Google Navigation Destroyed my Career

Okay, maybe I'm over-exaggerating. But I'm still extremely disappointed in Google Nav. I know, it popped up with a warning saying it was in Beta, blah blah, but it's not like I was trying to find Mordor here!

Franciscan Vascular Associates in Federal Way is not in some backwoods country hick town in the middle of nowhere. It's on a main drag, in a big city, and Google screwed me over not once, but twice!

I have myself a whole hour to make my way for this interview, that would take 20 minutes without traffic and probably 30 minutes with some morning rush. There was an accident on North I-5 (duh, because there always is) which cut down my time quite a bit but I could still get there in time.

If Google Nav had any idea where I was going.

After I got lost the first time, as Google Nav decided to take the scenic route and plop me in the center of a residential district, I called the clinic and they gave me the address for St. Francis Hospital and said it was nearby. Okay, perfect. Plug it in and get going. I still wasn't late. Yet.

And then Google Nav plopped me in the middle of a park.

DAFUQ.

Now it was 7:30, and I was officially late for my interview. Luckily, the interviewer was the one who answered the phone the second time and had to manually direct me because obviously Google Nav was on some sort of strike and was refusing to tell me where this place was at.

The purple star was my first attempt, and the red star is, supposedly, where St. Francis is located. No, that would be the BIG F*CKING PINK BLOB NEXT TO THE ADDRESS FOR VASCULAR.

So, I probably ruined my chance at getting this job since I was about 10 minutes late for the interview. I could have found the time that weekend to drive up there and find the place, but if Monday was any indication, I wouldn't have found it anyway!

I guess I learned never to trust Google Nav again.

I Wish I Liked Football

With the NFC Championships fast approaching, Seattle is in a fervor. They're still riding on a high from last year's Super Bowl win, and everybody is talking about the "best team in the League". I wish I could ride the wave of this enthusiasm. 

All rights go to the original poster of this image

Don't get me wrong, I love the Seahawks and I'm proud of them. They are a great team. I used to watch them with my dad when I was a kid, so I know the basics - the ins and outs of the game. Unfortunately, my like of football has been tainted.

A couple of years ago, I was married to a man who loved football. I used to watch games with him. At first it was fun, but then he decided that drinking would be a staple to watching the Seahawks play. He would become annoyed if I asked him any questions about what had just occurred during a play. He would get incredibly loud and boisterous, which is just not okay living on the third floor of an apartment. Then, as the years passed, he'd invite friends over, and they would all get drunk, loud, and boisterous. I just couldn't be in the same room as them anymore. I would tell them to quiet down and they would yell at me to shut up. I don't know if this mark on my rental history for noise complaints is related, but it sure as hell is following me around either way. I'm sure my old neighbors were extremely tolerant, but I know they were beyond loud. 

When it was just my husband and his best friend watching a game, they would often pause a recorded game for hours and argue about it, turning a 2-1/2 hour game (without commercials) into a 5-6 hour game, taking up the only TV in the house. Then, it wasn't just the Seahawks anymore. He had to watch every game of football the same way, just so he could keep up on who was going to play the Seahawks next, or whatever.  

I love you, Wil Wheaton. 

We also had arguments about the show *I* wanted to watch. The Next Iron Chef played Sunday nights at 8 or 9pm, and I would want to watch it live because Alton Brown usually tweeted along with the show. Normally this would not interfere with his "Seahawks time", but because him and his buddy would pause it and yell at each other for hours, I would complain about wanting to watch my show. It should never have been an issue, but every Sunday it was the same. 

Sometimes I would cry, because I felt trapped. Sure I had a car, but I had nowhere to go, no one else to spend time with. I was trapped in an apartment full of drunks with nothing to do. I decided then that I hated football. Okay, that's a strong word. But extremely dislike. It's very hard for me to get over all this bitterness the game created around my marriage, even though it wasn't the sport's fault. I kind of worry about watching the games with any one else (any future boyfriends) because I fear them being just like my ex-husband. 

I know it's wrong to blame football, but I can't help it. Maybe one day I can start over. But today is not that day.

Sorry, hand egg sports ball fans.

What I'm __________ December Edition

EATING: I've been munching on these Morning Star Veggie Burgers from Costco. They smell like hash browns, and are filled with all types of healthy goodies. They're pretty tasty, actually. I chose them because I'm trying to get as much protein in my diet as possible while keeping my fat intake fairly low, which is kind of hard with something like a cheeseburger. These veggie burgers still have 20 grams of protein, so that's pretty epic. I've been slowly dropping weight just by changing up my diet!

