Hello all!
It hasn't felt very summery here this past week. It's been cool during the day and really cool at night. However, today the sun is shining bright and I can't wait to get out in the sun and play!
I have gotten off my normal "weekly update" schedule of Mondays and for the past few weeks it has been creeping around to Wednesday when I realize that I have not sent it yet and I PANIC when I start getting messages about it. I apologize to those of you who count on it being delivered to your mailboxes every week like clockwork and I will make a more concerted effort to send it on Mondays from now on.
It's been a busy week complete with the following....
I had Thai food on Friday and it didn't make me sick! I avoided the entrees with coconut milk and it made ALL the difference. My fortune from my fortune cookie.... "Among the lucky, you are the chosen one." I don't know what that means but it's sitting here on my desk so I thought I would share.
The squirrels continue to visit my balcony and they are not at all scared of me anymore! When I walk out on the balcony instead of running away like they used to, now they freeze and stare at me. They know that I am more scared of them then they are of me so they just stand there..... I know that they are laughing hysterically at me on the inside and in the local squirrel hangouts in the neighborhood. Can't you just picture it, a couple of squirrels sitting around comparing their favorite local haunts over a pitcher of beer, all the while joking about how I am scared of them. I just know it is happening! :) All the locals continue to assure me that if I plant patio tomatoes and herbs that they won't bother them, we will see I am planning on doing some planting this weekend. I continue to really enjoy the birds and they continue to visit in abundance and they are beautiful. I am adding a hummingbird feeder to the mix soon, which should be interesting.
I was able to be with my little brother Dave as he celebrated his last 20-something birthday on Saturday. We figured out that we have not been together for his birthday since his graduation from Oregon State 5 years ago. Dave and Kristen's hosted a BBQ at Magnuson Park in Seattle on the banks of Lake Washington to celebrate their birthdays. It was a truly Seattle BBQ, complete with pouring down rain, but it didn't damper our spirits, we still had a great time!
Other weekend highlights included attending a concert in Tacoma on Saturday night. We saw the band Shimmer, one of our favorites! And spending several hours at Green Lake on Sunday.
It remains one of my favorite places, especially as it gets warmer outside.
This weeks celebration of one of my friends is all about my friend Karri Buresh! I met Karri in several different avenues including church and PEO in the fall of 2003 and we were instant friends or family depending on whom you ask. Early in our friendship people often asked if we were cousins. When continued to happen over and over again, we decided to embrace it rather than be annoyed by it, so we call each other "Cuz" now. Karri and her boyfriend Dale came to visit me in Seattle for Memorial Day weekend and we had a fabulous time! She always makes me laugh and holds a special place in my heart because I am able to be the wacky, funny, purse-carrying, creative and loud woman that I am with her!
Anyway.... Karri was featured on a story on Salt Lake City's Channel 5 promoting eye exams for infants. I have not seen the story but a link to the on line story is attached. From all the reports I have heard she was a bright and shining star, and I don't doubt it for a minute! Congrats Cuz!
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=210866&nid=46&template=print
Hope you are all well and I will catch up with you next week!
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Weekly Update - Seizing the Summer and my new PEO Chapter!
Hello all!
I apologize for being a bit delayed in sending my weekly update this week, I have been working on in for a few days, but just haven't be able to get it finished. Every time I have sat down to work on it, I end up getting distracted. So better late than never, here it is.
It's hard to believe that less than 2 weeks ago it was extremely warm outside and I was ready to seize the summer. I was ready to trade in my sweaters for flip-flops, but no such luck. It's been a cool week here, which makes for great sleeping weather, but I am ready for sandals and Capri's and eating lunch outside! Maybe next week.
Speaking of seizing the summer, I picked up a copy of Seattle magazine a few weeks ago and it's their official summer issue which includes 161 Ways to Seize the Summer. After reading the article I made a decision, I am going to do all 161 Things! When sharing this hair-brained idea with the locals, many thought me completely nuts, oh well. As I have been transferring the list to my palm pilot it has become very clear that I cannot complete all 161 things because many are happening simultaneously and there are a few on the list which I have absolutely no interest in. In addition there are a few things that I think that should be on the list that are not..... So I decided to make my own list with many of the items from Seattle magazine and a few of my own. It's currently a work in progress, but I will share it with all of you once I complete it.
Work has been really busy! I wrote a record number of quotes last week (7), which was aided greatly by our recent appearance at the trade show in Cleveland. We finally worked out the travel schedule for the remainder of the trade shows this year and I am attending all of them, which should be a lot of fun!
I have visited a total of five PEO chapters for various activities and meetings since I arrived here in Seattle. I had decided that I really wanted to take my time and find a chapter that was the perfect fit for me. In the past I know I shared my experience visiting the "Anne" chapter which met in Queen Anne and everyone seemed to have Anne in their name somehow and no one had noticed it! After visiting the first three chapters I was sure that I would never find a good fit. I began to think that my chapter in Utah was even more exceptional that I previously thought because none of the chapters I was visiting even came close! But then I visited Chapter ID and after that first evening I knew that it was different than the rest and that feeling was just reconfirmed on every visit since. I really wanted to hold off making a decision until the fall, but when it's right, it's right. I received a call from the chapter president right before the Memorial Day holiday asking for my address and a few days later my invitation to dimit arrived. And although no chapter will take the place of AE in my heart, I am really excited to create some new friendships in Chapter ID. On Sunday morning I sat down and wrote letters to my chapter in Utah and the 4 other chapters I had visited in Seattle to let them know that I was accepting Chapter ID's invitation. It feels really good to have found a PEO home here in Seattle and if there were a doubt in my mind about this chapter it was eliminated last night. We prepared and served a meal to 40 PEO's including the State Officers and the State Convention Planning committee and we had a blast. We worked hard and pulled off a beautiful evening, all the while laughed, joking, talking and sharing some wine! Here is a excerpt from the "thank you" email from the chapter President today.....
"And our new member REALLY rallied - As whip cream flew and hands puckered in the dishwater, I knew Julie Anne was a great fit! Thank you for jumping in with both feet!
