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yesterday morning, brittany went out of her way to give me a ride to work in west seattle… a drive that only takes about 20 minutes, but a total of about an hour on the bus (i greatly appreciate these rides to work because it means i don’t have to leave at 8.40 to get to work by 10am). usually the drive to work is nothing to report upon, but yesterday morn was oddly noteable.

the trip started out pretty normally, with the regular 9.45am bumper to bumper seattle traffic that makes no reasonable sense to me. but when we took the west seattle bridge we certainly were not expecting the things that followed. in the stopped traffic heading east on the bridge we spotted something that i really have only seen in the movies (a bi-logy with whoopi goldberg to be specific). that’s right, you guessed it… A NUN! a cute little nun, just sitting in traffic like a normal person, with her head peering above the steering wheel of her two door, baby blue taurus. who is she trying to fool? conspicuous much? all britt and i could do was wonder where she could possibly be going. to teach some troubled teens what really matters in life; god, music, and true friendship?? seeing a nun in broad daylight in seattle traffic is as rare as seeing a black bear in a university district dumpster: it happens sometimes, but when you get to see it first hand, you treasure that moment forever.

after we got over the shock of this sighting, we figured the remainder of the drive would be normal, lacking excitement. but man, were we wrong. cruisin along, we were struggling to get past this slow driver in front of us and pulled up next to them at a red light a couple of blocks from work. knowing that our lane would end just ahead, britt had plans to pass this car when the light finally turned green. upon seeing that the driver was a little, white-haired lady, everything about her driving fell into place. as we sat next to her, she must have been aware of our intentions and began to pull forward slowly into the crosswalk. she continued to do this until we were quite sure that she was just going to speed off, disregarding the rules of the road. when the light changed she revved her engine and sped off ahead of us, just beating us to the punch. as we followed her down the road a bit and made our turn several blocks later wondering what her f’n deal was, we glanced forward and realized that she was flipping us off out her window, her old, wrinkly hand shaking with rage as she drove off down the road. man, dude… what’s up with that? i thought old ladies were supposed to be dignified. guess not.

i guess i learned that a typical drive to work can turn out to be much much more with the right rare sightings and old lady road rage.

yesterday, patrick mcdaniel and his newly-wed wife maria were in seattle for the day. eli took them all around (mighty o’s, freemont, the farmer’s market, etc.) and then we went to lunch at flowers. it was about noon or so and eli, pat, maria, drew, and i walked from the hotbox to the ave. as drew and i walked at a normal pace (and the others walked like some old geezers) we came up to the intersection of 11th and 45th, where the flashing red hand tempted us and we crossed the street and waited for the rest of ‘em. just as the light changed to allow our friends to cross the street to where drew and i stood, a middle-aged man came running down the sidewalk, briefcase in tow, and desperation like you wouldn’t believe on his face and in his voice. “no, no, no, please don’t leave!” he yelled at the bus a block away outside of the bike shop on roosevelt. he ran, his short legs dragging with his spirit. as the familiar sound of a bus going from dead stop to roll was heard and it began to inch forward, our sad friend yelled at the top of his lungs with a scary sort of whimper of pain and anguish, “WAAAIIIIIITT!” his arm outstretched in hopes of reaching his last chance to get home to his kids, or to his dying wife, or to his favorite saturday afternoon cartoons after possibly the worst day of his life. as we turned to see what would happen, feeling great sorrow for this man, we saw to our surprise that the bus had stopped, waiting for him to run the final block of this tormenting trip to the bus door. i felt pity for this man, but i’m so glad that he made it. i’ve never been that desperate for a bus before, but i can understand how someone might be… poor guy.

my grandma, elizabeth tucker merner (betty), died on june 10th, just after midnight, after a struggle of many years with Alzheimer’s disease. i spent the week following her death in roseburg, oregon with my mom, aunt, and grandpa planning and arranging for the memorial service that we had on the following thursday afternoon. i also created a tri-fold board of pictures from throughout her life to display at the the reception after the service. n8, eli, all the cousins, uncle craig, philly and bill, and barb, as well as countless other close family friends and friends of my grandparents’ came to celebrate the life of my grandma. at the memorial service there was a chance to tell stories and share memories. n8 shared a couple snipits, eli told a hilarious story about a “bowel movement,” and i wrote a little something that our dear friend susan read because i was not together enough to read it myself. here’s what i wanted to say about my g-ma:

My grandma and I didn’t always exactly see eye to eye. She was simply appalled to see our cat, Banjo, sitting on the kitchen counter or to see me toss my wet bath towels on the floor in the corner of my bedroom. Despite our differences, separated by a cultural gap of several decades, we still had a great relationship. We couldn’t have been more connected during the countless times that we dozed off together while reading, or when she patiently showed me the right way to roll out a pie dough. Sitting on her warm lap as a little girl, I listened to her soothing voice as she read poems from A.A. Milne’s “When We Were Very Young.” Tracing the raised veins on her hands with my fingers and looking up at the only other blue eyed woman in my family, I realized that I have never known a love quite like that of my wonderful grandmother.

