Oh me, oh my

Congress rejected the bail out bill. 700 points the Dow dropped so far. Gives me anxiety, but as my mom puts it, "it's a waste of time to stress about things you have no control over, it prevents you from taking care of things you do have control over." So with that, I'm going to try my best not to spend too much time thinking about it even though I'm worried. Moving on...

Had a good weekend. Friday we watched the debate at the Great Nabob with a bunch of friends where I met a couple of my friend W's friends and they said the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me, coming from someone I don't know anyway. They said that I'm the most beautiful person they've ever seen. How they see that, I'm not sure, but man is that a nice thing to hear on a Monday morning.

After the debate C and I headed to the Showbox to watch Blue Scholars, which is hip hop music. Now, as most of you know I HATE hip hop, but we ran into our friend R and hung out and had a pretty good time. But, I don't think I need to go to another hip hop concert for a long while.

Saturday I baked some banana bread (3 loafs!) and C and our friend came over and knitted. Watched Enchanted (I L-0-V-E that movie).

We ushered at the UW game on Sat night and Sunday we hiked Tiger mountain. 3 miles straight up and considered a "beginners course". I almost died I was so exhausted. Every muscle in my whole body feels like jell-o. It was kind of ridiculous how hard it was and of course we had old men running past us up the mountain like it was no big thing. Ugh. My favorite part was when we got to the top of the mountain we sat down to have a snack and there were birds flying around the trees and the flew down and sat on our hands to eat our food. It was actually really cool. Here's some pics:


View from the top


Me walking...



The bird in C's hand.

Alright, I'm off to go avoid reading CNNmoney.com.

It's the eye of the tiger...or me anyway..

What a freaking week. Literally massive insanity.

My mom came last Tuesday and right before she arrived I poked myself in the cornia with a sharp corner of some thin cardboard. It caused enough damage for me to miss work Wed - Fri, not be able to leave the house to do anything fun with my mom at all, and I had to go to the doctor on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

It was awful. I have slight blurr and kinda squintiness to my eye but seems like I'll heal just fine. My eye anyway, my heart is still broken and will take some time to fix again. Probably until I see mom again. :(

It was nice to have her here and while we didn't really do anything, it was nice just to be with mom doing nothing. She's such a wonderful mother. We talked in length about my future and I think I'm getting there I'm actually extremely excited about the direction I think I'm taking it and when I have more definitives I'll let you know. Just know it's big! And it's going to allow me to cross off some of the things on my bucket list which freaking rocks my face off. Soooo pumped. I'll let you soon soon soon.

So...I started a women's running group with my friend K and we ran part of Greenlake today. It was nice, I like our coach. Done through Titlenine.com and seems to be well organized. It's 8 weeks long, some girl bonding time and running will do me some good. Especially as the weather starts to turn to..well...Seattle.

I've got to head off to bed, but stay tuned...big news to come...but for right now, the secret is tucked away much as I am in this bucket....



...don't worry, I'll come busting out soon.

100th entry....

After a year and a half of blogging, I finally have reached my 100th entry. Many of you have followed my blog since it's inception and I wanted to sincerely thank you for continually wasting your time reading the vat of nothingness that is the A Day in the Life of Seattle blog. You all are swell.

A few things:

* Those of you interested in the P & P tour to England please let me know. I think I could organize a group of people to take the trek the rolling hills of the lake counties, Darnesha the great estate of Pemberley:

http://www.britishtours.com/prideandprejudice.html
http://janeaustenfantrips.com/Sept._2008_Tour.html

Looks fantastic, yes? Who's with me? No, I'm serious. Who wants to go?

This weekend:

Was good. I went out to Anthony's with C and his dad/step mom on Friday night and had a lovely dinner. Ahi tuna was delish!

Saturday we tooled around and I went shopping with my friend for her new job that started today, we basically took over H & M for a good bit, but found her some great deals, so that's nice. Yay.

Went out to dinner on Saturday night at Maggie's Bluff, which I love because of it's incredible view.