DRINKING: My first time trying Stumptown coffee recently thanks to a referral from a friend of mine. Since I drink the Guatemala Antigua coffee from Starbucks, I thought I'd try their Guatemala Bella Vista as my first whole bean purchase.
...It's gross. The flavor profile is so drastically different from anything I've ever tried before. That and there's this skin on the coffee beans called "chaff". Apparently, the lighter and slower you roast the beans, the less likely the chaff will fly off in the process. It gets stuck in the seam of the beans and then when it's ground up I have flakes of it all in my coffee. I was told by Stumptown that this does not affect the flavor... but I've read that even having a dry filter in your coffee pot (not that I use one but I digress) can affect the flavor of the coffee, so how can this not? I'm not impressed. I won't give up, not yet. But it did cost me $17 for this 12oz bag of coffee that I don't even want to drink, now. Kind of disappointing. I will go for a simple house blend next.


WATCHING: Star Trek: The Next Generation binging. On Season 6 out of 7 right now. Also, Northern Exposure. My recent trip over to Roslyn had me wondering about this show. After my parents told me it was funny and they liked it, I decided to grab the entire series. I haven't gotten very far yet, but it looks promising.

Wow, so 90's

LISTENING TO: Krewella. I had one song by her already for a while "Live For The Night", which I actually mentioned in a previous "What I'm" post. I decided to see if I liked anything else of hers, and lo and behold: success. I found three more songs. One of them was super dubstep-y, so I cut out about a minute of it, and the other two are actually great. She's got a wonderful voice. Krewella - Alive

READING: Nothing good. I accidentally bought book two of one I already read that wasn't so great, called The Soul Seekers by Alison Noel. They're cool if you're into Native American type magick (that's how they spell it) and all that jazz, but I'm really not. I'm going to buy all the Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth novels though, since they were my ex-husband's books originally, and re-read those again, for the third time!

WRITING: Why do I even include this section anymore? I've been on a dry spell for months. I wish I could find my groove again.

DOING: You know, I was going to write something here; a brief synopsis of all the stuff I've been up to lately, but there's too much! Time for a separate blog post! In addition to all that junk, I've started an Aikido class. (For God's sake, don't ask me what that is; I've been questioned at least 5 times already by different people. I've added a link for convenience!) It's pretty darn cool. Once I get more into it I'll write a blog post on it, but so far I've only done three classes. More to come!

I Unlocked My Code

Dating is almost like an experiment. Well, it is an experiment, but on yourself. When you're with somebody else, when you put yourself in situations that are not normal, you are told things about yourself from your observers. And through deductive reasoning, you begin to figure yourself out.

I realized recently that in certain situations, I am extremely unobservant. But there was a deeper meaning behind this observation (notice the irony here?). I believe I am unobservant because I am introverted, and in specific situations when there is a lot of outward stimuli, I will not and can not notice everything that goes on around me. I figured this out on a date with Derek a few weeks back.

Case in point: Foundation Nightclub. They were playing a band that he was fond of and that I didn't particularly care for. I was there because of him, for him. The first time I had come here, the place was crowded, but you could still move. This time, it was much worse. People were pressed up against one another. I was constantly being pushed around. I had earplugs so as not to damage my hearing. It was all I could do to focus on the music and try to dance. I stared hard at the stage. I barely noticed anything else around me unless I got bumped or stepped on or had to move. Half way through the set I had to take a 5 minute reprieve in the bathroom just to breathe.

After it was over, Derek began talking about all the things he saw. People dumping their ice or cups on the floor when they were done with their drinks. A guy basically choking his girlfriend as they danced (and she apparently enjoying it). People noticing me and sometimes trying to dance with me (it really is hard to tell, since we're all crushed together). A guy basically fingering his girlfriend to the point where security was going to intervene.

I had to stop and just think for a moment. All of that had gone on around me and I'd had no idea. I was focusing on just getting through it. And I realized that I tend to focus on things. On a single thing, or a single event. Depending on the situation, two emotions will emerge. I will either be excited about it, or I will be anxious. I can focus on one thing: ice skating. Above all else, I wanted to go ice skating with Derek. It never happened obviously, but I am still focused on it. Okay, Derek is out of the picture. I still want to go ice skating. Now I want to go to the Columbia River Gorge. I'm pissed that I had to cancel my trip. But I'm going to focus on getting there at some point.

I focus on these things and I can get super excited. I'm like a kid in a candy store. It's all I can think about. And then there's the opposite. I can get anxious. I got anxious when Derek was going to show up at the nightclub and meet Mary for the first time. I focused on this future event. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and it was causing a negative feedback loop.

It's a very introverted concept to be internal. Your brain has the solution before it even formulates the idea. It is already convinced about what will happen, and if the outcome will be beneficial. You end up asking yourself "What's the point?" all the time. And sometimes this stops you from even trying. I really don't know the point of all this besides just getting all this out on "paper". At least I know a little bit more about myself than I did before!

