me and my mom

my mom and i had a great visit and here are some of the photos.
we went to the farm, harrison, whidbey island and seattle. then we did full family wedding extravaganza, and i have spent the last week recovering from all of our fun (but more specifically, from ripping my quads in various dance-offs at my cousin's wedding.)

here's the highlight reel.

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l-i-g-h-t

i went to fireworks on saturday night.

why do people drive all the way from the burbs to watch a half hour light show???? (that being said, it was really good...)
and why are people such jerks after they drive all the way in, get shitfaced and then watch the fireworks?
at first i was thinking that they should hold municipal elections at the same time as the fireworks because voter turnout would be huge, but then i realized that they're all jerks and for a moment, i was all for limiting democracy to the sober few.

but the firework show itself was great. i was beside a dad with a kid around his ears, slurping on a giant rocket popsicle, who kept saying "cool!" and made the half hour much more enjoyable. oh, and there were hot cops out too. for once i was all for excessive cop presence.

but another fireworks related thing - i like fireworks for the sheer evanescence of it all. they don't stick around - you're there or you're not - the sounds reverberate throughout the entire city, but a picture is never enough. you have to be there for the people, the sounds, the art. and it's lovely, and i realized, kind of sad. cuz that's all there is. the fireworks, the big bang, the ooooohs, the aaaahs, the clapping and then it's over. which is kind of a bummer in its specialness. it's kind of the same feeling i get on starry nights. they're so beautiful, and you feel so small, but so much part of the universe, so you feel special and bummed at the same time.

my mom comes out and visits tomorrow and i'm a little nervous - mostly because last time she visited, i was living with a bigger jerk than all of the fireworks jerks (ooh it rhymes!) combined. we're going to have fun and drive around and go to the island and then to my cousin's wedding. i bought a very pretty dress yesterday and i am very stoked to wear it and feel girlish. it should be fun. i'll try to do a mar and jess post while my mom's here just to introduce her to the technology.

ok - off to call my mom (whoops) and then out for a walk on the seawall with some dinner to go. oh, and i rode my bike yesterday which makes me happy and i rented "annie hall" which makes me even happier. lines like "i haven't been the same since i quit smoking" "when did you quit?" "14 years ago". AWESOME. i love woody allen. i know he's a perv, but he's a smart perv and something about the smart woman, neurotic guy thing reminds me of my parents a little. it helps that my dad bears a striking resemblance to the younger woody allen and that i think my mom is just as fabulous, if not more, than diane keaton. (although my mom does not say "la dee da".) and my parents would both totally wear these outfits. actually, the tennis scene where annie plays in a shirt with an upturned collar and alvie plays in his tennis whites could be a fictional rendition of my parents' style. so here are my fictional mom and dad - except my mom doesn't move to california and my dad is not in psychoanalysis or married to his adopted daughter (blech!).



do it for the eggs.

waiter, there's a magnet in my cup

really, there was a magnet at the bottom of my o.j. this morning. it had fallen off the fridge and into the fridge but i couldn't find it, so i just shut the fridge door and went on with life. a couple of hours later i decided to finally drink the glass of o.j. that i'd left in the fridge for about 3 days and found the magnet.... at the bottom of my cup.

i'm pooped. all this getting up and going to work stuff is overrated, but necessary. the funny thing is, the hours are humane, so i'm not as exhausted as i used to be and i still have a lot of energy to do stuff which is new and funny-feeling. i was all set to sit on my butt all weekend and watch endless movies but i've actually been outside for most of the weekend, save this morning. (ok - i saw the new harry potter last night which ROCKED... run, don't walk and make sure you go pee before it).

so the job is good. i have some political issues with it, but overall it's a good job and i can translate my concerns into good community development. it's just a bit of a headache at times. the people are so friendly and fun, but they are recreational programmers and it seems like every sentence starts with "i was out for a run last night...." or "i'm on a soccer team..." which just makes me want to light up a cigarette while they're talking.

(i know... i shouldn't be so critical, but it's the first week and i'm just trying to suss out what i'm dealing with and how i'm going to operate in this group of folks. it's good but just a little different from the social justice framework that i'm used to living my life in.)

anyway, life's good - i just have to do some errands because i don't get to stay home tomorrow. and my mom is booked to come out for a visit and i am so excited.

random post for a random day and now it's time to buy some soy milk.

last day of freedom

uh oh.

starting tomorrow, i'm back in the land of the working. back in the realm of wake up early, make my lunch, try to get everything together, pack up my bag, leave my house, go back to my house because inevitably, i forgot something, then go to work.

i have to admit, i am excited about it. about having something to do, and having some more motivation about getting things done, but i am also not excited about getting up early and getting on the skytrain. i am also, in true girly style, more concerned about my wardrobe than about my actual ability to do the job. so today, i'm going shoe shopping since i will actually have a workplace where i can't wear my flip flops to work (correction: my $5 Old Navy flip flops - i might get some nicer leather ones).
argh - i hate being so materialistic, but i am recognizing this as an opportunity to build my wardrobe and get some appropriate clothes.

i am living my mom's dream for me - i have finally found a job where i sit in an office and work and have to wear professional clothes. i think this is the universe's birthday gift to my mom. really, it's her birthday today. and she is the best mom EVER. (i know some other contenders for "best mom ever" but hey, she's my mom and hence the best.)