On Thursday night I was smacked in the face with one of those experiences when you realize that you are getting OLDER. My friend Barb wanted to see Marc Brossard at the Showbox in Seattle and I agree to go with her. I had burned a copy of the CD from Barb a few months ago and liked his Louisiana Pop style and thought it would be a fun evening. We ended up meeting some friends who weren't attending the concert for dinner before hand at the Alibi Room. The doors to the Showbox were supposed to open at 8 pm, but 30 minutes later we were still out on the sidewalk outside the building. When the doors finally opened and we got it, I realized that there were 2, not 1, but 2 opening acts prior to Marc Brossard. It was a "school-night" and I am a grown-up and he wasn't even going to be on stage until 11pm. Urgh! I decided to chalk it up to a great experience and have fun with it. Marc was great, although he looks like he is about 12 (he's actually 22!) and we met some fun people!
I have been on a bad picking streak as far as movies go lately. Everything I have rented has been "only okay" or "downright awful." So when I picked decided on Bend It Like Beckham on Friday evening I was really nervous, but it turned out great! Then when I talked to Jimmy over the weekend, he told me that he met David Beckham in NYC last week. He promised to send a picture that I could include in this update, but he is traveling and I am sure it slipped his mind, but it was a odd bit of coincidence.
I hope you all have a great week (what's left of it anyway)!
I apologize for being a bit delayed in sending my weekly update this week, I have been working on in for a few days, but just haven't be able to get it finished. Every time I have sat down to work on it, I end up getting distracted. So better late than never, here it is.
It's hard to believe that less than 2 weeks ago it was extremely warm outside and I was ready to seize the summer. I was ready to trade in my sweaters for flip-flops, but no such luck. It's been a cool week here, which makes for great sleeping weather, but I am ready for sandals and Capri's and eating lunch outside! Maybe next week.
Speaking of seizing the summer, I picked up a copy of Seattle magazine a few weeks ago and it's their official summer issue which includes 161 Ways to Seize the Summer. After reading the article I made a decision, I am going to do all 161 Things! When sharing this hair-brained idea with the locals, many thought me completely nuts, oh well. As I have been transferring the list to my palm pilot it has become very clear that I cannot complete all 161 things because many are happening simultaneously and there are a few on the list which I have absolutely no interest in. In addition there are a few things that I think that should be on the list that are not..... So I decided to make my own list with many of the items from Seattle magazine and a few of my own. It's currently a work in progress, but I will share it with all of you once I complete it.
Work has been really busy! I wrote a record number of quotes last week (7), which was aided greatly by our recent appearance at the trade show in Cleveland. We finally worked out the travel schedule for the remainder of the trade shows this year and I am attending all of them, which should be a lot of fun!
I have visited a total of five PEO chapters for various activities and meetings since I arrived here in Seattle. I had decided that I really wanted to take my time and find a chapter that was the perfect fit for me. In the past I know I shared my experience visiting the "Anne" chapter which met in Queen Anne and everyone seemed to have Anne in their name somehow and no one had noticed it! After visiting the first three chapters I was sure that I would never find a good fit. I began to think that my chapter in Utah was even more exceptional that I previously thought because none of the chapters I was visiting even came close! But then I visited Chapter ID and after that first evening I knew that it was different than the rest and that feeling was just reconfirmed on every visit since. I really wanted to hold off making a decision until the fall, but when it's right, it's right. I received a call from the chapter president right before the Memorial Day holiday asking for my address and a few days later my invitation to dimit arrived. And although no chapter will take the place of AE in my heart, I am really excited to create some new friendships in Chapter ID. On Sunday morning I sat down and wrote letters to my chapter in Utah and the 4 other chapters I had visited in Seattle to let them know that I was accepting Chapter ID's invitation. It feels really good to have found a PEO home here in Seattle and if there were a doubt in my mind about this chapter it was eliminated last night. We prepared and served a meal to 40 PEO's including the State Officers and the State Convention Planning committee and we had a blast. We worked hard and pulled off a beautiful evening, all the while laughed, joking, talking and sharing some wine! Here is a excerpt from the "thank you" email from the chapter President today.....
"And our new member REALLY rallied - As whip cream flew and hands puckered in the dishwater, I knew Julie Anne was a great fit! Thank you for jumping in with both feet!
On Thursday night I was smacked in the face with one of those experiences when you realize that you are getting OLDER. My friend Barb wanted to see Marc Brossard at the Showbox in Seattle and I agree to go with her. I had burned a copy of the CD from Barb a few months ago and liked his Louisiana Pop style and thought it would be a fun evening. We ended up meeting some friends who weren't attending the concert for dinner before hand at the Alibi Room. The doors to the Showbox were supposed to open at 8 pm, but 30 minutes later we were still out on the sidewalk outside the building. When the doors finally opened and we got it, I realized that there were 2, not 1, but 2 opening acts prior to Marc Brossard. It was a "school-night" and I am a grown-up and he wasn't even going to be on stage until 11pm. Urgh! I decided to chalk it up to a great experience and have fun with it. Marc was great, although he looks like he is about 12 (he's actually 22!) and we met some fun people!
I have been on a bad picking streak as far as movies go lately. Everything I have rented has been "only okay" or "downright awful." So when I picked decided on Bend It Like Beckham on Friday evening I was really nervous, but it turned out great! Then when I talked to Jimmy over the weekend, he told me that he met David Beckham in NYC last week. He promised to send a picture that I could include in this update, but he is traveling and I am sure it slipped his mind, but it was a odd bit of coincidence.
I hope you all have a great week (what's left of it anyway)!
Monday, May 23, 2005
Weekly Update - Finally..... The House Beautiful Photo Shoot!
Hello all!
It's been a busy week starting with my first trade show last weekend which went very well. It was small state show and a little on the slow side, but it was a great chance to get my feet wet. I was grateful to get some practice before I am thrown into one of the national shows.
Work was very busy last week. We were prepping for another trade show in Cleveland. All of my co-workers for the city that ROCKS (whenever anyone mentions Cleveland, I remind them that Cleveland ROCKS!, they are not so convinced and growing less and less amused by my reminders) and they will be back in the office on Wednesday morning. So, that leaves me to hold down the fort in the meantime. This would have scared me to death a month ago, but I am fine with the idea now.
