Eeny Meany Miney Moe

How do you choose which grad school to go to? Besides the obvious enticements of which one will give me more money? A or B? Both have advantages and both are so 100% on line that the coolness, or lack there of, of the city just doesn't matter. I'll be sitting in Seattle, with my UWM or Drexel Dragon sweatshirt on, staring at my computer or a book and being studious. What I really love, though, is that I have choice. Even if I don't know what to do with it.

Panther or Dragon.... both very good mascots.

A Perfect Day For A...

...Ballgame!!! I was given two tickets to the third game of the Mariners v. Red Sox series. 5th row back along the left field foul line. It was sunny, 70-ish degrees, cool breeze blowing...PERFECT day game weather! The Mariners swept the series. I wish I could say I was excited about their win, but, as I have discussed with other baseball fan friends in Seattle, it's really difficult to become a fan. This is the first baseball town I've ever lived in, and I imagined that I would care about the Mariners and watch the games on t.v., or listen on the radio. Really keep up to date on the goings on. It's been 9 years since I moved here, and I've yet to really care. I love the ballpark. I love to watch baseball. I don't love to watch the Mariners. (Except maybe Ichirio. He is so FAST and graceful and refined in his playing.) I could watch just about every game on television, but I have to fiddle too much with the rabbit ears so I don't bother. That about sums up the kind of fan I am. I mean, I'd sure be happy if they did really well. And unless they're playing a team that I like more (NYY, Boston, the Angels...probably a couple more if I really give it some thought...and I already know that a "true" Yankee fan hates Boston and vice versa. I have been a fan of the Yanks since I was a wee little tyke and Reggie Jackson played for them. I have not, however, harbored resentment towards Boston. So unless they're playing each other, I am perfectly happy for Boston to win. I'm an old fashioned baseball girl when it comes to teams. I like the old teams. I like pinstriped uniforms. Go Tigers! Sue me.), than I definitely will root root root for the home team. It's kind of sad. I have never gotten the feeling that the owners care much about the team, either. They're not concerned with winning. They're concerned with money. So, they trade the best players and that's that.
Though, after today, I did feel a little more inspired to make an effort. Especially after hearing from the friend that I took along with me how lucky Seattle is to have such cheap game tickets. $10 to sit in the bleachers. And these games rarely sell out. I was surprised that this game wasn't full. I got to thinkin' that maybe I'd take in a few more day games. I have Wednesdays off, after all, and summer in Seattle is a dream, for the most part. Baseball. Sunshine. Hot dogs. How great is that?!
I miss the world series on NBC. I miss Bob Costas.

All I Wanted Was a Movie...

Where's my damn movie, Netflix?!!!

The movie I sent back seems to have gotten lost in the mail, as they say they haven't received it, yet. Well, I distinctly remember sending it back on Tuesday and it is now Friday. Very suspect. Come to think of it, our regular mailman was not on his route, Tuesday. We had a sub... Highly suspect. On their website it says that if the movie has not been received 6 days after mailing it to them, then I can file a "movie was returned and Netflix hasn't received it" complaint. But I want the other movie that was supposed to come after it NOW, dammit! I don't even know anything about it except that it was recommended to me for the costumes and because it looks likes a good ole sexy, though not necessarily great, entertaining film with pretty people being all Italian and alluring in their Venetian dress, making goo-goo eyes at each other behind fans. Sometimes a girl just needs a little innocent costume drama sexual tension plot. Besides he's in it and I have always been a fan. Speaking of frivolous sexy plots, I think I should start renting the Henry VIII series that aired this year... absolute cotton candy it's supposed to be. Yum.

Home Sweet Home

It's the first day of summer, and to Seattle's credit, the sun shines. The whole day has been beautifully blue, warm with a cool--not too cool--breeze. Oh, yeah, I think...this is why I love it here. Well, there are other reasons, but days like this are in the top three. In honor of the event, I sit outside at Top Pot, eat a donut and drink a decaf (yawn) iced latte...sigh...a good evening treat to be sure. Many years in a row, Shawn and I would find some place cozy to sit and watch the sun as it set far, far in the west. Sometimes we went to Discovery Park, or Golden Gardens. Even staying here, on the Hill. From my perch on Capitol Hill it looks to set behind Queen Anne, which is darn near north. I'd say it's a northerly sunset. By winter it will be dropping down near Magnolia, very westerly.
VERY early this morning, suffering from a bout of insomnia, I caught a bit of the national weather report. 112 degrees in Phoenix. Ugh. Do not miss that. Haven't missed it since the day I left. Never even missed it when I was living there and I'd be on vacation, blessedly, somewhere else.
Funny to think about the place that one considers home. I have two places, actually. One is "home" in the sense of where I grew up. Except that I only lived there 10 years and no one in my family actually lives in that spot. Twin Falls, 30 minutes north-ish of where our home was, isn't technically my childhood home. Yet, it is so familiar, despite all the changes occurring at an ever increasing rate, that my sentimental attachment to it makes it home. Going home for Christmas? Nah... I like to go back home in the summer or the fall. Arizona is unquestionably not home. Yes, I lived another large portion of my life there; 11 highly formative years, and I couldn't wait to get O-U-T, OUT! Going on 10 years in Seattle (gee, I'm at equal parts in these places...) and I can truly say that almost from the start, this was my home. Is my home. I feel very home-like here. I'm a happy homebody in this town. Home, home on the range. How lucky is that? I could have moved here and been sorely disappointed. Hated it. Gotten bored with it. I'm not bored. Are you bored? People get bored with Seattle. Several of my friends have left this boring town, or want to leave this hum drum burgh... O. like my boyfriend. : ( But I really like it. Really.

