So, I am a crazy shopper, as most know. There is this website called Black-friday.net". Basically it lists all of the ads for Black Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is also known as the biggest shopping day of the year and the ads are usually kept super secret, but somehow this website knows about the deals beforehand. So, this website will tell you all of the ads for major chain stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Sears, Sam's Club, Amazon.com, just to name a few. You can choose to sign up for email alerts, and be alerted when your favorite store lists a new item for sale. You can get a one up on all of those crazy Black Friday shoppers and make sure you get that new TV, camera, furniture or any other great deal.

I thank this site for helping me get super furniture deals for my new apartment last Thanksgiving, and also some nice but really inexpensive 1200 thread count sheets from Overstock.com. Oh, wait, not to mention shelves...

The site is very easy to use, and also has a discount codes partner that is up to date all year. You should never buy anything online without using a discount or coupon code.

I know this is about 6 months too early for shopping season, but really, is it ever too early to prepare to shop ;)

So last night Dan and I watched my Pistons get creamed... Sad... Very, very sad... I guess the Wings lost, too. Sad night for Detroit.

Then Dan and I went to the Tutta Bella by his house. The upstairs tables have an amazing view of the Queen Anne hill. The food is pretty good, specialty pizzas and what not (about 10 bucks each). They put water on your table, which I like, because I drink a ton of water.


We came home and couldn't play the Wii, cuz all of our Wii remotes were at my house... so we just watched random TV and went to bed early, which was a good thing because this morning... we were rudely awoken at 7am by the fire alarm.

Yes, we were dead asleep and Dan kept fiddling with his alarm clock and I was finally like, um, get clothes on, it's your fire alarm. So we got dressed and went outside. The fire was actually on his floor, I could see smoke, but it smelled like burnt toast. The fire department came and we took my car and went to breakfast at CJ's Eatery.

Then I dropped Dan off back at his house, and went home... and started working, and still am...

Oh, and apparently I am not the only person who hates when people say, "Wooo!" Grunt and Center: Victim Says Workout Shouts Led to NYC Gym Assault

One more thing... my gutting fish video got a YouTube honor... #40 - Most Viewed (This Week) - Pets & Animals - India... Hhhmm...

Last night my friend Dan and I went to the M's vs. Red Sox game. He picked me up on his motorcycle, which if you know me, you know I am deathly scared of driving in a car - let alone a bike. He got a new helmet just to fit me! So we took the bike on the backroads - like 4th ave, not 99 - to Safeco. We parked, locked the helmets and walked toward the stadium. Dan had some extra tickets so we sold two to a random couple in line.

OK, but here is the weird, random trade story. Some guy traded us a program and a pencil for a ticket. I am not sure why he threw in the pencil. Then Dan went to this guy who has a "homeless vet" cardboard sign that is at most games and gave him a ticket, the program and the pencil in return for a compliment to me. I also have to mention... he was a surprisingly clean homeless vet. We go in, I buy a t-shirt, we get food and drinks (no alcohol today! My liver needs a break and Dan was on the motorcycle) and sat in our seats.






We sat for awhile, watched the M's play decently, watched some Red Sox get ejected. Then this guy comes and sits next to us. Turns out he got the ticket from the homeless vet... and guess what... he had the program and the pencil! So, then in turn, I got the pencil back. Weird.

The Red Sox tied the game, but then in the bottom of the 9th the M's won. They charged the field in celebration as if they won the freaking World Series, but instead they just broke their 7 game losing streak.



Then Dan took me home - on the bike. I was less scared this time, but still I am afraid of cabs pulling in front of us and what not.

The Tigers are here Thur-Sun - I cannot wait! Until then, I will keep watching the Pistons game... I hate how the announcers are all for Boston. They Pistons are up 42-38... GO PISTONS!

Last night I met my friend Ed at Del Rey. We watched the Pistons lose terribly... sad... and then during the commercials I would switch to the Wings game. They won. After Del Ray we ran to QFC in Capitol Hill, picked up some beer and a fire log.

We hung out in the courtyard behind Ed's place. A bunch of his neighbors were out and we were grilling and had a small bonfire. One thing I noticed about Cap Hill, neighbors were hanging out together! I have not experienced that in Belltown yet. I see my neighbors on my rooftop deck, and yet we never really interact. Us Belltowners are weird. I should move.

We drank beers and I went to Ed's house to season the chicken we had to BBQ and I walked into the wrong apartment! In my defense, they all have the same layout and look exactly the same. I was in the wrong building, but the correct apartment, actually. I think Ed's neighbor seemed a bit surprised, but he was nice. I asked him to join us, he declined.

Finding firewood in Capital Hill is not easy, even though there are a million trees around. We ended up burning an old cutting board, cardboard and other random things. It was fun, but I got tired so I took a cab home.

I also got a bit text-ie... which is never a good idea when you have been drinking... but it was a good experience... this time ;)

Today I met my friend Blake at Uptown Espresso in Belltown. We hung out there for a few then we walked over to Blake's apartment, which was strangely familiar, as I had been in the building before...

We took a drive to Alki Beach, and he has a convertible, but I was OK with it... though he is a crazy driver! Well, I think everyone is a crazy driver! We went to Cactus Restaurant for lunch. OK, they have amazing guacamole!

After that we walked along Alki for a bit, it was a beautiful day out and the mountains seemed so close, as if you could reach out and touch them. We drove back to Blake's in Belltown... I hung out there for a bit, took a video of his cat doing a trick...



