I checked my mail today, and there was something unusual in it. An enveloped that was hand-addressed. Not a bill, not junk mail, a real piece of mail... with a stamp and everything. Now, you might expect these at your birthday, or a holiday, but in the middle of the summer? I was excited...

Until... I opened it. It was just some pieces of paper from my friend, E., who lives in Hawaii. I am helping him with something and it was just paper to go with the project. No letter, no drawings, just... one more thing I need to do.

I miss letters. My first year of college was 99/00 and even though the internet was prevalent on all college campuses, we still sent letters to each other. Sure, it took longer and the news in the letter was already spread in an email.. But you had something tangible, something you could see, handwriting. It told you a bit about a person, paper type, pen choice even pen color all told you just a little bit of something about the originator. In addition, how special did you feel when you received a real letter from someone other than your mom???

Sometimes I feel like moving to Seattle is going away to college, part two... with a nicer "dorm", more expensive "stuff", and a way better car. Just... it is harder to meet new friends, and real life responsibilities are so much more complicated than just making sure you wake up 5 minutes before class starts.

Yeah, it is super similar... Only this time I am 2100 miles away, rather than 400. Oh, and when my doctor asked for a local emergency contact... I put my mom's cell number, in Detroit.

So, someone sent this to me today... Apparently Comcast is in need of new triple play customers... because they are offering a free Nintendo Wii with new subscribers.

Funny, in my building, they have a deal with Millenium or Broad Strip, whatever they are called these days... so I could not even get Comcast if wanted... but check out the Engadget article... ARTICLE

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk is a fun and easy way to raise funds for Alzheimers research. Currently 5.2 million people are living with Alzheimer's, and approximately 10 million baby boomers will develope Alzheimer's, according the the Alzheimer's Association. Right now is the time to get involved and help raise awareness and funds for this debilitating disease.

There are over 600 communities with walks, so just type your zip code and find the closest one. Walkers can be of any age, and the walks are usually only 2-3 miles and on weekends.

It is really easy to start a team or sign up for a walk on the Alzheimer's Association website. In addition, the website is easy to use and even has a "tool" section to help with raising online funds, which means less work for you!

There are over 600 communities with walks, so just type your zip code and find the closest one. Walkers can be of any age, and the walks are usually only 2-3 miles and on weekends.


Click on the link below to sign up and start your team!

Today I woke up, to a few phone calls... Then I got showered real quick, Dan picked me up and we went to Pine Lake to go fishing. The fish were not biting and we ended up just chilling, pretending we might catch something... but it never happened.

I came home, worked a bit, and pretty much just chilled.

Oh, my whole body aches and my back hurts... from the Wii! Yeah, how sad it is that I am working muscle with the Wii that I have not worked for awhile!

If you need work boots or steel toe shoes, WorkBootsUSA.com has a huge selection and can handle all your needs. They have the top name brands (Caterpillar, Timberland, Wolverine, Converse) in tons of different styles and colors. WorkBootsUSA has the best shoes at the best prices!

Check out the HUGE selection of steel toe shoes and boots!

The site is very easy to navigate and you can browse by style of boots, brand specific or search for exactly what boot you need. They accept all major credit cards, and also have great customer service (including a Live Help agent) and free shipping on orders over $50!

Today I went to Kabab House in Greenwood, with my friend. We ate so much food, and it was super good.

Then came home, when driving I noticed there were tons of people on 4th, apparently there was a parade.

Then Ed biked over, we went to Del Ray and drank some beers... but we left before the weekend douchebag Del Rey crowd came in. We walked through the parade to 5th, caught a cab since we missed the bus, or it didn't come or whatever because of the parade.. and we cabbed to Fremont to go see my friends band at the High Dive.

There were a lot of hippes that smelled bad and we left shortly after. I went to my home, Ed to his... but then Charlie called because he was at the Comet, but I just needed sleep.

Do you need Debt help?

So, maybe you are in debt... like so many twenty somethings. Between school loans, credit cards, medical bills, rent, car, etc... it can get crazy! In fact, it can get downright stressful!

I have had a situation involving debt that was not exactly peachy, in fact it was a huge source of stress for a long time. When I changed schools I somehow lost my grant because after receiving it the University thought that I received money from my parents, or something, and ended up taking it away. Well, it was mid-semester and I didn't want to take a loan to take care of it. I stupidly opened a zero percent interest credit card to pay for it, and that worked. But then I opened another zero percent interest card for this, and another for that, etc... and all of a sudden the payments were due, interest was starting up, and it was a mess. I had 4 credit cards pretty maxed out. Scary.

To pay everything off an move back to zero debt, I moved home... yuck.

Bills.com offers a great took to help us get out of debt. Basically you go to their site, answer some brief questions and they help you get matched with the best resources to help reduce your debt. Check it out, it may help.

Randy Pausch passed away today... I figured I would post this again, well, because even if you have seen it, maybe watch it again.

It's just kind of one of those things that makes you feel good, I suppose. Plus I like when people are positive, and take action for themselves and do something amazing, rather than play the victim.