Sunday went up to C's dad's for a bit, then to a tourism trade show and picked up some AWESOME deals (a FULLY all inclusive, meaning also plane ticket, to Beijing for $600! I mean, wHAHHHHHT?? For 8 days! Who wants to go?) I also signed up for a bunch of sweepstakes to win a trip, so hopefully I'll be jetting off to Tahiti soon. I'll let you know what shakes out.

We went over to C's mom's house for dinner last night. She and her boyfriend are doing a house exchange with an American couple that live in Costa Rica and we went over to meet them last night. Weird but nice people. They told me I should move to Budapest, Prague, Paris or some where in Spain. I believe then because they've seen the world over. I need to find a job where I can do that kind of thing. Seriously. Everyone start craigslisting for me, please.

Alright, I need to work.

More bucket list...

I'm in Los Angeles right now for a new business pitch. I'm so lucky to be thought so well of at work to come to something like this. It says something about me, or at least that's what people tell me. I have the tendency to beat myself up though, when I'm in levels that require professionalism. I always think I'm the biggest idiot in the room. Which tonight, was probably true. Imagine yourself in the room with the following people:

* Co-creater/conceptor/voice of Teenage Mutane Ninja Turtles and co-starter of MSN, plus a bunch of other things.
* The EVP of my company in the USA division. He discovered Jared of Subway. Need I say more?
* The president of my office. She an articulate woman, a genius, winner of many awards, the person I want to be some day. Seriously, she's scary, she's powerful, she's my hero.
* One of the Vice Presidents of my company that is a strategic planning/event genius. He's loved by every client he ever interacts with.

And then there is me....they were hesitating as we were practicing on how to introduce me. "What do we say about Jessica......" they asked. "Uhh...she's...she has a blog!" That's true, I do. You're succumbing to that misery right now you poor smuck. "Uhhh, would you say you understand social media, Jessica?" Yes. Actually, I do. I take pride in my social media knowledge, but wait...what's twitter again? I'mmmmmmmmm justtttttttt kiddding.

So on the plane down I continued my bucket list. Here's a bit more...of course there is more to come. And I'll update you as I take on each of these scripted life challenges.



25. Featured in if not star of television show.
26. Discover an educational passion and go back to school to pursue it.
27. Read more books. I’ve always wanted to become more engaged in literature, history and science to gain a better understanding of our world but admittedly I’m lazy – I can change that, thank you Seattle Public Library Card.
28. Create a financial life plan. There are so very many things that I want to do (as you can see from my list), but many of them require financial means. By creating a better plan of attack on my budget I could probably get them done more quickly.
29. Create a cookbook of some of my favorite family recipes. My family is all exquisite culinarians and I’d like to be able to learn from their skills.
30. Create a cookbook with my mother. We want to compile all of the great recipes that have helped us along the WW path.
31. Pay my brother Shawn back. He bought my car so needless to say, I owe him A LOT of money.
32. Become better organized. My mom or C can attest to my pack rat nature and misplaced brain so I often forget important dates, information, etc. Bad way to live life, but something I can fix.
33. Grow a garden. Once I have a place I can plant things, I think I should like to have my own little garden.
34. Give back to children in need. I’m not sure what this could mean yet, but I think I’d like to be a Fresh Air sponsor, CASA volunteer, foster parent or even adoptive parent. There are just so many kids out there that deserve sunshine.
35. Go to India with my friend D.
36. See my Nonna’s name at Ellis Island.
37. Take a glass blowing class.
38. Make a conscious effort to be kinder. I don’t know if you’d agree, but I find that the people I’m often the most hurtful to are they people that are closest to me. That’s by no means the type of person I want to be. This world can always use a little bit more kindness.
39. Visit the tulip festival in Victoria, B.C. or Burlington, WA. Why the heck do I miss it every year? I love tulips.
40. Go to Oktober fest.
41. Walk along the Great Wall.
42. Find patience. While I wouldn’t call myself an impatient person by any means, I certainly have certain limits…such as children on planes. I’m currently on a plane right now to Los Angeles and if this kid doesn’t stop kicking my seat I swear to Go-okay, breathe patience. Yes, good idea.
43. Bulk up my fun. While I think my life has been filled with good times, I spend a fair amount of time watching television instead of going out and doing everything this world has to offer. Fun could mean getting involved in YPN (Young Professionals Network through Chamber of Commerce) or Toastmasters or a painting class, just something. I want fun and I want it in bulk.
44. Accept my past. While I think much of my past history doesn’t impede in my personal growth, I know I harbor a lot of negative feelings. I don’t need those bad feelings anymore, they can go.
45. Learn to play an instrument (piano and/or guitar). I can play flute and I can play chop sticks on piano, a couple items on guitar. I would really like to learn though. Especially since I can’t sing. It’s my only hope for being musically inclined.
46. Don’t allow myself to languish in unhappiness. Far too many people let themselves be miserable and I don’t ever want to do that. Whether it’s work or personal, being miserable just is definitely not worth it.