Then I walked home, stoppped at Endless Knot to see if there were any dresses that stood out... now I am home and I just took a Benedryl because of the cat allergies. I probably will need a nap, but the Pistons are on in a few... and I must watch!

Last night Dan and I started the evening by going to Nordstrom Rack at 2nd and Pine and then over to Taphouse Grill for some beer and food. We each got a sampler of beers - he went with bartenders choice, I went with 4 wheats.

After that, we went to QFC in Queen Anne, which was great and I am going to make that my main grocery store from now on. Then we stopped by the liquor store and picked up some tequila and vodka. Dan went to his house, I went to mine. We napped separately and then I picked him back up at like 9:00 or so. We came back, made tacos - which were so yummy!

Then we played Wii for hours. I woke up this morning and my arms were so sore, I could barely move my right arm. The Wii is hard work :)

Now I am off to Uptown Espresso to meet a friend... then who knows for tonight ;)

Dan and I went fishing on Pine Lake in Sammamish again yesterday. This time it wasn't very busy. Pine Lake is just far enough out of Seattle to be "country" but not too far of a drive. It was beautiful, and full of wild life.

So, after fishing for a bit, and getting pointers from the avid fishermen that were almost at limit for the day, Dan finally caught a fish! Naturally it was when I took a bathroom break, so I missed the action, but here is proof!

Also, we saw a Bald Eagle try to swoop and get a duckling. It never succeeded because some kids in a rowboat came and saved the duck. Truth be told, I kind of wanted to see it happen. The bald eagle was huge though, and not a site you would see everyday back home. Apparently there is a decent population here, though. Besides the bald eagle, there was a large loon flying about and swooping fish. I felt like I was camping, but we were about 25 mins from Belltown!





When we were driving back from fishing, we were on 1st Ave by the Stadiums, and some guy on a unicycle cut us off. Seriously, Dan totally could have hit him. Really, who rides a unicycle around town, and who cuts car traffic off in one? He crossed the road when we had a green light and he had a red!

On the way to my house, Dan and I went to Metropolitan Market to get some dinner since that trout was not going to feed us both, then back to my house, played some Wii, and then gutted the fish on the balcony. OK, Belltown apartment balconies are not made to gut fish. It was so gross. We did not exactly know how to do it, so we went on youtube, found a video and tried to copy it. Um, we - wait, I should say Dan - was not as good as the guy on the video, but he did do a pretty decent job. It was so gross though, here is the video!





We cooked the trout and made dinner. It was pretty good, not a lot of meat and you had to pick the bones out, but it was very fresh and yummy. Then we played Wii and the Wii boxing I was getting all into and even sweating. Yes, I am addicted to my Wii.

We also watched this movie - Into the Wild. I really liked it. It is about this "rich" kid who gives away all of his possessions, except what he needs for the road, and just travels for two years before ending up alone in the Alaska Wild. It was very long, but good. I suggest watching it. I kept talking about it today... analyzing it. Oh also, it is based on a true story.

After that, we passed out.

This morning I made breakfast for us with these eggs I got from Metro Market - um, out of 4 eggs, 2 had twins! Then I looked at the package and it said Double Yolk Alert. These eggs say that are all natural, but really, can they be with all the double yolks and hugeness of the egg?

I was looking for tear gas/mace/something to spray crackheads with if needed and I found this website LA Police Gear. They have some good options for personal defense spray. Not that carrying pepper spray/tear gas will make me not scared, it just makes me a little less scared.

While I was on the site I noticed that they have some sweet flashlights. Here is that link. Surefire new flashlights I need a good LED flashlight for flying or one of the smaller ones to put into my purse. Yeah, having a flashlight in your purse comes in handy. Drop something at the bar, you will find it with your flashlight... Randomly show up at a beach in the middle of the night, find your way home with your purse flashlight (yes, Jeff and I did that in Florida).

So, yeah, go check out the site, and right now they have free shipping, so that's always good, too.


This has been a sponsored post ;)

Eww, I went to the Shell Station on Denny and Wall.. and regular unleaded... $4.15 a gallon. Are you kidding me? I know I filled up in the city and it's more expensive, but $4.15? Analysts say $5.00 by end of June and $6.00 by end of July? Seriously?

I wish I felt safe walking in Belltown by myself. Instead I drive to, like, Dan's house, 8 blocks away.

Speaking of which... Dan and I went to Whole Foods last night. They had 50 cent oysters on the half shell and $2 beers. Yeah, our new plan to save money is just eat at Whole Foods. I am kidding, but they had some happy hour special. Then we shopped, bought everything we needed for dinner, and went back to Dan's house played Grand Theft Auto 4, had a late dinner, and went to bed semi early.

I also went to the Post Office today. I waited like 30 mins in line, but there was only one person working and she was super slow. I do not get why the post office is always SO SLOW. Usually I just mail from my place and call them to pick it up, but this package went to Canada.

And now, work...

Last night I watched and pouted as my Pistons lost game 1. Then my friend from Canada called because he is in town interviewing for Microsoft. He walked over, we walked to Umi Sake House. It was a little before late night happy hour, so we eat just got one thing and the Sake Sampler. The sake sampler is 6 different sake pours. I was so in love with one of them, but I cannot remember the name. I also ordered a tropical roll which has salmon, tuna, mango, rice, and blueberry sauce. It was amazing. Marc ordered the 7 Spice tuna, also amazing. We waited for happy hour and we ordered a ton of food and some Sapporo's.

After paying the tab at Umi, we headed over to Del Ray and it was bucket of Corona for $10 bucks night. My fav. Anytime you can order a bucket of something you should.