She's Not My Type

My friend, Adam, is funny. He left a comment for my previous post which has brought a chuckle to my throat, escaping out through my mouth and ending with a smile on my lips. Thanks, Adam. And in response to his response I say, "She's not my type", and here is why: She was kinda mean. She even said she was mean, which came out more so on the second day than on the first. Not mean like, "Wow. She's down right cruel." But she had an edge. I'd forgotten to mention that, previously. Ahhhh... but isn't that classic? In 5th grade, Tay Roberts decided that she didn't like me and was horribly cruel to me in front of anyone who was around--and we had the same friends. She was the queen bee in my 5th grade circle of friends and, though no one else was out and out mean to me, no one stuck up for me, either. It didn't help that my family had no money, wore used clothing and were Bountiful, Utah's version of hay seeds. Her daily doses of "Where do shop, at Kmart?" insults--because at the time, there was no greater insult than being accused of owning anything from the big, blue "K"--did not, however, stop me from including her in the big slumber party/pizza eating/toilet papering extravaganza I hosted in the late spring. And she came. I have a picture to prove it. She was still mean to me and I still wanted her to like me. She never really did. Though my fellow pledge room buddy wasn't mean like Tay, I can see how she had the potential to behave in such a way in a grade school environment. So, no, Adam. She is not crushable. Maybe another day I'll tell you about my friend, K., whose approval I craved, was good friends with AND for whom I had a big, whoppin' crush...

Dorkdome Strikes Again

Clever folks impress me. Sometimes they even cause me to feel small and shy in their presence. It's not their fault; I recognize that it's my own insecurities bubbling up, making my laugh a little more emphatic, my eyes darting to meet Mr./Ms. Clever's, more than necessary to check in during the conversation. Especially in a group. Did he/she like what I said? Was that other person's comment as silly/smart as I thought it was? All very middle school, I know. What can I say? I doubt my own cleverness and ability to be liked in a new group setting. Oh, Linnet! You three or four, shake your heads with a chuckle, What are you talking about? You get along so easily with others. Yes, with people I know. I've addressed this issue before and have apparently not resolved it, yet. Once I get more comfortable, however, I'm fine. I think I've honed in on the most obvious scenarios in which Insecure Linnet arrives on the scene in place of Confident Linnet: 1. at a party of strangers; 2. in a forced group situation where you are all sitting together in a room for a number of hours. Frankly, I prefer the latter. It's a bit easier for me to gain my comfort zone and relax. It's when someone clever gets put in the mix that I get a little gerghidlkn;alghaoi. (Yes. I said gerghidlkn;alghaoi. I don't know how to spell a gurgling, tense and throaty noise that best illustrates my inhibitions.)
Like today, for instance. (Ah ha! Now she comes to it.) And it had to be today, right? Otherwise why would I be writing about it? Well, there was this girl. And she and I were both on the same phone shift for the KEXP pledge drive for the last two days. I see her around the hill and downtown, quite a bit, as one does in a city like this. She has cool and unique tattoos. she dresses in an individually stylish way without being too much. She's cute. Oh, and now that I've sat in the same room with her for 8 hours, I know she's smart with original ideas and ways of expressing herself. And clever. And I felt like such a goober when I realized that I was laughing at her comments more than I would have, if I wasn't feeling like a dork. And that I caught myself actually thinking, Does she think I'm as big a dork as I think I am right now? I hope not. In all likelihood, I wasn't even a blip on her radar. I mean to say, once I left the room, at the end of our shift, I doubt she gave me a second thought. Not in a mean way. Just in a That was a productive 4 hours. We answered a lot of phones and everyone seemed nice way. Whereas I continue to think about her and her cleverness. Yesterday she showed us a 64 second animated short she made for a class. It was great. That's what really got me. Though, if I hadn't seen her again today, I don't know that I would have cared as much as I seemingly do now. I guess I was reminded of my initial impression of her, and we were fewer today than yesterday. Oh. I also sat across from her today. Yesterday, we were a livelier group and there were many conversations going on. Today, we were a bit quieter so perhaps she just shined a little more...what on earth did I want from her that caused this wacky doubting, fumbling version of me?
APPROVAL! That's what I wanted from her. Good god, I am in middle school.