I'm All up-in Doin' Stuff

If you follow my blog posts at all, you may have a noticed a general lack of... doing stuff. I'm not much of a stuff-doer. I'm introverted, so I enjoy spending time alone. After work I mainly relax by watching TV, facebooking (this is how I raise my social bar. Think The Sims), writing, reading, art, etc.

This Sim is either currently going to the bathroom or peeing their pants.

And eating at the same time, apparently.

But dating people gets me out doing things. Sure, occasionally I'll spend time with my friends and we go out to a bar, or bowling, or something equally boring. But thanks to Derek I've been doing all these things that I've A. Never done before or B. Haven't done in many, many years. These things include:

1. Going to a Gala
2. Go-Karts
3. Ice Skating
4. Road Trip
5. Night Club

I guess I never really knew what a "road trip" was. I was thinking of it in a logical sense of "I'm on a road, taking a trip". My idea of a road trip was planning an end game and reaching your destination in order to do it. Apparently that's not the consensual definition. When Derek planned the last trip I was basically thinking What the heck is this?, but not really in a negative way. It was kind of fun. Now I'm planning the next one!

The Gala was interesting. It was a fund raiser for an organization called Communities in Schools, which Derek supports by being a committee member. Although in years past it had been a black tie/evening gown affair, this year it wasn't. It was "come dressed in your work clothes, we're holding it in a cramped distillery." Derek was none-to-impressed. I was absolutely relieved that I didn't have to dress up in an evening gown. 3-inch heels on a cement floor with no where to sit all night was not conducive to a good time though, regardless.

There isn't much to say about the Go-Karts. For some reason I remember doing it as a kid several years ago but I have no idea if this is true or not. (I asked mom, who promptly remembered how I fell off the bumper boats and into the water. Not the same, mom. Not the same.) Derek lapped me twice. My problem was that I kept thinking of the go-karts in 3-dimensional terms. What I mean by that is if you were in a regular car trying to careen around these corners, you would surely flip over. Hugging the ground generally eliminates that possibility but I was still being very conservative. Each lap was a bit better, at least. It was pretty fun, and I would most definitely do it again some day.

The Ice Skating, which I haven't done since I was probably 5 years old and did nothing but scoot around 1/4 of the wall and quit; I haven't done yet. Hopefully this weekend - that's the plan! I'll keep you all posted!

Dance Dance Revolution!

This post has nothing to do with the popular Japanese game. But, it does have to do with dancing. Last Friday night, I went to my very first dance club. At 30 years old. Even though it wasn't on my not-quite-mid-life-crisis list, it had been something in the back of my mind to do for several years.

I was never your typical child. Due to a mix of being overweight, extremely shy, introverted and ostracized, I never really got to do the things that normal teenagers do; like going to parties, or night clubs, or anything even remotely considered hanging out with strangers. I got it in my mind a few years ago that I wanted to try some of those things before it was too late.

How did I get it in my mind to go last Friday? Well, it was an idea prompted from Derek. He had invited me to a band still yet to be played, and I thought 'well, if I decide to go, I better check this place out and see if I even like the idea of it.' So, I found a DJ or a composer or whatever you call people who play House music, that sounded pretty good and I bought tickets. One for me, and one for my friend Mary.

The Futuristic Polar Bears weren't even going to start playing until 12:15am, so, not only did I have afternoon coffee, but I bought a 5-hour energy because: old. We arrived at 9pm, paid $20 to park (geezus) and promptly had to chug my energy shot in front of the bouncer because they wouldn't let me in the club with it. Oddly enough, I wasn't too embarrassed about that.

I had been chatting with Derek earlier in the day and I'd invited him to come, but he said he was hanging with his friends and might join us after if he wasn't tired. I was honestly kind of hoping he wasn't going to show, because this would be the first time meeting any of my friends and I was super nervous about it. Plus: dancing. I mean, I'm a gal going to a dance club at 30 who doesn't even dance. I'm full of contradictions! Not to mention this would be the first time dancing with Derek. This almost sounds like a play or a book. A very sad book.

Mary was the opposite of helpful, of course. I ordered drinks, and she tried to get me to dance but I refused. It mainly had to do with the fact that the place wasn't yet packed like a can of sardines, and people were basically dancing in friendship circles. She managed to pull me onto the dance floor, right in front of a bunch of VIP's standing watch over the area, and forced me to dance by waving my arms about as if I was her puppet on strings. I had a profound thought regarding this after the night was done:

Sometimes you can create the very situation you fear when you try to avoid it.

And then of course, Derek texted that he was on his way and would be there in 15 minutes. I tried not to panic. Which, lets be honest, I'm no good at. Mary was giving me a countdown. Again, not helpful. After my intense bout of "oh shit", Derek arrived, they shook hands, (it's never as bad as my imagination perceives it to be) and then Derek insisted on dancing, which was my other fear about his arrival.