Marc had to make a midnight-ish bus for Bellevue where he was staying with his friends. He missed it and ended up crashing at my house... so we got back to my house and turned on music... and guess what... The old school rap channel is back! It went away for awhile, but now it is back. I love it.

Tonight has been great. It is the first night in a few weeks that I haven't gone out, had to be somewhere, had someone staying here, etc. It was all me, and I had the night to myself!

My dryer was fixed today, so I did a lot of laundry, made myself dinner, chatted with an old friend, watched sitcoms, and just chilled. It was wonderful!

On of the funny things about Seattle is - when there is a nice day, take advantage of it, because you do not know when another one will come around!

I did just that. I went to Charlie's apartment in Leschi and after a few hours, we went out on the boat into Lake Washington. Mike and Chelsea were there and it was odd (in a good way) to hang out with a bunch of Michigan people again. Also odd that a lot of Jeff's friends live out here. It was so warm and sunny, the lake was cold but people were still jumping in and cooling off. I did not. We went back in about 6:15pm and I took off and picked Dan up on my way home. To get from Leschi to Downtown you have to go through some weird areas on Yesler, it was a warm day and everyone was out in and it was just... weird.

After getting Dan we drove to my house, approached my alley to get into my garage and this cracked out hooker - who was wearing very little clothing (in fact I don't think she was really wearing a shirt) - walked infront on my car as I was pulling into the garage. I stopped so I didn't hit her, she approached my car, knocked on my window and I think she was asking to perform a sex act for $2 dollars? I freaked out, honked my horn, she wouldn't get away, I yelled, she finally backed up and I went into my garage and called the police. They did not come. In reality, I probably should have said she needed medical attention, because she was so cracked out. We went up to my apartment and when we went to the balcony to see if she was still there, and she was for quite awhile, acting crazy, putting on tons of clothes, taking all the stuff out of her bag and stacking it in piles on the ground. Weird. Drugs and mental illness is a bad combination and I cannot understand why this goes on in every alley and street in Downtown and Belltown.

We went to the roof and grilled out dinner and ate up there, too. I tried beef. It was a piece of Porterhouse cut into small pieces on a skewer and it was honestly pretty good. I ended up having two pieces. I have not had steak in forever, but Dan was all about me trying it. I do not think I would ever order it at a restaurant, but he thinks I will - we'll see.

We then went to Blockbuster, where we rented Charlie Wilson's War, and when I was driving back - another street person is knocking on my window! I pull into the parking lot on 1st to get into my alley and my garage a lot and what the bums do is get a credit card (I am assuming stolen?), and buys parking, gives it to you and they you give them a few bucks cash. I told him like 4 times I was not parking there and he is still knocking on my window, as I am waiting for the cab to move out of the way so I can get home.

We watched the movie and passed out about midnight...

Dan and I woke up this morning, and I got the idea that we should go fishing. So, we make breakfast (ate it on the balcony - I love warm weather!), showered, went to Dan's got the fishing stuff, and we were on our way. We actually got fishing licenses, lunch and random stuff at the Fred Meyer in Issaquah, and then we went to the mountains, to this "good fishing spot" that we found online.

First we drive to Lake Alice by Fall City, which is a very cute non motor lake, but not a good place to fish unless you had a canoe or boat of some sort. Then we drive to this spot on the Snoqualmie River, it's beautiful, here are pictures. The river was very high and flowing very very fast...

We started fishing, and maybe fished about 4-5 minutes and then a Washington Dept. of Wildlife Officer came down. We thought he just wanted to check our license, but he made us stop fishing. We went back up to the car, and low and behold, we were totally fishing illegally! Well, first, we were not just on the Snoqualmie River, we were at the part where Tokul Creek empties into Snoqualmie River, and second we were fishing illegally, because we had bait and we were a few weeks early as you cannot fish the Snoqualmie in that area until June 1.

Officer Chandler was his name, and he was great. He told us how to read the Washington fishing guide, and told us where to go, and that the State stocks local lakes with trout?? He said Green Lake and Pine Lake in the Seattle area were just stocked with trout. We still cannot use bait, I think, I do not really know I will have to look at the guide. So many rules, so confusing!! Dan is used to Florida and I am used to Michigan where you just get a license, you can fish where you want and you can fish like up to 10 fish a day. But like I said, no tickets, the Officer was great and now we know where we can fish legally, but again, no bait??

We were very close to Snoqualmie Falls and I had never been there, so we went there for a few minutes. It was packed with people today, but it was beautiful. There is a gazebo that comes out a bit over the cliff and if you look down, it is very scary. There were too many people, and I cannot handle huge crowds, so we took off.

Well, after our run in, we went to Pine Lake in Sammamish. There were so many kids swimming, but we put our feet in and it was semi warm. We sat down, ate our sandwiches, watched a bunch of dogs play with each other and swim, then walked to the fishing pier. A lot of people were fishing and we saw at least one person catch a fish, so there must be fish in the lake. We'll go back this week one day, when it isn't so busy.

One last thing before going to bed - it is nice out in Belltown, the bars have outdoor seating... But I must ask, why do people feel the need to yell "Wooooo"? I do not think I have ever been to a bar that is not in like, Cancun, where I have ever felt the need to scream "Woooooo". Seriously, it is Sunday night in Seattle and I hear a Woooo every 2 minutes or so. I just do not get it.