I have been promising you all pictures of my apartment for weeks and weeks and now.... I have them. Don took this pictures with his digital camera and built this webpage, it's almost like a real "House Beautiful" photo spread. You can view them all at once or in a slide show, it is very cool. Check it out at... (link removed because it's too old, if you want to see pics, email me).
Shortly after I moved into my apartment, I purchased and hung a bird feeder on my patio. I was quite annoyed and upset when it went untouched for a month. Finally one afternoon in mid-April I noticed some debris below the bird feeder and thought that it was finally being used, but it took another 2 weeks before I saw a bird. Since the beginning of May, I see them often and am really enjoying them. When discussing birds and bird feeders at work, several of my co-workers warned me about squirrels and told me of their battles to keep squirrels out of their bird feeders. I dismissed this because my bird feeder is hung on the roof of my 3rd story deck, and no squirrel is going to get to it. Well I was wrong. I was sitting on the patio Friday night and in the corner of my eye caught the glimpse of a squirrel eating the bird feeders remnants from the floor of the deck. I watched him for quite sometime and he didn't seem to be bothered by my presence at all. I was planning on planting some patio tomatoes this weekend, but decided against to hold off until I can figure out how to keep the squirrels out.
The frustrating thing about this squirrel situation is the attraction that these animals have for me. Two
years ago when living along the edge of Cottonwood Creek, my storage area was taken over by rats who ate many of my holiday decorations. Last year at the community garden at Church, I lost 17 plants to the gophers. And now, it's squirrels. Why do these rodents love me so much! AARRHHG!
In addition to potting some patio plants, I had quite a few things other things planned for this past weekend, but got very little done because I spent the majority of the weekend fighting off a bit of the flu. I am feeling better today, but still not completely 100%!
I am a little bit delayed in celebrating one of my friends, but since she is out of the country right now, maybe she didn't even notice! :) My dear friend Elisa Owen graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary on Saturday, May 14th with her Master of Divinity! I met Elisa in the fall of 2001 at my very first event with National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. It was one of those immediate *spark* friendships and we were very tight very soon! Elisa saw me through my darkest days when I was going through cancer treatment and never let me lose sight of hope. Athough we are many miles apart now and we are don't talk as often as we should, I think the
world of her and know that she is going to be GREAT at whatever adventure is around the next bend for her!
I hope you all have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend! My friends Karri and Dale (from SLC) will be visiting Seattle for the weekend and I am sure the weekend will be filled with non-stop adventure!
It's been a busy week starting with my first trade show last weekend which went very well. It was small state show and a little on the slow side, but it was a great chance to get my feet wet. I was grateful to get some practice before I am thrown into one of the national shows.
Work was very busy last week. We were prepping for another trade show in Cleveland. All of my co-workers for the city that ROCKS (whenever anyone mentions Cleveland, I remind them that Cleveland ROCKS!, they are not so convinced and growing less and less amused by my reminders) and they will be back in the office on Wednesday morning. So, that leaves me to hold down the fort in the meantime. This would have scared me to death a month ago, but I am fine with the idea now.
I have been promising you all pictures of my apartment for weeks and weeks and now.... I have them. Don took this pictures with his digital camera and built this webpage, it's almost like a real "House Beautiful" photo spread. You can view them all at once or in a slide show, it is very cool. Check it out at... (link removed because it's too old, if you want to see pics, email me).
Shortly after I moved into my apartment, I purchased and hung a bird feeder on my patio. I was quite annoyed and upset when it went untouched for a month. Finally one afternoon in mid-April I noticed some debris below the bird feeder and thought that it was finally being used, but it took another 2 weeks before I saw a bird. Since the beginning of May, I see them often and am really enjoying them. When discussing birds and bird feeders at work, several of my co-workers warned me about squirrels and told me of their battles to keep squirrels out of their bird feeders. I dismissed this because my bird feeder is hung on the roof of my 3rd story deck, and no squirrel is going to get to it. Well I was wrong. I was sitting on the patio Friday night and in the corner of my eye caught the glimpse of a squirrel eating the bird feeders remnants from the floor of the deck. I watched him for quite sometime and he didn't seem to be bothered by my presence at all. I was planning on planting some patio tomatoes this weekend, but decided against to hold off until I can figure out how to keep the squirrels out.
The frustrating thing about this squirrel situation is the attraction that these animals have for me. Two
years ago when living along the edge of Cottonwood Creek, my storage area was taken over by rats who ate many of my holiday decorations. Last year at the community garden at Church, I lost 17 plants to the gophers. And now, it's squirrels. Why do these rodents love me so much! AARRHHG!
In addition to potting some patio plants, I had quite a few things other things planned for this past weekend, but got very little done because I spent the majority of the weekend fighting off a bit of the flu. I am feeling better today, but still not completely 100%!
I am a little bit delayed in celebrating one of my friends, but since she is out of the country right now, maybe she didn't even notice! :) My dear friend Elisa Owen graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary on Saturday, May 14th with her Master of Divinity! I met Elisa in the fall of 2001 at my very first event with National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. It was one of those immediate *spark* friendships and we were very tight very soon! Elisa saw me through my darkest days when I was going through cancer treatment and never let me lose sight of hope. Athough we are many miles apart now and we are don't talk as often as we should, I think the
world of her and know that she is going to be GREAT at whatever adventure is around the next bend for her!
I hope you all have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend! My friends Karri and Dale (from SLC) will be visiting Seattle for the weekend and I am sure the weekend will be filled with non-stop adventure!
Friday, May 13, 2005
Weekly Update - A week of work craziness!
Hi all!
I decided to send my update out early this week since Sunday and Monday are super busy days for me!
I am sitting at the office and it's nearly 6:00 p.m., and it's a FRIDAY! Usually if I were crazy enough to be here at this hour, my car would be the only one in the parking lot, but not today.... today there are 7 cars and 1 motorcycle in the parking lot. It is a very busy, exciting and crazy time to be working for this company. We are shipping 7 systems on Tuesday, which is a new company record! In the past, the most systems ever shipped in one day is four. So all aspects of the business are a buzzing.... production, engineering, marketing, we are all crazy!