I swear, Moon Moon is the funniest meme I've ever read

Okay, I'm good at panicking on the inside where Derek is concerned, so I contained myself as best as I could. For better or worse (I'm still not sure which) Derek never actually danced with me, we were side by side. Probably for the best. By this time the place was packed and I knew no one would be staring at me. That and at least I wasn't dancing alone (technically). I swear though, only Derek could get me to do this shit. I just followed everybody's lead. Jumped when the music hit its peak, tried to follow the rhythm, and have a decent time. And, I did mainly. You really do have to be super into the music that's playing though, so I doubt I would join him on this upcoming event he invited me to (he was going with friends anyway, it wouldn't have just been us) because it's Far East Movement, who are basically a hip hop band.

You have to be a certain kind of wacky to enjoy stuff like this

Derek tells me going to a dance club for House music isn't quite the same as going to a real band, but this is exactly the experience I hoped for, so I got what I wanted. It was hot, it was crowded, it was loud, but I would do it again as long as the music was right. That's certainly saying something!

What about you? Have you ever gone clubbing? Do you like it? Let me know in the comments!

An Artist Without Creativity

Have you ever heard of such a thing? You see, I'm not just a blogger or a writer, I'm an artist. For many years, the medium I craved the most was to draw. I was born with a pencil in my hand it seems. I never strayed far from pen and paper; I would sometimes get in trouble at school for doodling on my homework.

But I'm also not creative. I'm a copy artist. I have no clue if this is an actual word or not. However, I'm not a cheater. Tracing is not art. But I've been coping work ever since I was a child.

This is one of the first pictures I remember drawing, because it was a process to record an episode of Sailor Moon, grab my TV tray, and pause it at the exact moment that I wanted to copy.

[I remember going through my childhood complaining of crappy VCRs that had horrible noise whenever they paused and it was impossible to get a good picture to draw from. And every 5 minutes it would un-pause and I'd have to find the exact moment again!]

Anime became my obsession. The thing I loved most about anime was the fact that it was both very simplistic yet very complex.

I still have all of my old artwork. Page after page of every Sailor Moon character. A ton of Pokemon and Digimon pictures. Every Ranma 1/2 character, and even some Tenchi Muyo.

But very little original artwork. Yes, I took all of the elective art classes that I could, and I did draw a lot of things on my own, but my best work was always the original work of someone else. The only time I traced anything was if I had other plans for the piece.

This piece, for example, was taken off of the internet originally. I have no idea who drew it, but when I saw it, I had plans of my own. Even though I traced the work, I wanted to test my abilities with a new medium: oil pastels.

I didn't do very many of these. Even though it was fun, it didn't seem worth it. It looks rather sloppy.

Scratch art became my new favorite medium. It was something I discovered in high school art class. It is a sheet of silver or gold foil glued to a backing, and a thin layer of black ink is applied over the top. Your goal: scratch out your vision. Well, because I had no vision of my own, I once again took from an artist. This time, someone on DeviantArt had drawn a series of werewolf poses, and because of how the medium works (you can't erase pencil on an ink surface) I had to trace using chalk and an outline. This certainly got the job done, and I filled in all the gaps myself.











I've done lots of other things, too. This picture, for example, is scanned straight from a "How to Draw
Anime" book that I own. I was using a very old program, Photoshop Business Edition, and learning how to color art using layers. It's not as easy as it sounds. There was definitely no use of the paint bucket here.

Bob Ross was my perfect victim. Ahem, inspiration. He actually wanted you to copy his work. After doing a couple of pieces to get used to how he paints, this was my first real attempt. This is only on an 8x10 piece of canvas and was incredibly hard to scale down so far.

Some of you may recognize this picture - it is the one I use for my Kat in the Hat Facebook profile photo. It is one of my favorites. I drew this after I graduated high school and found myself bored at Bates Technical College. This time, I had moved beyond lousy crayons and even past "normal" colored pencils and into the likes of Prismacolor pencils. 100 times better. Yet still, despite all my advancement, this was still not an original piece.

Nothing that I drew from my own mind was good enough for me.








This... is an original piece. Obviously inspired by other things, but still from my own brain. Unfortunately undated, I can't even tell you how long ago I did this. I'm thinking it was back in high school.

Maybe I'm a cheater and not really an artist, or maybe an artist is their own worst critic and I'm being too hard on myself. I might never figure it out.

I wish that I still drew today, though. I've done some artsy things (a new scratch art piece and that Bob Ross painting were the most recent) but never to the scale that I used to. I kind of miss it.

Do you have anything that you used to do when you were young that you miss? Would you pick it up again, or have you grown out of it? Let me know in the comments!