Yesterday Ketrin wrote me an email to meet her for happy hour. It was gorgeous outside so we went to Amber and sat outside. One drink led to a lot and for four of us (and like 2 beers for Dan) our bill was around $220. Crazy!

Then Dan and I went to Ballard to go to La Carta De Oaxaca for yummy Mexican. It was my idea, and I think Dan tried to talk me out of it, but when I have an idea in my head there is no stopping me! We took a cab and I was trying to tell the cab driver which way to go, but then I told him to ignore me, I had been drinking and I was a bad driver anyway. He then told me I was a good driver because I had not killed anyone, though I did kill a deer. He dropped us off and we had to wait a few mins at the Mexican place, we got a table, ordered Negra Modelos - YUM! I ate so much pico de gallo and Dan suggested I try his beef - I did, it was gross. Why do I keep trying beef? I'll try again, but it needs to be good meat, like from a steakhouse.

We then walked down the road to this bar called Kings that had an outside deck. Dan got us beers and I found this random table with two guys there and asked if we could sit. Well, my drunk ass started giving the one guy advice about his divorce? What? He was listening to me, I think. Dan is so patient with me, too...

Then we got into the cab, came back around 11 - yes, 11, and literally passed out.

Dan and I woke up this morning, we went to the Bagel cafe near Pike Place for breakfast, then I dropped him off and home and I went to Whole Foods. I bought a bunch of stuff, including food for dinner later that night. They had chicken, beef and salmon skewers on sale, so I picked those up to grill later on.

I was supposed to Ride the Ducks with Tom, but he ditched me, and then couldn't understand why I was upset about that, and also upset that he chose to tell his friends a secret of mine, even though he promised he would not tell anyone. He said he told them to help me, he had my best interest at heart, which maybe he did... but still does not give him a right to blab something to his friends that I tell him in confidence and put a rider on it by saying - Tom, you cannot tell anyone. He told two of his friends the very next day and somehow he thinks I am at fault cuz I got bitchy about it? He did not even apologize until I asked - why haven't you apologized? Then he gave me some forced half ass I am sorry. All he had to do in the first place was say... "Elise, I am sorry I broke your trust, I promise I will never do it again." Instead, he just kept saying how he had my best interest at heart, so then it was OK to break my trust??? I get weird when people lie to me or break my trust, I cannot help it, I take it very personally when someone disregards something that is very important to me. It was not his secret to tell, it was mine, and I did not even share it with people very close to me - why should his friends get to know when my friends do not even know??? Yeah, I am hurt, can you tell?

Now I am going to try to find something to do on this nice and sunny Seattle day.

So I signed up for this new program called Pay Per Post. It is a website that shows you advertising opportunities for your site. I decided since I was writing a blog for all to see, why not make a few bucks while I am at it, even though I am convinced that no one reads my blog but me. Some might call it selling out, I call it selective advertising, and a bit of selling out. Whatever. So, anyway, here is what you do, you sign up for it, you register your blog on their site, you ping your blog on google and what not, you accept an opportunity to write about something, you write a review, your opinion, whatever they ask. You post it on your blog and BAM - you get some cash. Genius? I think so. Will it pay my hosting fees, yes, and that's all I care about right now!! Though wouldn't it be nice to be a millionaire :)

So, yes, expect reviews of random products (hopefully a Sleep Number bed opportunity comes about - we all know how much I LOVE my bed!), or links. You can even click them, and review my blog, and get paid to review my blog. Again, genius. I'll keep you up to date and let you know how much I have banked!

payperpost

Last night Randon and I walked to the market and then met up with Tom, Mike and Mike's son for the M's game.

We walked to the stadium, but on our way stopped at this Mexican restaurant at Harbor Steps called Guaymas Cantina. It was so-so. The service was pretty bad though, very slow and we were one of the only tables. They kept forgetting to bring our drinks and we had to ask for our drinks three times. They finally came with the meal. The margarita was watered down and the food was just OK. The salsa bar was fully stocked with a few options, which was good. It is convenient place if you are near it, but if you are craving good Mexican or margaritas... go elsewhere.



We went to the M's game and had pretty good 3rd row seats, but right in the section where you get all the line drives. Actually some girl got hit in like the 3rd inning in the section next to ours. This guy in the pics caught the ball, and he didn't give it to her. Instead like 2 seconds later he called his buddy to tell him he caught a ball. Really, douchebag, it's a foul ball, give it to the girl who got a broken nose by catching it with her face. Speaking of face, my face is still so swollen in these pics!





Yeah, if you know this guy, you should call him out.



After the game, we all went to Umi Sake House for sushi and some drinks. After that we cabbed to Ballard to meet up with my friend Greg at the Tractor. We stayed there a bit, had a few drinks... ended up closing out the bar.

We had to go out to Market Street to get a cab, and this cab slowed for us, and before he would let us in he called us to the window and said... Let me see you. He then said alright, get in. As we were driving he explained that lately he has been picking up a lot of "tweakers" and those people are crazy and will slit your throat for a few bucks... We obviously we not tweakers, so he drove us home. Weird.

He sleeps forever, I have been trying to get him to wake up for hours. He is on eastcoast time, you would think he would be up at 7... but it's now 11 and the kid is still asleep!!! I want breakfast!!

Oh, the cruise boat is in... which I do not know why that makes me so happy, but it does.

So, I wake up today and my face was swollen to twice the original size. It turns out I have edema, according to my doctor. It is essentially water buildup due to sunburn and flying. I seriously look deformed!

My day consisted of working while switching icepacks on my face and getting cortizone shots.