On top of that craziness, we have two trade shows next week. The first starts on Sunday afternoon and is ALL MINE! It's my first trade show with this company and I am pretty excited. I have checked and double checked my lists and I think that I am finally ready to go! I will let you know how it goes next week.
And on top of all of that.... I had my first big sale TODAY! I sold a system, but I don't get credit for it, as it is one of my co-workers accounts.
So I am going to head out of here, at least until Sunday, and attempt to cram a whole weekend into the next 36 hours! I hope that you all have a great weekend!
I decided to send my update out early this week since Sunday and Monday are super busy days for me!
I am sitting at the office and it's nearly 6:00 p.m., and it's a FRIDAY! Usually if I were crazy enough to be here at this hour, my car would be the only one in the parking lot, but not today.... today there are 7 cars and 1 motorcycle in the parking lot. It is a very busy, exciting and crazy time to be working for this company. We are shipping 7 systems on Tuesday, which is a new company record! In the past, the most systems ever shipped in one day is four. So all aspects of the business are a buzzing.... production, engineering, marketing, we are all crazy!
On top of that craziness, we have two trade shows next week. The first starts on Sunday afternoon and is ALL MINE! It's my first trade show with this company and I am pretty excited. I have checked and double checked my lists and I think that I am finally ready to go! I will let you know how it goes next week.
And on top of all of that.... I had my first big sale TODAY! I sold a system, but I don't get credit for it, as it is one of my co-workers accounts.
So I am going to head out of here, at least until Sunday, and attempt to cram a whole weekend into the next 36 hours! I hope that you all have a great weekend!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Weekly Update - Holding on to spring.... as an official Washingtonian
Hello all!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, and for those of you who are mothers, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!
Spring is in full swing in Seattle, but I fear that it will be over before I know it. I love the sights and smells of spring, the trees and shrubs in bloom, the rain, the birds, all of it! I could really get used to spring, but it seems that as soon as you get used to things the way they are, they change. I was surprised to see something new on my commute Friday morning, two gigantic cruise ships in Elliott Bay. Friday marked the official beginning of the "cruise season." In the next several months over 700,000 people will travel in and out of Seattle on cruises. I have never seen a cruise ship close up and I know that I will really enjoy watching them come and go as I drive past the bay on my way to work every day.
Friday night I enjoyed one of my favorite things in the world.... FIREWORKS (over water)! The Windermere Cup Sky Light Celebration took place at 9:30 p.m. on Friday evening. The Windermere Cup is an annual rowing regatta that is followed by a boat parade that marks the "official" launch of boating season and subsequently summer in Seattle (see I am still enjoying spring, and it's time for summer already!). So picture this... It's 9:30 p.m. on Friday night. I have found the perfect, hidden-away spot to watch the fireworks, my radio is tuned to the station playing the music for the show and I am very excited! The fireworks begin and all of the music is "Summer" themed. "In the summertime, when the weather is hot..." etc, I am standing in jeans and a sweatshirt, watching the show thinking, "Summertime, my ass!" I really enjoyed the fireworks and I have been told by numerous locals that we have 2 weeks of summer every year. So I guess we have to start pretending that it is summertime now, so that when those two glorious weeks arrive, we are ready to go!
After two months of living here I can now officially say that I am a Washingtonian! On Saturday morning I went to the Department of Licensing completed the last two tasks to becoming an "official Washingtonian" by getting my WA Driver's License and registering to vote. I have to say that it was the most positive experience that I have ever had at the DMV or similar agency. Everyone was friendly and helpful and the entire process took just a little over a half an hour. Several co-workers had warned me that the test was "really hard" and the state took great pleasure in failing people the first time. So I ran out an got the book last week and then didn't spent a whole lot of time reading it, so when "test time" came around I was a bit nervous, but in the end I only missed one question. All that worry for nothing...
The weather was great this weekend and I was quite the weekend warrior. I circled Green Lake numerous times on Saturday and Sunday! Green Lake is becoming one of my favorite places in Seattle. I have walked around it's 2.8 mile loop too many times to count and yet I never seem to get tired of it. It is always changing and there is always something new to see. This weekend the park was alive with activity. People transporting themselves and many various types of transportation from bikes to boats, people of every size, shape and color, and boy some of them are really colorful"! You can check out the lake and park at the following link:
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/parkspaces/greenlak.htm
I always use this platform to report on the events of my life and as a result you often hear about the people that are in my life. Many of you have met one another through me or have come to know one another by reading these emails. So, I have decided that occasionally I will include notes of celebration about the lives of the people I love and the great accomplishments of their lives. Today I am celebrating my friend, Jenna Seeley.
A little background... I met Jenna under a tree on the campus of Skyline High School during gym class when one of us (think it was me) didn't have a watch and we were required check our heart rate! Jenna has been in my life now for 17 years, so I have known more of my life with her than without. Jenna is one of those friends who is always there for you, especially when you are moving. You don't even have to ask, she is just there! And I am not exactly sure why, but it seems that whenever Jenna moves I am unable to assist. Unfortunately this will be the case again this weekend as Jenna moves into her recently purchased town home in Salt Lake City. I am really excited for her and wish that I could be there to help her. We have joked for years about "growing up and buying a house" and Jenna did it! Congrats girl!
Hope this email finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying spring in your corner of the world!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, and for those of you who are mothers, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!
Spring is in full swing in Seattle, but I fear that it will be over before I know it. I love the sights and smells of spring, the trees and shrubs in bloom, the rain, the birds, all of it! I could really get used to spring, but it seems that as soon as you get used to things the way they are, they change. I was surprised to see something new on my commute Friday morning, two gigantic cruise ships in Elliott Bay. Friday marked the official beginning of the "cruise season." In the next several months over 700,000 people will travel in and out of Seattle on cruises. I have never seen a cruise ship close up and I know that I will really enjoy watching them come and go as I drive past the bay on my way to work every day.
