere else in the northern part of the US this winter - though the warm temperatures have melted the snow in both places... which is fine. The holidays are almost over...

The perfect turkey, a little dancing and getting back to work...

Yesterday, I might have made the best turkey in the three years that I've been making turkeys. It was a combo of things that made it delicious. I used a dry rub from eatingwell.com, an article from the magazine and of course my Joy of Cooking that I got a few year's ago. But what really made it work was the meat thermometer that I bought this past Thanksgiving. It's really amazing how you can get the turkey to come out just right - with the help of basting, turning and a thermometer(!) Everyone's dishes were fantastic. We had arranged carpools to get Katie out of the Central District (she miraculously ended up catching a bus which got her to Greenwood.) Lara made green bean casserole with fresh beans and cream of portobello. Dani made a fantastic berry cobbler and used real potatoes in the cheesy potato dish. (Katie bought pumpkin cheesecake from the store, but it was still tasty!) Everything was delicious and it was just the perfect amount of company and food to make it a wonderful evening with stranded peeps.

After eating ourselves silly and watching Wall-e (super cute) - we headed off to Neighbors for Thursday night dancing - even on Christmas night. It took a while for the DJ to warm up and even longer for the crowd to gather. It was a really good time - I went home exhausted from standing on my feet and eating all day.

Today I went to work - though we technically had it off - to get out of the house. Since the snow storm started last Thursday, I've only actually made it to work one day - Tuesday. Like a million other people in the Puget Sound, I had cabin fever,bed sores from getting enough sleep for once, and wanted to be doing something more than just eat, watch movies, and trump through the snow (though it wasn't that bad.) I managed to work for a couple of hours and skip around downtown during lunch. I was thrilled to see so many people downtown. I had been angry with the city when I actually made it to work on Tuesday because of all the snow on the streets - tons of it. Very little signs of snow plows, no shovels, or anything. In such a crappy economy, it's important for the city to support your downtown. (Coming from a city with very little "downtown" life - you need to have a vibrant downtown. It draws people to the city. It's a very positive characteristic). I was happy to skip around in the rain and see all of the people out... even if I was at work.

Another snow day, Random ingredients, snow bound orphans

I told my ED (executive director) yesterday that if it was snowing when I woke up this morning I wasn't coming to work - she said she wasn't coming in at all. I woke up at 7 a.m., looked out onto the porch and went back to bed - it was pouring down snow.

Yesterday after work, I went, for the second time, to the Burlesque Nutcracker with Puja, Mona, Megan, Josh and Lara. It was great as it was last year - however this time we had ROCK STAR seating because we got there so early. It was charming, sexy, elegant, wonderful and super creative - and something I would love to do - if I had the time and money (it's pricey to learn). I know burlesque is going to be the second career after derby of Drew Blood and even Megan is considering it. It's one of those empowering, positive body image, with athleticism and creativity that is much like derby. (I often call derby athletes performing burlesque on wheels.) And I always enjoy this production - I enjoyed my company, dinner and tasty beverages even more.

After getting up later, Lara and I figured out what we would be cooking for our snow bound orphans (Derika, Dani and perhaps Arson Annie) and came up with plenty of vegetarian delights for Dani - a delicious veggie/root roast. With list in hand, we trumped down to the grocery store in the slushy snow where a million other people were trying to get groceries for the holidays. On our list for the veggie roast was sherry - which I've never bought before and don't know what else I would use it for. That's the thing about the holidays, you end up acquiring herbs and spices that you only use one time a year - if that. (Luckily, the Ballard Market has a bulk spice and nut section - just not for things like sherry.) Sherry evokes a strange emotion in me - I can't quite say I'm conformable with it. I had a friend whose mother was an alcoholic and when she ran out of all other alcohol she would drink the cooking sherry, rice wine, whatever she could fine - which I find utterly disgusting and a sign of complete desperation. So now I have a bottle of sherry. I hope I can find additional uses for it.

The snow has turned to rain - as I type this blog. I put a snowman back together on my way home from the store (picture) - his eyes, nose and mouth had fallen off. I'm meeting a friend for a tasty beverage at 4:30 p.m. and am taking Pygmy and family to the airport at 10:30 p.m. I'm making cranberry relish (cranberries, orange, Cinnamon stick) and the crust for the veggie roast. I might watch Hedwig later on. It's going to be a great rainy snow day.

How long you (suckers) been here, Spades, Veggie Chili

This morning as I was getting ready, my ED called an said if I could make it to work then great but if not, what couldn't wait another day (as it had waited 3 days already.) I was getting dressed - I was ready to give it a try. I wondered out to my bus stop at about 8 a.m. (I was not going to risk driving my 10-pound car into downtown Seattle only to get it stuck there.) After waiting for about 25 minutes (getting a coffee, watching cars with chains on their tires and trucks go by at a snails pace) with about 35 people, some cheery sap came by - How long have you all been waiting?! "Someone mumbled 1 hour and ten minutes... You need to let us who have been waiting the longest, have seats on the bus... grumble grumble grumble. Crabby. Crabby. Crabby." Me and a couple other people decided getting on a bus with 35 crabby people was not the best way to go to work - or to go to work at all and headed back home.

After walking to the post office, Lara (the University closed - they NEVER close) and I decided to head to The Fred. We hopped in the car and pulled out around the narrow corner of the building and promptly got stuck. With the spade (really, it was like an edging shovel) that was available by our managers apartment, we realized we weren't interested in digging out the entire drive to the street with this garden tool that you would use to plant trees. So I dug out the parking spot and we pushed the car back into it's spot. That ended that adventure.

I invited a couple of my friends whose flight had been canceled (with no chance of being rescheduled until Friday) over for veggie chili. Derika's flight to Florida was canceled and Dani couldn't get back to Detroit - which was the most upsetting. I invited them over for Jesus' birthday dinner and other things to try and cheer them up. I have many friends heading out of Seattle for family visits and warm getaways that may not be able to do so. They've canceled 70% of flights. But I have a 13-pound turkey and some great veggies dishes for anyone who needs a place to eat.

Late minute addition...

You have to read this article about salting Seattle streets - which we don't do here. You would think in a city full of such intelligent people we could come up with SOME effective solution:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008551284_snowcleanup23m.html