Then at 9ish I picked up my friend Randon from the airport, he is vising from South Carolina. We went to Cyclops - which took a very very long time, apparently the service was slow. Then we went home and listened to music and just hung out before finally falling asleep (which I am about to do in 1 min.)

I checked the mail today - got a package from a weird address. I get a lot of weird packages from work. Well, this one was extra special. It was a Nintendo Wii!! I won it from a vendor at a trade show. It came with the basic sports games but I took it to Tom's house and we set it up. We played for awhile... and then I came home and pre-ordered the Wii Fit.

My face was pretty swollen today, and I am super sunburnt. I have been using icepacks and trying to keep the swelling down. Hopefully after I go to sleep it will be better...

Right now I am on Flight 298 from Vegas to Seattle. I land about 2:43am, so that should be fun. My flight from Tampa to Vegas ran late, very late, like I was one of those idiots running through the airport yelling... wait, wait, only to find out that we waited for another flight to get in, too. Oh well, I am on the plane.

My flight from Tampa to Vegas, Flight 577, was one of the worst flights I have ever been on, ever. I tried to give up my ticket, to no avail, but I was told I would get a bump and the last minute I guess some guy didn't show up, so I had to get on the flight... in 6E - a middle seat! That isn't so bad, I have done middles before and can handle it. Well, I get towards my row and I can smell the girl in my row, it was HORRIBLE. I am not exaggerating, but she probably had not showered in two days. She was ripe. It was so bad that she left for the bathroom and even her coat smelled like BO.

So, if that wasn't bad enough, this girl did not fly much... I could tell because she asked how much it was for a pop. And she said pop, so I am guessing she was probably a Tampa local, with family transplanted from the midwest. Oh, she also bought the crappy US Air headphones, even thought she had ipod headphones, to watch the movie.

Woah, my plane is bouncing around a lot right now... We must be over the mountains.

So, if her stench wasn't bad enough she did not understand how horrible middle seats are on a 5 hour flight. She kept putting her stuff, and herself, over the visible boundary (arm rest) of where her seat ended and mine began. At first I would try to nudge her politely, just push her elbow back over to her side. Then after that didn't work, I actually said to her, can you move out of my space. I said it nicely, and she moved. Well, literally, 2 minutes later, she edges back over, and puts her elbow/forearm about 4 inches over and rests her fingers on my tray table... WHAT? Didn't I just ask you not to invade my personal space??? I pay for the 18-20 inches inbetween arm rests. That is my space, not yours...

It didn't stop there. She was having difficulty watching the movie because the guy infront of us had a giant head and kept putting his hands on top of his head, blocking her view. So, there she was... leaning in my personal space. And her hair, smelled so dirty! Well, I reminded her again, nicely, about the boundaries. We were good until she fell asleep... and Bam... elbow in my space about 4 inches again, and head droops on to my shouder. That was it. I put my seat in the upright position, which woke her up, and she proceeded to cough without covering her mouth. Fun times.

Ok, so inbetween writing this... um, the woman next to me on my current flight just spilled her Starbucks all over my jacket and almost my laptop! And caused me to spill my water a bit all over me... and a little bit on my laptop! Seriously... what is going on? I should have known that was about to happen because she had already dropped it twice. Now I am in the last row of the plane, I smell like Starbucks and spolied milk, and the plane is always more bumpy in the back, so tons of typos right now. Oh and I am totally sunburnt! AAHH... I cannot wait to be home... and my next few trips are on Sky Team Airlines, which means 1st class. Thankfully.

Oh, I wrote this whole few paragraphs that were erased because I didn't save, and when the water spilled they disappeared. Hopefully it didn't fuck up my laptop for real.

But what I was saying was my flight from Tampa was late... so I couldn't check email at Las Vegas airport and I have all these random emails about drama I have created on accident in Seattle - for those of you that know... I am remaining incognito until this blows over.

1 hour left on this flight.... and counting...!

Tuesday we woke up about 11:30 and Jeff made breakfast of fresh fruit and a bagel. We ate, got ready for the beach, and went to the kayak place to rent an ocean kayak. On our walk there we noticed that no one was in the ocean, but everyone was on the shore. Well, apparently a school of hammerheads were lurking about. We went to the kayak place anyway and the renter asked us if we were sure we wanted to go out... I was unsure, as I like my limbs, so we just went to 7-11, got Corona, went to the pool. We hung out there for a bit, swam, cooled off... then ventured into the ocean a bit later. I was still a bit freaked, but Jeff was all over the place. All of these little fish kept swimming by me and then a tarpon was following them, and I figured the shark would follow the tarpon and I wanted nothing to do with it. So, instead I searched for seashells. Jeff and I went back into the pool after that for a bit and about 5pm we went in to shower and get ready for dinner with his parents.

His parents took us to this restaurant called Turtles. It is on the intercoastal waterway and has a gorgeous view of the water, palms, fishing boats, etc. The service was pretty slow, and it reminded me of this bar I used to go to in Key Biscaine with my parents. It has that older beachy decor, but yet was still very cute. It was also nonsmoking, which was a plus. We ate outside on the deck and the service was SO SO SO Slow. I don't think our waitress wanted to be there. We sat about 20 minutes before getting a drink order. Finally we got our drinks and then eventually food. The food was pretty good. I had Ahi Tuna in Mango, Balsalmic, Onion Sauce with rice pilaf and a dinner salad. I had that Ahi super rare, like I like it.

After dinner Jeff and I headed out to the Snikki Tikki again, had a glass of wine, and then decided we would go home and call it a night. We were so exhausted and sunburnt. We watched some Deadliest Catch and then passed out.