Friday night I enjoyed one of my favorite things in the world.... FIREWORKS (over water)! The Windermere Cup Sky Light Celebration took place at 9:30 p.m. on Friday evening. The Windermere Cup is an annual rowing regatta that is followed by a boat parade that marks the "official" launch of boating season and subsequently summer in Seattle (see I am still enjoying spring, and it's time for summer already!). So picture this... It's 9:30 p.m. on Friday night. I have found the perfect, hidden-away spot to watch the fireworks, my radio is tuned to the station playing the music for the show and I am very excited! The fireworks begin and all of the music is "Summer" themed. "In the summertime, when the weather is hot..." etc, I am standing in jeans and a sweatshirt, watching the show thinking, "Summertime, my ass!" I really enjoyed the fireworks and I have been told by numerous locals that we have 2 weeks of summer every year. So I guess we have to start pretending that it is summertime now, so that when those two glorious weeks arrive, we are ready to go!
After two months of living here I can now officially say that I am a Washingtonian! On Saturday morning I went to the Department of Licensing completed the last two tasks to becoming an "official Washingtonian" by getting my WA Driver's License and registering to vote. I have to say that it was the most positive experience that I have ever had at the DMV or similar agency. Everyone was friendly and helpful and the entire process took just a little over a half an hour. Several co-workers had warned me that the test was "really hard" and the state took great pleasure in failing people the first time. So I ran out an got the book last week and then didn't spent a whole lot of time reading it, so when "test time" came around I was a bit nervous, but in the end I only missed one question. All that worry for nothing...
The weather was great this weekend and I was quite the weekend warrior. I circled Green Lake numerous times on Saturday and Sunday! Green Lake is becoming one of my favorite places in Seattle. I have walked around it's 2.8 mile loop too many times to count and yet I never seem to get tired of it. It is always changing and there is always something new to see. This weekend the park was alive with activity. People transporting themselves and many various types of transportation from bikes to boats, people of every size, shape and color, and boy some of them are really colorful"! You can check out the lake and park at the following link:
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/parkspaces/greenlak.htm
I always use this platform to report on the events of my life and as a result you often hear about the people that are in my life. Many of you have met one another through me or have come to know one another by reading these emails. So, I have decided that occasionally I will include notes of celebration about the lives of the people I love and the great accomplishments of their lives. Today I am celebrating my friend, Jenna Seeley.
A little background... I met Jenna under a tree on the campus of Skyline High School during gym class when one of us (think it was me) didn't have a watch and we were required check our heart rate! Jenna has been in my life now for 17 years, so I have known more of my life with her than without. Jenna is one of those friends who is always there for you, especially when you are moving. You don't even have to ask, she is just there! And I am not exactly sure why, but it seems that whenever Jenna moves I am unable to assist. Unfortunately this will be the case again this weekend as Jenna moves into her recently purchased town home in Salt Lake City. I am really excited for her and wish that I could be there to help her. We have joked for years about "growing up and buying a house" and Jenna did it! Congrats girl!
Hope this email finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying spring in your corner of the world!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Weekly Update - If it looks like a DUCK and quacks like a DUCK, it must be....a TOURIST!
Hello All!
It's been another incredibly busy and fun week! WOW! I had only two days to catch up a bit between Jimmy's departure and Mom's arrival. It was just enough time to do some laundry, change the sheets and clean the house and take a deep breath.
Mom arrived on Thursday afternoon, Dave and Kristen met her at the airport and they all came to my office. I showed them around the office and they got the brief training on the equipment that I sell and a tour of our manufacturing area. We then went to dinner at Red Robin.
Mom met me at the office on Friday at noon and we went to lunch with some co-workers and then spent the afternoon shopping at the SUPER MALL. They have a lot of stores available in Seattle that are not in SLC, so it proved to be full of options for us! We then headed back to my place where we met Don and went to Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner.
On Saturday, Mom and I had breakfast at the Queen Anne Cafe and then we were then joined by Dave & Kristen. One advantage to having visitors is that you can do those cheesy tourist things that locals never do, but really want to do. When you have someone visiting you can blame them for your participation in such activities. So, we took full-advantage of this opportunity and did one of the tourist activities that locals never do, we rode the duck, which is an amphibious World War II vehicle that tours the downtown area and then splashes into Lake Union. The Duck is known around town for loud music, crazy tourists waving and "quacking" and those on the street. In celebration of this reputation, we took full-advantage of that and quacked, waved and sang the entire way through the tour. It was great! Following the tour we spent some time enjoying the people, sights and sounds of the Seattle Center (home of the Space Needle) and then visited the Pacific Science Center and watched an IMAX movie titled, Forces of Nature. We then had dinner at Ivar's Salmon House and ate on the deck on the banks of Lake Union. It was great!
On Sunday, Mom and I had a lazy morning at home and then headed to the airport for her afternoon flight.
For those of your a bit more curious about the places we visited, you can check out the following links.
Auburn Super Mall - http://www.supermall.com/
Rock Bottom Brewery - http://www.rockbottom.com/
Ride the Duck - http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/
Seattle Center - http://www.seattlecenter.com/
Pacific Science Center - http://www.pacsci.org/
Ivar's Salmon House - www.ivars.net/Salmon_House_Home/salmon.html
Spring is in full swing in Seattle. The rhododendrons, azaleas and many more flowers and plants that I can't name are blooming. It's amazing to watch the trees fill in with new growth and the entire landscape change. I hope spring is appearing where ever you are and this message finds you enjoying it.
It's been another incredibly busy and fun week! WOW! I had only two days to catch up a bit between Jimmy's departure and Mom's arrival. It was just enough time to do some laundry, change the sheets and clean the house and take a deep breath.
Mom arrived on Thursday afternoon, Dave and Kristen met her at the airport and they all came to my office. I showed them around the office and they got the brief training on the equipment that I sell and a tour of our manufacturing area. We then went to dinner at Red Robin.
Mom met me at the office on Friday at noon and we went to lunch with some co-workers and then spent the afternoon shopping at the SUPER MALL. They have a lot of stores available in Seattle that are not in SLC, so it proved to be full of options for us! We then headed back to my place where we met Don and went to Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner.