(you know how i always include pictures in my blogs? it just seems to spice it up a bit and gives the reader a visual stimulant to remember me by. well, i wasn’t sure what kind of picture to put with this blog so i looked up “etc” on google images and this is the coolest image that came up. enjoy.) so i guess i have a few stories and things to talk about but i thought i’d just lump it all into one blog instead of writing like 3 or 4 little ones. im not sure if this is the best way to do this, and maybe you guys can help me out… would you like to read this one big blog? would you rather read a few little ones? does it even matter to you? what is a horse shoe? what does a horse shoe do? are there any horse socks? is anybody listening to me?

anyways… lets see. on sunday afternoon, i went to the mariner’s game with crystal and her two friends, jerrica and alyssa. sometimes its hard to hang out with people and their friends because you ultimately get left out due to inside jokes and history that people have with one another, but these girls were just totally sweet and welcoming, so i felt comfortable right away. we had some pretty bad ass seats at the game. we were in row 26, right along the first base line. (not quite as cool as when we went, brittbritt, but nice seats all the same.) i got a beer at the game and i felt totally old and cool (i’m a big girl now), and i got a jumbo hotdog, which was delicious, but turned out to be a little too jumbo for me, and i couldn’t finish the whole thing (which sux because it cost me like $5.25 or something ridic). there was this totally cute little black girl sitting in front of us with her white grandparents. i’m not sure what was going on there, but she was completely adorable. after some cotton candy and a SuperRope she was about to crash and had her head oh her grandpa’s shoulder. i had been smiling and staring at her the whole game and now that she was facing me, i could finally make friends! after some friendly poking and pulling on things like ears and fingers, i got her to give me combo low5-high5-bones a few times, which was totally rad.

then, on monday night, i went to see al gore speak at town hall. he’s been doing this tour to promote his new book the assault on reason so brandon, eli, mere, and i went. it was pretty cool because he was very charismatic and had exceptionally good delivery, but after some thought and conversation with meredith, i realized that overall, i was disappointed. he only spoke for about 30 minutes, which is fine, but he didn’t really make any clear points or present any information that was new or untimately useful. he spoke with conviction, raising his voice at just the right moments, inspiring the crowd in ways that no GWB could ever do, but i left feeling unfulfilled, with little inspiration and no real suggestions for ways to take action. eventhough i now understand the point he was trying to make about the flow and distribution of information over time, he talked about the printing-press and the development of the different forms of information technology for a good fifteen minutes (that’d be HALF) of his allotted time, and left me feeling like i had no more knowledge about his book than i did a half an hour earlier when i walked in and heard the title of the book for the first time. now, i know i seem to be complaining alot, but its just because i was expecting something amazing, and although he was quite the inspirational speaker, i did not get exactly what i wanted out of that evening at town hall. and i think mere would agree. but, i would say it was $5 well spent. (or $5 well spent by meredith; thanx.)

yesterday on the bus i witnessed a really sad interaction between an asian couple. although i could not understand a single word of their conversation, it made me sad for whatever this woman was going through, and it really seemed like he just didn’t get it… i was standing in the aisle on the bus two rows behind a young asian couple. they were talking and the woman occasionally raised her voice a bit, getting more heated with every passing minutes. an (older) woman in the seat right next to me was getting irritated by asian woman’s loudish voice and tapped her on the shoulder, putting her finger to her lips and shhhing asian woman. it was at this point that i realized the young woman was crying. tears were streaming down her face and i could see the disbelief in her eyes at the older woman’s audacity to shh her while she was crying. as the bus ride continued, she began to cry more and actually sort of yell at her boyfriend (or whomever he was). like i said, i couldn’t understand a single word of their conversation, but i could feel the hurt that she was feeling. i could hear it in her voice, pain is universal and no language barrier could stand in the way of one woman, hurt by a man, relating to another. (sounds pretty feminist, i know, but i could just hear the pain that she felt behind each crying sob.)

meanwhile, i’m trying to make a condensed mix of music that will represent all the genres, artists, and types of music that i love. its actually really hard… harder that i would have thought it might be. i guess its because i listen to SO many different kinds of music and i go through phases of listening to this type or that type, and it makes it hard to find an accurate, balanced representation of my interests. i’m not sure what advice anyone would give me about this difficulty, but if you’ve got any, lay it on me.

hope you enjoyed… besos.

so thats my first question… i mean, i’m not sure if i’ve ever picked up a “softball” before, (and please, correct me if i’m wrong) but i’m pretty sure they really aren’t that soft. now, i’ve only seen a few short minutes of hardball when that little boy gets shot and killed in a drive-by, but i’m also pretty sure that its not called softball because its the opposite of that. so, i’m just a little confused.

