How to Save a Weekend

from becoming a student's pre-final exam hell:

1) Escape out of the country
2) Escape out of the country with four cars filled with girls
3) Escape out of the country with four cars filled with girls for a bachelorette party weekend (oh, two nights are so much better than one!)!

Bring your book, of course, to make you feel better and to use as an emergency tabletop camera tripod.

Here I am, book in hand:

Also highly recommended:

1. penis waterbottles

2. Attire of the locals

3. Shots of "Buttery Nipple"

4. Transvestite hula man

5. Rooster kisses

6. Pu-lenty of dancing!

My city kicks your city's ass

There are many compelling reasons to study in Seattle.

Here are just a few:

Where have all the sophistiques gone?

In Chicago, multi-leveled chain bookstores where the epicenter of intellectual endeavor and stimulating sophisticated social gatherings.

White collar workers would step out of their high rise office buildings to stand in aisles between "The Economist" and "Stock Market Weekly". College students from downtown DePaul University, south Chicagos' Univeristy of Chicago, north Chicago's Loyola Univeristy, and west Chicago's University of Illinois would all mingle among the pronounced truths of Immanuel Kant, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Kafka.

Of course there were the occasional nerds who would sneak up to the third floor to buy complete seasons of Law and Order SVU, Bollywood movies or Star Wars Special Edition.....

In the bookstore cafe, students from all across Chicago would pour over stacks of text books armed with a frivolously long-named coffee concoction and sophisticated, overpriced bakery goods.

Last weekend, I clapped by ruby red shoes together in the parking lot of Kitsap County's Barnes and Noble after the harsh and forced realization that no, I am not in Chicago anymore.....

About to enter the local Barnes and Noble I saw a middle aged, overweight woman exit the pretentious double doors. She was wearing an old shirt under her overalls, which I might add were unbuckled and flapping loosely over her jelly-donut flab. To this I might simply have smiled an thought, "to each her own". But then, the woman turned to the lady she was walking out with and screamed, "You touch me like that again and I'll knock those false teeth right out of your mouth!"

Mugly Ugly

My dad left for Uganda today (Africa) for a church mission thing. Before he left, I had to get a couple shots of him with his new "do". He appropriately shaved his for the intense African heat. Although, I bet he just thinks that if he shaves his head, he doesn't have to bathe.....so glad I'll be a hemisphere away.

What I didn't tell my dad was that I really wanted to take pictures of him in case....um... well..... the following reasons:

1. intense and unrelenting tribal wars
2. alligators in swampy waters
3. a plethora of diseases with colorful, unpronouncable names
4. indiscriminate, poverty induced violence
5. heat stroke/sunburn

and especially......

6. not being anywhere near a beer for two whole weeks

yup, he'll be lucky if he returns alive.

BEFORE (relaxing on his birthday)

AFTER

He tries so hard to look mean and tough...well he doesn't really have to "try"

Posers

It was our extremely bright observation during our recent trip to Victoria, B.C. that people make funny poses when they are framing their best camera shot.

If you don't believe me, check these out (I hope I didn't look like this in the process of taking these pictures):

With great pleasure, I present Mr. It takes major squinting skills to shoot the ocean,

And Mr. Dirty Dancing with Camera.

Of course posers are pretty funny themselves.

Here is Poser, the poser (he's such a poser). I may be going to hell for insulting someone's future christmas postcard.

Ancient Student Torture Methods

I can't study anymore. My brain doesn't want to learn. Nothing new will fit, especially if its complicated and takes alot of mental gigabites.

Stacks of concepts left to grasp and piles of cases left to analyze.

It's sunny (almost 90 degrees in the PNW!) and my heart is calling my brain to sit on the beach and wade into the Sound. This is a call I have to let ring, damn it.

Considering that I haven't yet had a real summer, I am still experiencing "spring fever". It's not that I'm lazeeee.....I'm motivated to do something with immediate results, with instant gratification. Like toiling on my beach chair working hard on that tan or emptying three margarita glasses.

I'm also antsy to see BF (note to self: we could never do the long distance thing, especially considering that 45 minutes is already outrageously far) ... one more mental distraction.

So I think I'll continue to stare at my 1135 page text book for a little longer and think about new ways to get all that information inside my brain- without actually thinking too much.

Yay....The Fray

News Headline: "Unsuspecting target "hooked" after hypnosis by radio singe."

I have been waiting anxiously since April 27th to see The Fray at the Showbox in Seattle. I fell in love with their single, "Cable Car" early this year and it became my favorite song to hear over the radio of my Big Red Van. It accompanied me on many late night trips from my BF's house to my own.

My obsession with this song coaxed me to delve into The Fray's other stuff. After one or two more tracks, I was officially hooked. Maybe its the moments where you hear the elegant piano clearly over smooth guitar riffs, or maybe its the touching lyrics, heavy with life lessons-- maybe its the easiness of the combination.