On Saturday, Mom and I had breakfast at the Queen Anne Cafe and then we were then joined by Dave & Kristen. One advantage to having visitors is that you can do those cheesy tourist things that locals never do, but really want to do. When you have someone visiting you can blame them for your participation in such activities. So, we took full-advantage of this opportunity and did one of the tourist activities that locals never do, we rode the duck, which is an amphibious World War II vehicle that tours the downtown area and then splashes into Lake Union. The Duck is known around town for loud music, crazy tourists waving and "quacking" and those on the street. In celebration of this reputation, we took full-advantage of that and quacked, waved and sang the entire way through the tour. It was great! Following the tour we spent some time enjoying the people, sights and sounds of the Seattle Center (home of the Space Needle) and then visited the Pacific Science Center and watched an IMAX movie titled, Forces of Nature. We then had dinner at Ivar's Salmon House and ate on the deck on the banks of Lake Union. It was great!
On Sunday, Mom and I had a lazy morning at home and then headed to the airport for her afternoon flight.
For those of your a bit more curious about the places we visited, you can check out the following links.
Auburn Super Mall - http://www.supermall.com/
Rock Bottom Brewery - http://www.rockbottom.com/
Ride the Duck - http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/
Seattle Center - http://www.seattlecenter.com/
Pacific Science Center - http://www.pacsci.org/
Ivar's Salmon House - www.ivars.net/Salmon_House_Home/salmon.html
Spring is in full swing in Seattle. The rhododendrons, azaleas and many more flowers and plants that I can't name are blooming. It's amazing to watch the trees fill in with new growth and the entire landscape change. I hope spring is appearing where ever you are and this message finds you enjoying it.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Weekly Update - Funeral Potatoes and Non-Stop Fun!
Hello!
I am incredibly late in sending my weekly update and I apologize for that. I appreciate the fact that many of you have been concerned enough to contact me to make sure that everything is okay. Yes, everything is okay, I have just been very busy! I believe that it was just last week that I was stating that my week had been void of great adventure, this week has certainly been the opposite! So much has happened I don't know where to begin...
Work was incredibly busy last week. I had my most productive day thus far last Wednesday (4/20). We had a pot-luck lunch on Thursday for our Bookkeeper who is retiring at the end of this week. I decided that my contribution to the pot-luck should be a Utah classic, "Funeral Potatoes." Everyone loved them, but they didn't get the whole church function, funeral potato connection, I guess it's a Utah thing. My mother has been insisting for years that they are "Potatoes O'Brien" and yet whenever she serves them everyone in Utah calls them funeral potatoes, but everyone at work just called them "good."
Don and I went on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train on Friday evening. The train leaves Renton, WA and travels along the banks of Lake Washington to the Columbia Winery. It has been a very long time since I have been on a train and the trip was great!
My little brother Jimmy arrived on Saturday morning for a visit. Dave, Kristen, Jimmy and I visited Snoqualmie Falls and had dinner at my place on Saturday. On Sunday, Jimmy and I had breakfast at one of the neighborhood spots, went to Port Orchard to visit Dave and Kristen, did some shopping downtown and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Although our weekend was super busy and fun, I have to say that the highlight was attending the U2 concert at Key Arena on Monday night. It was an amazing performance and we had a lot of fun.
Needless to say, I was beyond exhausted yesterday! I worked a 10 hour day, but I don't quite know for sure how I did it after having 3 hours of sleep. Last night I went home and did something that I haven't done in years, went to bed at 9 p.m. And, I have caught up on my sleep just in the nick of time because my Mom arrives on tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend which will be filled with just as many adventures.
Hope this update finds you all well!
I am incredibly late in sending my weekly update and I apologize for that. I appreciate the fact that many of you have been concerned enough to contact me to make sure that everything is okay. Yes, everything is okay, I have just been very busy! I believe that it was just last week that I was stating that my week had been void of great adventure, this week has certainly been the opposite! So much has happened I don't know where to begin...
Work was incredibly busy last week. I had my most productive day thus far last Wednesday (4/20). We had a pot-luck lunch on Thursday for our Bookkeeper who is retiring at the end of this week. I decided that my contribution to the pot-luck should be a Utah classic, "Funeral Potatoes." Everyone loved them, but they didn't get the whole church function, funeral potato connection, I guess it's a Utah thing. My mother has been insisting for years that they are "Potatoes O'Brien" and yet whenever she serves them everyone in Utah calls them funeral potatoes, but everyone at work just called them "good."
Don and I went on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train on Friday evening. The train leaves Renton, WA and travels along the banks of Lake Washington to the Columbia Winery. It has been a very long time since I have been on a train and the trip was great!
My little brother Jimmy arrived on Saturday morning for a visit. Dave, Kristen, Jimmy and I visited Snoqualmie Falls and had dinner at my place on Saturday. On Sunday, Jimmy and I had breakfast at one of the neighborhood spots, went to Port Orchard to visit Dave and Kristen, did some shopping downtown and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Although our weekend was super busy and fun, I have to say that the highlight was attending the U2 concert at Key Arena on Monday night. It was an amazing performance and we had a lot of fun.
Needless to say, I was beyond exhausted yesterday! I worked a 10 hour day, but I don't quite know for sure how I did it after having 3 hours of sleep. Last night I went home and did something that I haven't done in years, went to bed at 9 p.m. And, I have caught up on my sleep just in the nick of time because my Mom arrives on tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend which will be filled with just as many adventures.
Hope this update finds you all well!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Weekly Update - Not to busy for a Natural High!
Hello!
It's been a pretty normal week, void of great adventures, so I am feeling that I don't have a whole
lot to report, but here is the little bit that I do have.
Work was busy last week. Two of my co-workers were on vacation, which made for a busy workload. I had the opportunity to work with one of our other product lines, Aqua Guard, which was challenging at time, but a fun!
I did do something that I have never done before. I have my new home completely organized and finished it 6 days prior to my first guest arriving. There is nothing like out-of-town company to force you to finish the last few strangling boxes, but I am usually the one who is finishing up just minutes before the guests walk in the door. So, you may be asking, who is coming to visit? My little brother Jimmy arrives on Saturday morning! I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with him, as well as Dave and Kristen. I know that next week's message will be filled with plenty of adventures to share with you.