We woke up pretty early today, about 9:30. We went to breakfast at this restaurant in Siesta Key Village called Sun Garden Cafe. We had omelettes and this amazing tomato bisque soup. Then we shopped at the random surf store and I bought a new pair of cute Reef's. After breakfast we drove back and went to the kayak shop. We didn't have enough cash to rent a kayak, so we convinced them to give a discount, and they did. We took the ocean kayak out for about an hour through the waves, around the reef, etc. It was fun and we didn't tip so that was a plus.

After kayaking we took a swim in the pool, then back to the ocean with floats and just floated in the waves for a bit. We headed back into the pool and before we knew it - it was 4pm and I needed to shower and get ready. We did just that and then headed to Tampa airport. On our way we stopped for food at Tijuana Flats. It was amazing. We need them in Seattle. They have like 14 hot sauces you can put on your food. I was in heaven. I tried the hot hot sauce and I thought I was about to die.

Jeff then dropped me off... and I tried to get a bump to no success... and now, on the way home... about to board my plane.

I am in sunny and beautiful Siesta Key, Florida overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, as I type. I am waiting for Jeff to get out of the shower and then we are going ocean kayaking. Yesterday after I landed, Jeff picked me up, we drove to the condo, I changed and we went to lunch with his parents.

Jeff's parents took us to one of their favorite restaurants, Phillippi Creek. It is this cute casual Florida type of restaurant that has picnic tables, indoor fans, an outdoor seating area, and great views of an intercoastal creek. The food was yummy. I had a softshell crab sandwich, and we ordered some Oysters - which Jeff tried one! - and peel and eat shrimp. The prices were phenomenal. I think my brain is so skewed by Belltown prices that I think any meal under 12 bucks is a total steal.

After Phillippi Creek, we went back to the condo and got a bit settled and changed into our beachwear, because I was so ready to get into that ocean. Jeff's brother and sister were on their way over with their new baby, Jacob. He is about six weeks old, and Jeff had not met him yet. So we spent some time with them, walked to 7-11 to get a 12 pack and then hit the ocean about 4pm. Also, we saw the weirdest thing at the 7-11... Budweiser and clamato juice?


So, Siesta Key is beautiful. The sand is very fine and very white. They say its made from quartz? It also does not get hot, which means not having to wear flip flops on the beach. We ran in the ocean, ran out of the ocean, drank beer, chatted, got sun, ran into the ocean, picked up shells, walked along the reef, saw a starfish, played with sea urchins and walked through the sand until about 8pm. We also went into the pool at some point around then, too.

After our outside excursion, we showered and got ready to go out, as it was Cinco De Mayo. First we drank some Mojitos that Jeff's dad whipped up, yum. Then we convinced Jeff's brother to go out with us just for a drink. We chose "The Snikki Tikki" across the street from the condo. It's part of Captain Curt's We had a few drinks, caught the rest of the pistons game (Go 'Stons), had some Landshark, Shots, Margaritas, and then decided we wanted to go dancing. Eric was not about that, so he went home and Jeff and I had the bar call us a cab. The cab came about 20 mins later, and the waitress totally called us the most expensive cab ever. It was called Knight Ride and they were luxury towncars. Whatever.

The cabbie took us to Siesta Key Village and we decided the Beach Club would be our spot. We went in, ordered some drinks - as they had $3 dollar Mexican beers... We started drinking Negro Modelo (oh, funny side story, Jeff texted my friend funny texts, including "Do you have any Negro Modelo?".. and.. "No, you have no Negro Modelo? Why?" It did not make sense, but we thought it was so funny.

They had some John Mayer wannabe on stage, that did not know any G Love songs, until about midnight. After that, it went to full cheesy Florida club. Well, Jeff and I decided to start dancing ASAP. Then I got an idea to go on the stage, and Jeff, too... and the bouncer said Jeff couldn't dance on stage, but I could. So I did for a bit. Then I spotted some people with a "Full Sail" University T-shirt on. I told Jeff they were from Portland, because Full Sail beer is brewed somewhere around there. So, we start talking to them... Um, no... Full Sail Uni is some art school in Florida. Whatever, we made them our new friends. So, we started dancing with them, they came on stage, and suddenly it was OK that Jeff was on stage, too.

Oh, I should mention... somehow I found two sombreros, and a necklace and a Cinco De Mayo Pin. I do not know how... but yes, Jeff and I suffered from IDIS - Idiot Dancing in Sombrero.




We danced the night away, in fact we danced so hard that we were just a sweaty mess, like Napolean Dynamite style when he is learning the dance move to the video. At one point Jeff ripped off his shirt, and I took a video of him because I was sure we were about to get kicked out. But, no... we were fine, apparently, Jeff just had to get dressed. I also think, that Eric, our bartender, forgot to charge us for a drink or two... either that or Florida alcohol is just cheaper.



We left the bar and called a cab as we were leaving. It never came. We went to 7-11 where apparently cabs hang out. No cab came. We called again, nothing. We got random snack st 7-11 and the boy I was dancing with saw me from afar and screamed that he loved me. Jeff convinced me to walk home because it was only a mile or so. So, we started trekking home. Well, about .75 miles into the walk, my feet were killing me because I had heels, and I had taken them off, so now I am barefoot. We found a walkway to the beach and we were going to walk the beach back, but then I got freaked out, as usual, about a random animal attack, or simply a fear of the unknown. Anyone who knows Jeff knows he is fearless. Plus, I just wanted to go home. I was so tired from my red eyes, and jet lagged and I just wanted sleep. So, we called a cab again... SUCCESS! There we were, two idiots walking down the road at 3am, wearing sombreros, and the cabbbie picked up on the random road and took us - what ended up being 2.5 more miles - to Jeff's condo. We got there and his machine wouldn't work... he kept swiping and swiping and nothing... we ended up getting a free ride.