As BF and I waited in a line that wrapped around two street block corners just to get in, I learned a couple things:

-I share the same musical taste as a large population of NW's teenie boppers
-I still don't look out of place among a group of 15 year olds
-My life wont be complete until I meet the person who writes headlines for the nearby adult entertainment center..."Privates of the Caribbean"...how timely!

Unique highlight of the show:

Isaac, lead singer, takes a touching moment to perform solo, a song he dedicated to the time he and his grandmother used to watched T.V. together. He gets up from the piano bench to sing both male and female parts of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. I hope to gawd that was supposed to be comical... wouldn't hurt to practice that number a little more...LOL.

The Fray sounds so much more amazing in person than over my laptop's built in speakers!

Chicks dig clues

(Above: BF hanging with some chicks. In the summer time he is inseparable from his sunglasses)

Tonight, BF told me he has a surprise for me and that he would give it to me this weekend.

Whenever BF has a surprise for me, I make him give me "clues" as to what the surprise is because 1) I am a bad person and have to ruin gift giving, 2) I am a very bad surprisee because my curiosity drives me up the wall and I just HAVE to know, 3) Trying to figure out the surprise is half the fun of getting a surprise.

So I hound him until he eventually breaks down. Like any good/smart boyfriend, BF does what his girlfriend says....

The number of racy ideas that initially went through my mind when I was told I was getting a surprise were immediately dispelled when I got my first clues. Apparently, the surprise:

1). Is Used (could still be a racy surprise- but, for hygiene sake, I hope it isn't)
2). Fits in my pocket (could still be racy as long as size is not directly proportional to level of enjoyment ;)

Band-aid

My BF plays bass in a band. I shouldn't say he "plays" bass- it's more accurate to say that he "commandeers", "masters" and "dominates" the bass.

The band, which formerly turned over some unique jam tunes under the name Magicallistic, is currently nameless. The undiscovered band is yet to formally establish its "coming of age" in front of a public audience. In fact, except for holding a jam session before a handful of drunk/high highschool students in someone's private gym- I don't think they have really played for anyone yet.

But I don't doubt they are ready.

As Groupie #1, I can attest to their unrivaled, seasoned sound made up of lively complex beats, hot riffs and some bombin' basslines. There is no song this band can't cover. Swiveling in the only nearby chair, observing the band members between protuding pieces of gym equipment, matching their rhythym with my feet on the base of some kind of bowflex-- I can easily picture them on a hip low-lit stage playing in front of an eager audience.

It is obvious that this band has skill and style. The members are lovers of music, and who better to create music than those with an ear for what sounds great? Once they are presented before a world of ears, their fame will explode overnight. I will be able to say, "I'm tight with that sexy bass player".

Four D-eh! Weekend

This was destination weeked. BF and I both had a four day weekend and we decided to celebrate by doing what we are best at: wandering. We are both indecisive but manage to find ourselves in the middle of many prime adventure opportunities.

We went to a small little town called Tahuya (BF was not exaggerating when he said all it consisted of was a post office and nearby multi-purpose building) to see their annual parade and festival. I will remember it as the hick parade. I'm not sure who won our "who can spot the most mullets" contest- but I'll admit, it WAS really fun. America has to be the only country where people in passing vehicles throw candy at you just for watching them.

This is the conductor of the "Dewatto Can't March Band"- members of the marching band spent the parade seated in a flat bed:

The next day we hauled ourselves out of bed at 5:30 am to catch and early ferry to Victoria, BC- yes that's in Canada. Contrary to what my Canadian friend from highschool told us repeatedly, Canadians do say "eh".

The weather was amazing, the wine was potent, and to our surprise we found ourselves in the middle of a Gay Pride parade. We watched with interest as biker chicks, transvestites, and ladies on stilts marched passed. When someone on the final float announced that there would be beer at the end of the parade- we joined in and followed, hoping that no one from the newspaper would be there to take our picture and reveal us on the local news, to the worry of my conservative parents.

Sometimes I forget that Canada is another country. I was reminded several times as I tried to get a handle of the money conversion. OMG, visiting a general store in Canada is a scary experience- all the normal candy bars can be found there- but in completely different wrapping! What really got me though was the fact that the Canadian "walk" traffic light looked like this (creepy):

During our adventure I got bear hugs, and chocolate. I bought a belly button brush (cool!), met William Shakespeare. I tried some lemon lime fudge and even got friendly with a large crab.

(Above: BF getting licked by a big canadian bear)

(Above: there were plenty of things for me to ride on in canada....plenty...)

I didn't have my passport. The US Customs guy quizzed me on where I was born and how many stripes were on the American flag. I was nervous at first and guess "13", sounding none too confident. The Customes guy asked me "Are you sure"- then my 5th grade US history kicked in and I answered with pride "7 red and 6 white!"- phew, almost got stuck in Canada!

I got a little crazy on the windy boat ride home. (did I mention I was able to get 25 pages of reading in for school?)