Okay, bed time.

24 is the new me

...Friday came a lot quicker than I thought it would. It's not that the week went by quicker than normal or anything, it seems as though life is speeding up quick a bit faster than I had anticipated and all of a sudden I'm 24 years old, a supposed "adult" in society, making a living and far away from home.

Birthdays traditionally are a time to reflect and think about what you've done, what you should have done, what you could have done and what you should do to improve on the upcoming year of your life. Then it hit me -- I just need to *DO* something. Anything. It occur ed to me that while I've always had the intent to make it big or do something grand, I rarely put those plans into action or do the leg work/research to make them happen. I'm a big talker and no longer a doer. I have to tell you that SUCKS.

So, I've decided to start a list of things I want to accomplish before this life is through. Ideally I'll come up with 101 really great ideas, but I'm not going to close it off to that because, well, there's a big world out there and a lot of stuff I want to do. So my list begins.....

1. Live abroad -- I hope somewhere that English is not the first language, which brings me to number two...
2. Learn a foreign language. I can understand a lot of Italian and Spanish, but my conversational skills leave much to be desired. I have the Mandarin Chinese disks..maybe I'll pop those in...
3. Ride an elephant in Cambodia, Laos or Thailand. I've always wanted to go there, I'm not sure why.
4. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef - here's the honest truth...I'm terrified of ocean water. It FREAKS me out, all those things swimming about waiting to attack me..ughhhhhh but the water is clear there and, well, beautiful. I think I could suck it up.
5. Get a book published. Everyone dreams of being published, I just happen to write better than most of them. Okay, kidding...sort of.
6. Serve on the board of a national non-profit organization. My heart has always been with abused/neglected women and I'd love to know that my actions can make a difference.
7. Hike a big mountain. Just sounds like a good idea.
8. Run a marathon. I'm thinking in the next year or so I could check this baby off.
9. Make my own knock of Versace gown. I could do it, it just might take a couple years. Oh and I need a sewing machine.
10. Live in a huge city -- New York, Chicago, LA, Paris, London, Tokyo...where ever.
11. Learn various forms of dance and participate in a dance competition. Salsa, belly dance, ballroom, clog dancing, etc.
12. Run my own business. It might be consulting, it might be an art studio, who knows. Something and something good.
13. Camp out in the Peruvian Amazon.
14. Have tea and crumpets in England.
15. Take the Pride and Prejudice tour. If you know me at all, you know I love P & P.
16. Make a commitment to reconnecting with my Southern heritage. Truth is, I love being Southern. I just need to make it more intrinsic in my personality.
17. Teach a class. Whether it's experimental college or teaching English abroad somewhere, I really want to teach.
18. Go to Vegas. I'm not going to tell you what happens there since it's a rule. I might not even tell you when I go.....okay maybe.
19. Go on a cruise. I'm a big loser, I've never been on one.
20. Attend fashion week. It's going on right now and I'm not there. I don't want another year to go by without me in Bryant Park.
21. Ride a hot air balloon. I'm TERRIFIED of heights...which leads me to my next one....
22. Bungee jumping. I feel like that's on everyone's list...man it gives me anxiety to even type it out. Whew, maybe hold off on that one for a while.
23. Go to tomato fest in Spain.
24. Take a wine tour.