We came in, crashed immediately and woke up today, later in the morning, at 11:30am.

Here are the photos... PHOTOS

So, sitting here in the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport... at gate E17... waiting for my flight to Sarasota, which will be on a little plane. These women sitting next to me are Obama supporters and have been canvasing here in NC, and are going back home. I am kind of laughing in my head at what they are saying... not because they are backing Obama, but because they are excited that a black man that "had to suffer so much" will be in office. Really? I have read quite a bit about him... he suffered? That seems a little overkill. Then they are also saying that people who are out of jail often don't know they are eligible to vote and there is a conspiracy that white probation officers do not tell the black inmates they are allowed to vote... Maybe it happens? But really why do they not try to register and find out for themselves? Are people not responsible for themselves anymore? Hhhmm, I will let you make your own judgments on that one... but I can tell you, the moment I turned 18, I registered to vote - and no one told me I was allowed to or not.

On the plane here I listened to this hypnosis download that I got from Audible. It totally relaxes me, but for some reason when the guy says you might feel your fingers tingling, and that is when my right arm always fall asleep. He also wakes you up at the end, which sucks, but I swear 36 mins of hypnosis is like 4 hours of sleep. I feel great, and it is 5:10am, my time.

This airport is very cute. Everyone has accents, they have trees randomly placed next to white wood rocking chairs, and Wright brothers airplanes scattered throughout.

Here I am... row 16, seat C on US Airways flight 1248 from Seattle to Charlotte. It is still always a bit weird for me when I realize that my new home base is Seattle and not Detroit. I am flying on a free ticket that I got when I took a work trip to LA in September. These red eyes are harsh but I cannot sleep quite yet as it is only 11:17 Pacific Standard Time and my usual bedtime is around 2:00am PST. Also, the flight would be so much better if it had Wi-Fi, as I could post my blog in real time, but in truth, if there were Wi-Fi on this flight, I would have, however, probably lost about $30 bucks on Full Tilt Poker by now.

Tom drove me to the airport tonight. It was weird having someone drive me to the airport, because usually I am traveling for business and I get car service from Driver for Hire. I will post their phone number when I actually put this on the web, because they are wonderful. I've used them quite a bit, they always show up a few minutes early and their prices are about the same as a cab from SeaTac to Belltown, but they have towncars or Limos that are very very clean and smell really nice. Plus the driver are not crazy drivers like most of the airport cabs I have taken. I highly suggest Driver for Hire. Call them... 206-423-9603.

I am going to Siesta Key, Florida which Jeff tells me it is just sugar sand and sun. I cannot wait. I was trying to think of the last time I took a "real" vacation and really, it was October 2006, oddly enough to Florida, with Jeff. I travel a lot, but it is usually for work and when I can take an extra day here and there it is still never a destination I would normally not choose (except Chicago to see Warfield!!)

There is a baby sitting in the row next to mine, and he is slightly crying. Usually this would annoy me, like on my 7.5 hour flight back from Orlando a few months ago, but he is gently crying and in a way it is sort of cute...

So, I haven't blogged about my day yet so far... or last night. Last night Dan came over after a little work get together he had going on. I cooked us a dinner and then we fell asleep so early. Wait, no, Dan fell asleep so early and I laid there and worked for a bit, watched some SNL... listened to the drunks at Tia Lous in my alley... and then, around 1:30 I heard my door jiggle. I was about 1/4 asleep and thought maybe it was a dream. Nope, happened again... So I woke Dan up and told him about it but no more jiggles. I went to the door and no one was there through the peep hole, so I am assuming it was a drunk neighbor of mine walking to the wrong apartment or something. It still freaked me out, especially with the whole crazy exboyfiend type of thing.

Then Dan's brother called him early and they went to brunch. I stayed at my house and packed for Florida. Dan came back over about noon and we went to Pike's for some fruits to put into my juicer. We got pears, bananas, strawberries, and mangos. It made a yummy juice. Then we listed a bunch of his stuff and my stuff on Ebay.

After that we went to eat at this new restaurant in Belltown called Cellars. It opened a few weeks ago at the old Jai Thai on 1st and Blanchard. They have happy hour all day on Sunday, which is nice. The happy hour food was pretty tasty and not too expensive. Their happy hour draft beers were $2.50 a piece which is a steal in Belltown. They usually have Mack & Jacks but the keg was broken so Dan went with a Manny's and I had the Hef, which was Whistling Pig, and I loved it. We got some apps which were not great, but not bad either. Our server was really nice and very attentive. I think I want to check out the dinner menu at this place one time. They did have a garage door type of window which was open at the bar area, which made the crackhead watching even better than usual. Plus it was a nice day and nice to be in the open.





Then Dan went home, Tom picked me up... which leads back to where I am now... Flight 1248...

11:43pm

Tom is on his way over... to pick me up... to take me to the airport... where I will fly for 10 hours (including my layover)... and land in Sarasota, Florida tomorrow at 11:37am!

Yea!