Since this message is a little short on news, I thought that I would share some a little something
extra with all of you, don't forget to enjoy your natural highs this week!
============
Think about each of these things, one at a time BEFORE going on to the next one.. Don't ever be too busy to appreciate the natural highs that we have the opportunity to experience everyday!
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last
winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Holding a newborn baby.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke.
24. Friends.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
It's been a pretty normal week, void of great adventures, so I am feeling that I don't have a whole
lot to report, but here is the little bit that I do have.
Work was busy last week. Two of my co-workers were on vacation, which made for a busy workload. I had the opportunity to work with one of our other product lines, Aqua Guard, which was challenging at time, but a fun!
I did do something that I have never done before. I have my new home completely organized and finished it 6 days prior to my first guest arriving. There is nothing like out-of-town company to force you to finish the last few strangling boxes, but I am usually the one who is finishing up just minutes before the guests walk in the door. So, you may be asking, who is coming to visit? My little brother Jimmy arrives on Saturday morning! I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with him, as well as Dave and Kristen. I know that next week's message will be filled with plenty of adventures to share with you.
Since this message is a little short on news, I thought that I would share some a little something
extra with all of you, don't forget to enjoy your natural highs this week!
============
Think about each of these things, one at a time BEFORE going on to the next one.. Don't ever be too busy to appreciate the natural highs that we have the opportunity to experience everyday!
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last
winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Holding a newborn baby.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke.
24. Friends.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Weekly Update - Promenade is my new favorite color!
Hello Everybody!
The last week has been like a whirlwind week and I have just been whirling along with it. I have to say that I don't care for daylight savings time very much.I do like having the extra hour of daylight in the evenings, but think that it is a pain to change every clock, watch or timepiece in your life, and my natural clock has just seemed a "bit-off" all week. If it feels around 7:30 p.m. in my head, you can imagine my shock when I look at the clock and realize that it is actually 9:00 p.m. After catching up on some sleep this past weekend, I think I can finally make the adjustment.
I attended a PEO meeting last Monday evening after I received an invitation from one of the Seattle chapters. It was very nice to meet some Seattle PEO's and attend a meeting. There was one really unusual thing about my evening. When I arrived, I met the President, her name Julieann, then during dinner I sat next to Martha Ann and Margaret Ann. Then another woman joined our table, her name Marianne! Then at the meeting I sat next to Hazel Ann. The meeting was in Queen Anne. It was like being in the Twilight Zone of Anne and it was a bit too much Anne for one evening, don't you think?
Work has been super busy. We had a trade show in Cleveland last week, and although I didn't attend, I had tons to do to put everything together so that the company would be ready to go. Then while half our teams was in Cleveland I had my two most productive days thus far on Thursday and Friday, so I had jello for brains by Friday night. I continue to love it and it gets easier and easier every day!
I shared my frustration over selecting a paint color for the bathroom a few weeks ago. I was mistaken when I thought that selecting the paint color would be the most difficult part of the project. I have never painted a room from start to finish, although I have assisted friends in painting their homes, but never a room of my own, so I had a lot to learn! But I am happy to report that 2 days and 4 trips to Home Depot later, I have successfully painted my bathroom. It is a lovely shade of earthy green called Promenade (from Behr paint). I did learn a few things during the process of this project, and because you are my family and friends, I have decided to pass on this valuable knowledge to you, if you should ever decide to embark on a painting project, keep the following in mind....
1. I was wise to cover every surface not being painted with plastic and tape because I am kind of a sloppy painter, however when you only have a one-bathroom apartment, it is really stupid to cover the toilet!
2. No matter how carefully you tape and paint, when you remove the tape you will have to touch up some edges, I wasn't planning on that and had removed the drop cloths.
3. Make sure that the only functional light that you have in the room is not a "sun light" (you know those light bulbs that warm the bathroom so you feel like you are on a beach)!
4. Make sure that you look in a mirror every once in a while and remove paint from strange places. Right in the middle of my project I ran out of paint, so during an errand to Home Depot and Taco Del Mar I was told by the woman making my burrito that I had paint on my forehead.
AND, finally....
5. Double the time that you THINK that it will take. I assumed that a few hours into it I would be done, but no such luck!
You have no idea how glad I was when I was finished cleaning and moving everything back into the bathroom. I love it now!
I just have two more boxes to unpack and my moving project is entirely done. I am making the final
arrangements for my House Beautiful photo shoot and will send some pics to all of you soon!
Hope all is well with you!
The last week has been like a whirlwind week and I have just been whirling along with it. I have to say that I don't care for daylight savings time very much.I do like having the extra hour of daylight in the evenings, but think that it is a pain to change every clock, watch or timepiece in your life, and my natural clock has just seemed a "bit-off" all week. If it feels around 7:30 p.m. in my head, you can imagine my shock when I look at the clock and realize that it is actually 9:00 p.m. After catching up on some sleep this past weekend, I think I can finally make the adjustment.
I attended a PEO meeting last Monday evening after I received an invitation from one of the Seattle chapters. It was very nice to meet some Seattle PEO's and attend a meeting. There was one really unusual thing about my evening. When I arrived, I met the President, her name Julieann, then during dinner I sat next to Martha Ann and Margaret Ann. Then another woman joined our table, her name Marianne! Then at the meeting I sat next to Hazel Ann. The meeting was in Queen Anne. It was like being in the Twilight Zone of Anne and it was a bit too much Anne for one evening, don't you think?
Work has been super busy. We had a trade show in Cleveland last week, and although I didn't attend, I had tons to do to put everything together so that the company would be ready to go. Then while half our teams was in Cleveland I had my two most productive days thus far on Thursday and Friday, so I had jello for brains by Friday night. I continue to love it and it gets easier and easier every day!
I shared my frustration over selecting a paint color for the bathroom a few weeks ago. I was mistaken when I thought that selecting the paint color would be the most difficult part of the project. I have never painted a room from start to finish, although I have assisted friends in painting their homes, but never a room of my own, so I had a lot to learn! But I am happy to report that 2 days and 4 trips to Home Depot later, I have successfully painted my bathroom. It is a lovely shade of earthy green called Promenade (from Behr paint). I did learn a few things during the process of this project, and because you are my family and friends, I have decided to pass on this valuable knowledge to you, if you should ever decide to embark on a painting project, keep the following in mind....