last night i went to my first softball game ever with crystal. sure, i’ve seen some games from a distance and thought about going to one when i was friends with Savannah in high school, but we just smoked a lot of weed and drove home drunk from purdue instead (i know, i know… not my proudest of moments). but anyways, we drove out to tukwila for an Elite (a team that crystal played on for like 5 years) softball game. i was nervous and a little bit awkward because she knew everyone there and i didn’t know anyone, or anything about softball for that matter… but i watched the games and i actually really enjoyed it.

being out there, sitting on the bleachers, watching these girls in uniforms running around on the field… GOD! it made me want to strap on some cleats and shin guards and fuckin rip it up. the last week or so ive been really wanting to get out and play some soccer, and as we drove into the game there was a boys soccer game going on at the same time. i really wanted to just watch them for a little while and reminisce, longing to be out there. i go through the motions of things i would do on the field and it makes my heart race. sometimes i wonder why i ever stopped playing. i want to buy some cones and set up some drills. i want to get a pair of cleats and feel them sink into the soil after a summer rain. i want to learn to do one of those crazy summersault throw-ins. anyone want to join me??

but yeah… why do they call it softball?

the seattle international film festival is going on right now (may24 – june17), and as a first timer to this whole film festival thing, i have been very happy with the twenty bucks i’ve spent on seeing movies the last two nights in a row.

so last night crystal, brandon, eli, and i went to see Fido at the neptune. i went in to it not really knowing much about the plot, except that it would be a zomedy (zombie-comedy), so i was very excited. oh, i’m very aroused. anyways, have you guys seen shaun of the dead? well, at the end, they hint a bit at the idea that humans have learned to control the zombies and use them to work in grocery stores, mow their lawns, and play video games with their best friends while chained up in the shed out back. and i suppose, this is the basis of Fido: set in the ’50s in america, a boy and his family are the last ones the block to get their very own zombie. when this shy, young fella becomes friends with his servant zombie, things get complicated and their lives change forever (how was that for a teaser synopsis?)

and then tonight… we saw The Ten. it was completely awesome. it was directed by David Wain (one of the cast members of The State, as well as Stella, and director of Wet Hot American Summe, among other things) and included most of the members of The State and several star appearances made by winona ryber, adam brody, jessica alba, and one of my all time favorites, the very sexxy Paul Rudd (dude, i’ve wanted him since 1995). i feel like there’s not much i can say about this film except that i think you should see it. its a collection of 10 stories that are loosely based on the ten commandments. and there was a great song at the end to wrap it all up. fan-fuckin-tastic. i gave it a 5 (on the SIFF scale out of 5).

okay okay… so morgen tells me that a freshman is too young for me. and maybe, if we’re talking maturity and date-ability, then yes definitely. but if we’re just talking about someone to make out with, anyone over the age of 18 is fine with me. hahah…

so there’s this boy in my spanish class. you know when you start a new quarter or new semester and walk into class on the first day, i always scope out the kids in my classes, trying to determine if there is anyone worth putting effort into or anyone who i think i can get to do my homework. (jk, come on.) its very rare that i find someone in a class that i want to pursue, and i’d say this case isn’t much different. i thought he was cute right away, but i didn’t really go much out of my way to do anything about it…

but… while partying on cinco de mayo at the whitehouse, i ran into him. i always thought he was cute, and the fact that he was good at spanish tipped the scale. after talking to him at this party and finding out that he could speak like 3 languages and was also friends with stefan (morgen’s lil bro), i invited him to the 80s party. not really sure if he would show up and preoccupied by bentely, i didnt pay much attention when he showed up that night and partied at the hotbox.

whatever whatever, some time passed. being the last week of classes, we watched a movie in spanish all week. even though it will be covered on the final, it was optional to watch it with the class, so it was only about 4 or 5 other people and me. watching la historia oficial in one of the movie studios in the basement of kane hall. and one of those people was the kid, mentioned above.

this morning, i walked into class in a state that some might consider inappropriate and sat down. i picked up my book to read but couldn’t concentrate, so i just listened to the people around me chatting and continued to turn the pages of Persepolis. all of a sudden, i became aware that this kid and his friend were talking… about me. now, you know when you are talking about someone that’s right there (in this case, no more than 5 feet away) and you quietly whisper the specifics but laugh and say other things in semi-normal talking voices. we all do it, and its hilarious. anyways, im sitting there trying not to laugh while they talked in this fashion… and like i said, i wasn’t in the most memorable states of mind and i couldnt see them, but i think it went something like this:

kid: yeah, i think she digs me.
friend: oh yeah?
kid: yeah, i saw her at a party and she was lookin good. she’s got some big [**and here i imagine he made some imaginary boobs with his hands].
friend: ha ha yeah.
kid and friend: tig ole bitties.
friend: is she from the dorms?
kid: no, she’s a junior.(in a voice loud enough that i suspect was used to test if i was listening)
friend: yeah, tap that. (or something to that effect)

and then some comment was made about hittin it with an older woman or about me cradle robbing or something, which i thought was pretty funny since morgen had already expressed to me her feelings about our age difference. hilarious… but a nice way to start my day. its not always pleasant to catch someone talking about you, but this time was different…