After going to bed only an two hours ago... I was rudely awoken by some screaming, whistling, and pounding. Now I know I am not the only one in the building to have heard it. Well, it wasn't the usually crackhead yelling, so I threw on my robe and headed outside to investigate. Apparently there was a woman stuck between the security gate type of door and the real door in the building behind me. I called the police - and they actually came! I do not know if they came because I was calling about something other than a crackhead, or if they came because it was 5:10am and there wasn't much going on... who knows... but for the first time I saw police presence in my alley (well, second, I guess, I did see them once use my alley to do an unsolicited cut through, and just made some chick dump her beer, but that was awhile ago).

Yesterday I had to meet some clients from work in the Tukwila area. I went to Bahama Breeze for lunch, too, and it's been awhile. In Seattle we do not have many of the big chain type of restaurants - and even though I go to expense it - I forgot how nice it was to have rather inexpensive food!! It was pretty good, too. I also headed over to Linen's N Things and Nordstrom Rack to spend some gift cards. Giftcard shopping is great, because you can spend a bunch of money with no guilt! I also bought things I really did not need, like a cheese cutting plate?? It was kind of cute, so I just grabbed it.

After I got home, I listed a few items on Ebay (links to my seller page) to sell, and then Tom called and I walked over there.

We went to a restaurant that we had never checked out and is literally across the street from Tom's place, got Mike, and checked it out. On our way there though, we passed Subway and the had a handwritten sign that read, " Sorry, we cannot toast at this time." I was so confused by it, and maybe I was just having a ditzy moment, but I just did not get it and Tom had to actually explain their toaster was broken. But come on - why wouldn't they have a sign that read, "Sorry, our toaster is broken". Those guys that work at that Subway are stoners anyway...

Back to the restaurant, Cucina De Ra... So, in short, I probably would not go there again. They have a special "urban menu" - which is a soup or salad, entree, and dessert for $30 bucks. I opted for that and in truth, the food was pretty good. It was inconsistent, however. Tom and I ordered the same meal and his came with broccoli, mine did not. Mine was a way larger piece of fish than his. The service was very slow, inconsistent and just inefficient. First, our waiter waited so long to even take our order that Tom had to ask Mike and I, "Wait, did we order yet?"

When I ordered off the "urban" I was going down the list and the waiter stopped me mid order to explain that I could only get one item from each category, even though I had ordered it properly. He forgot my order and had to ask again. I ordered no walnuts on my salad, it came with walnuts. Tom was not asked for a second glass of wine(his glass was just swooped), Mike was. Mike was served after dinner coffee, with cream and sugar, no spoon. Also, we had to keep asking for more. I am a water drinker, I drink a lot of it, and the glasses they serve it in very tiny! There were other small things, too, but I cannot remember what at this moment. I feel as if the owner/manager knew we were not completely happy, because he gave us a $25.00 gift card to use on the next meal there.



After dinner we went to Tom's apartment and realized there was no vodka and Mike and I ran to the liquor store in Ballard - the only one that stays open late - with about 5 mins to spare. We got Vodka and a handle of Crown. We stopped at the Chevron on 15th and some guys were lost and I pointed them into the correct direction of the Tractor.

We got back, made drinks, Tom's friend Nick came over and we started playing Tiger Woods Golf on Xbox. OK, four people playing that game while drinking, is a long game. Then we made it more difficult by adding the rule... if you hit it OB, out of bounds, you have to take a shot. Yeah, I took shots - yuck!

Oh, this guy I met in Orlando drunk texted me a weird text, and I called him back... and he had this total immature douchebag of a friend wasted talking to me... and I felt like I was back in high school for a minute. Funny thing is, they are both from Michigan... and not where I am from, but a small town a bit north of me, but were my age.

Then Tom and I played Madden, well, Tom played I talked on the headset and pretended I played. Some guy from Syracuse decided he wanted to like marry me cuz I was a girl playing sports. I made him give me his myspace page... I went to it, and no pic of him on it!

I then took a cab home, fell asleep, and now... here I am up bright and early... I will try to fall back asleep... I go to Florida TOMORROW!

This morning I woke up to a bright and beautiful sun, and a hand rubbing my back. It was nice. I stayed the night at Dan's house and we played Grand Theft Auto 4, which actually, is an amazing game. I was obsessed with calling Michele, who was my "girlfriend", though she didn't catch on to the fact that I was involved with organized crime, even though I picked her up in different cars and took her to mobster hang outs.

I left early this morning and then went to the gas station... so sad... 62 dollars to fill up my tank - and I have a Nissan Altima! Now, I do not drive much - maybe 150 miles a month at most - so that tank will last me 2 months. Speaking of not driving, I feel I have done a lot lately to reduce my carbon footprint. I feel good about that. Not only is it good for the environment, but my electric bills are cheaper! I still fly a lot though, I am sure that is super bad for the environment.

I worked today, nothing too exciting, then I babysat this cute three yr old girl that I sometimes babysit. Yeah, I am 26 and babysit... that's right... We went swimming in her building and then we went for a walk around 1st and Pike. She is loving the crab apple trees on Pike and we went to Seattle's Best for a strawberry smoothie and sat down outside so we could look at them.

Looking at the crabapple trees with her made me wonder... Will I ever stop being a tourist in this wonderful city? I have lived here since September and yet sometimes I feel like I am on vacation all the time. Some things are familiar, like my favorite restaurants, the smell of my apartment (a mix of clean cotton and the wood from my furniture), some of my friends... but for the most part I forget I actually live here, but in a good way. Everything is still new, and I love that about it, and somehow, whenever I walk by the market, spaceneedle or even the water, I am always compelled to take a picture.