1. I was wise to cover every surface not being painted with plastic and tape because I am kind of a sloppy painter, however when you only have a one-bathroom apartment, it is really stupid to cover the toilet!
2. No matter how carefully you tape and paint, when you remove the tape you will have to touch up some edges, I wasn't planning on that and had removed the drop cloths.
3. Make sure that the only functional light that you have in the room is not a "sun light" (you know those light bulbs that warm the bathroom so you feel like you are on a beach)!
4. Make sure that you look in a mirror every once in a while and remove paint from strange places. Right in the middle of my project I ran out of paint, so during an errand to Home Depot and Taco Del Mar I was told by the woman making my burrito that I had paint on my forehead.
AND, finally....
5. Double the time that you THINK that it will take. I assumed that a few hours into it I would be done, but no such luck!
You have no idea how glad I was when I was finished cleaning and moving everything back into the bathroom. I love it now!
I just have two more boxes to unpack and my moving project is entirely done. I am making the final
arrangements for my House Beautiful photo shoot and will send some pics to all of you soon!
Hope all is well with you!
Monday, April 04, 2005
Weekly Update - Monumentally Bad April Fools Morning....
Hi all!
I had a fairly normal and boring week last week and I was thinking to myself on my way home from work on Thursday night that I didn't have much to report in my weekly update, but that was before April Fools Day and now I have quite an adventure to share.
April Fools Day is a weird holiday. I rarely am able to successfully pull off a prank on anyone, but nearly every year I fall victim to a prank. This year proved to be no different because I feel victim to a prank in a early-morning phone call from my old roommate and friend Lyle. But that was after I had the worst commute since moving to Seattle.
I left for work early on Friday morning because I wanted to get in early so that I could catch some night shift folks at my hospitals. So I was headed along my normal route and was atop a "bridge-like" overpass when all of a sudden, a crashing bang scared me and steamy smoke began pouring out of the front of my car. The engine was off, but I have enough momentum that I am coasting along absolutely stunned. Of course the first thing that pops into my head is that I am going to be on every traffic report in the city as "stalled car on 99 South blocking right hand lane" which is not necessarily how I wanted to make my debut in the Seattle media! I got to the side of the road, called a tow-truck and had them take it to the dealership. I made arrangements for them to diagnose the problem and then one of the service guys gave me a ride back into downtown Seattle so that I could catch the bus to work. So my commute was quite the adventure, including 5 forms of transportation (my car, tow truck, dealer car, bus and my feet) and took nearly 3 hours. Around 1130 I got a phone call from the service manager with good news and bad news. The bad news was that he informed me that it was indeed a blown head gasket which had cracked the block and the car was, in one word.....terminal. The good news is that they were willing to give me money for it as a trade in on a new one. Well it took me about 10 seconds to figure out that I was buying a new car this weekend!
I spend 5 1/2 hours at the car dealership on Saturday and after test driving 4 different cars and asking more questions than they ever thought possible I purchased a Chrysler Sebring Sedan. You can check it out at http://www.chrysler.com/sebring_sedan/ It is silver and really fun to drive. So all in all a really bad day turned into a really good weekend. Now I don't have to deal with the headache of registering a car in Washington, because the dealer did that for me.
The remainder of my weekend was spend showing off the new car. Don and I celebrated my purchase at Rock Bottom on Saturday night and I ventured to "the other side of the pond" to Port Orchard on Sunday to share it with Kristen and Dave. I had a lot that needed to get done this weekend (like paint the bathroom) but none of it was completed because my weekend was consumed by the new car.
Hope this finds you all well!
I had a fairly normal and boring week last week and I was thinking to myself on my way home from work on Thursday night that I didn't have much to report in my weekly update, but that was before April Fools Day and now I have quite an adventure to share.
April Fools Day is a weird holiday. I rarely am able to successfully pull off a prank on anyone, but nearly every year I fall victim to a prank. This year proved to be no different because I feel victim to a prank in a early-morning phone call from my old roommate and friend Lyle. But that was after I had the worst commute since moving to Seattle.
I left for work early on Friday morning because I wanted to get in early so that I could catch some night shift folks at my hospitals. So I was headed along my normal route and was atop a "bridge-like" overpass when all of a sudden, a crashing bang scared me and steamy smoke began pouring out of the front of my car. The engine was off, but I have enough momentum that I am coasting along absolutely stunned. Of course the first thing that pops into my head is that I am going to be on every traffic report in the city as "stalled car on 99 South blocking right hand lane" which is not necessarily how I wanted to make my debut in the Seattle media! I got to the side of the road, called a tow-truck and had them take it to the dealership. I made arrangements for them to diagnose the problem and then one of the service guys gave me a ride back into downtown Seattle so that I could catch the bus to work. So my commute was quite the adventure, including 5 forms of transportation (my car, tow truck, dealer car, bus and my feet) and took nearly 3 hours. Around 1130 I got a phone call from the service manager with good news and bad news. The bad news was that he informed me that it was indeed a blown head gasket which had cracked the block and the car was, in one word.....terminal. The good news is that they were willing to give me money for it as a trade in on a new one. Well it took me about 10 seconds to figure out that I was buying a new car this weekend!
I spend 5 1/2 hours at the car dealership on Saturday and after test driving 4 different cars and asking more questions than they ever thought possible I purchased a Chrysler Sebring Sedan. You can check it out at http://www.chrysler.com/sebring_sedan/ It is silver and really fun to drive. So all in all a really bad day turned into a really good weekend. Now I don't have to deal with the headache of registering a car in Washington, because the dealer did that for me.
The remainder of my weekend was spend showing off the new car. Don and I celebrated my purchase at Rock Bottom on Saturday night and I ventured to "the other side of the pond" to Port Orchard on Sunday to share it with Kristen and Dave. I had a lot that needed to get done this weekend (like paint the bathroom) but none of it was completed because my weekend was consumed by the new car.
Hope this finds you all well!
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