There is 24, for now. Much more to come...I'll follow up with birthday pictures a bit later.

It's been a great long while..

A great many things have happened, a great many things. I've missed talking with you all.

Since we last spoke I made the trek back to Bama from August 14 - 25 it was perfect. I told few people I was coming, so that insured I had more time with my family and time to relax and eat lots of food. I mean, I ate a lot of food. Here's a recap of some of the particular goodies I consumed (I will NOT be putting points values next to these because the thought might depress me):

* Surin West (Tokyo roll, seaweed salad, coconut soup)
* Al's (veggie burger and mint sweet tea - the first and last thing I consumed... I f'ing love it. Although, I tried to be moderately healthy twice and went for the veggie burger without mayo or cheese. Such a mistake. This burger is meant to be consumed in it's full caloric serving. DELISH)
* Silvertron (neighborhood restaurant, but honestly terrible...I don't know why people love that place, it's random and weird http://www.silvertroncafe.net/)
* Ginza Korean BBQ (we went for my mother's birthday and I ate sashimi and seaweed, it was pretty good. Then my dad was telling me how good he heard it was a few days later and I didn't have the heart to tell him I just went, so I ate it twice. The sashimi was frozen the second time around)
* Cantina (the freakin' best shrimp quesdilla in the whole planet. I l-o-v-e it http://www.birminghammenus.com/cantina/....actually all their food is good. I went with my BFF D and my old professional advisor A, who is probably one of the most hilarious people in the planet. Good times, great food.)
* Jim N Nick's BBQ (Now, here's the thing. I go to Jim N Nick's every time I go home but I don't eat meat, so it's kind of weird. I go specifically for the cheese biscuits which melt in your freaking mouth. I brought back some pulled pork for C to eat and taste a bit of home. He said it was good, but I really couldn't say. http://www.jimnnicks.com/)
* Rojo (I love Rojo. I really do. It's a neighborhood outdoor restaurant with a great atmosphere and good flavor. I actually ate the worst thing they probably had on their menu -- not worst in terms of calories but worst in terms of flavor. Pineapple salsa, sounds good right? No, not really. It was stringy and mixed with jalapenos, not what I was expecting. http://www.birminghammenus.com/rojo/ Still good environment
* Taziki's Greek Fare (It's a low key Greek restaurant and I went with my friend R. It was pretty good http://www.bhamdining.com/mediterranean-mideast/2007/6/18/tazikis-greek-fare.html )
* Ridiculous amounts of sweet tea
* Chick-fil-a (might not sound impressive but they don't have them in Seattle. I drank quite a bit of diet lemonade - I love it so much
* Indian Food (At D's engagement party she had so much food and all of it was EXTREMELY spicy but good...there was somosas, curry cheese, all kinds of random, mint naan which was really good)

Picture of me and D at her engagement party. I have no idea why my face looks like that
* Mom's chocolate chip cookies -- OMG, amazing.
* Fried pickles (really made my stomach hurt, but you know, they're pickles and they're fried. What can you really expect?)

As you can see, I ate really well. REALLY well. 3 lbs gained well. But that's alright, I'm back down to my normal weight now...and it was all very much worth it.

Here's a couple cute pictures from my trek home:


Me and A at Metro Bistro.


Me and my bro, J.


My flight was delayed back and I missed my connection in ATL and had to stay overnight in a shady McGee hotel. Ugh. Got back in and went straight to work and had the most hectic week ever this week. One of my client's annual planning meetings and we had a really good dinner at Steelhead Diner -- really recommend it for your Seattlelite locals. It has all northwestern grown or raised food with really rich and hearty flavor for a pretty good price. Located right in the market, here's the web site: http://www.steelheaddiner.com/

This week is going to be insane. I had Friday and today off for the Labor day weekend and I have work tomorrow, then I'll be in Los Angeles for work on Wednesday and then working on Thursday and thennnnnnnnnnnnnn Fridayyyyyyyyyyyyyy isssssssssss myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big 24, better represent.

Alright, peace out. Tired from doing absolutely nothing all day.