If I knew I were going to die in 3-6 months... I just cannot even imagine what I would do... but I would hope I would take the same route, and not feel sorry for myself. In fact, I think crazy things like... cliff diving, sky diving, eating TONS of blowfish sushi... etc come to mind... (I am scared to do these things)

So, this may be deemed a controversial post by some, just based on the fact that many are against stem cell research (though many do not know about the different types of stem cells). But in actuality, upon reading this article, I thought the concept was really interesting and it forced me to find out more information about this process.

I have heard and read about many instances where stem cell research has saved lives, and where many advancements have taken place in diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease, paralysis, etc, based on the fact that scientists are using stem cells to help combat these diseases. Science is always advancing and this is just a new step forward in the direction of curing some of the worlds worst diseases and ailments.


There is a popular video was about a research scientist that had his life saved by ADULT stem cells. While still controversial, adult stem cells are not the same as embryonic stem cells. The stem cells that were recently discovered in a woman's menstrual flow are not embryonic stem cells either.

Now this leads me to C'elle. C'elle is a newer company that provides a service to women, where women can collect stem cells from their monthly menstrual cycle. How it works is you order the kit, it ships to your house and step by step instructions show you how to collect your stem cells in the privacy of your own home. The process is easy and non-invasive. In addition to collection services, C'elle will freeze and store your stem cells for future use.

C'elle plans start at $699 for collection, and $99 a year for storage. Right now they are running a special offer where you can buy one and get one free if you use promo code 241. You can give the extra kit to a sister, friend, etc.

Who knows one day down the road, when you are facing a difficult disease, health problem, injury you may be so thankful that your stem cells are there and ready to help heal you.

So, if interested, you can Visit C'elle and find out more about this interesting process.

Rarely do I have the chance to take daylight flights into Seattle, and when I do I have never sat next to the window. Well, today I was doing both and just wanted to share what I saw from my view.

My favorite is the last one, with the clouds totally covering the land below, with the exception of two mountains peaking above the clouds. I love little pleasures.







So, let me talk about Delta's first class. I have flown many domestic first class airlines... Northwest, Alaska, Continental, United, US Airways... but Delta is by far the best.

First, water bottles were in our seats along with new pillows and blankets, oh headphones, too. Our drink order was taken within two minutes, and they just kept coming without having to ask for a new one. The flight attendants were amazing, so very nice and warm. The food wasn't too bad, it was airline food, but tasted OK.

Oh, Jason Mraz was playing during boarding and deplaning. I guess Delta plays "I'm Yours" in their rotation. It is funny because I remember the first time we met Jason (and Ian) at a DMB concert in Chicago... man, in 2002? My girlfriend Alex and I drove to Chicago and Ian gave us backstage passes but it turns out we were not supposed to go backstage, who knows... and Jason kept spitting into a garbage can - it was not cute. Man, that was six years ago. It is just funny to me still when I hear his music random places... like boarding my airplane.

Here is an old pic from Jan 2003, at Small's Bar and Grill outside of Detroit...

You know, flying never ceases to amaze me. In my lifetime I have flown, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of miles? I still am so amazed by the fact that the world is so small, and we can get from one part of the country, to another, and then to the opposite in less than a day.

I just left Detroit, headed to Atlanta where I am connecting to Seattle. Usually I am not a fan of connections, but sometimes they are necessary, especially these days price seems to dictate my plans more than convenience. I still remember my first flight, circa 1987, it was to Chicago and back. My parents wanted my sister and I to get used to flying before heading to LA to visit my uncle and they just happened to find tickets for $23 dollars - round trip. Ah, the good old days, airfare was cheap, blankets and pillows were in abundance and a warm meal was served in coach. Hell, right now I am in first class and my breakfast was a banana, not a real meal.

It is a pretty clear day and I have window, which usually I am an aisle girl, as I hate being "trapped" in the row, but today I am happy to have to window. I love looking outside at the lakes, the land which seems to be divided into little brown and green squares. I just saw a smaller plane flying a mile or two below us, yeah it is that clear.

I was discriminated against today, again... as usual it seems, for flying first. First I was literally walking to the first class check in and this employee said, "Are you flying NWA?" I said yes, he said,"Well, M'amm you need to check in over here." I said, oh, is first class check in closed? I went to check bags in and had the CSA tell me over and over I could not check three bags. Finally I logged into my phone, looked up the travel requirements and literally showered her on the Northwest website that I could in fact check three bags. She did not realize I was flying first class. Then finally, one more time, as I was going into the "special security line" for first class passengers, the TSA agent said, this line is for first class passengers. Really? Is it? You mean, the sign in front of the line saying first class didn't tip me off??? I can read, I was in the right place. I noticed, he didn't point that out to the two businessmen behind me dressed in suits. Sure, I don't dress up... jeans (or usually yoga pants), flip flops, hair pulled back, but everyone needs to be careful when assuming... things are not always as they seem.

Oh, and as a funny side note, I am the only woman sitting in my first class section right now, out of 22 people.

The flight is bumpy, we are in clouds at 32,000. My tummy just dropped a little.. why is my stomach weak? Maybe from the orange juice?

I find myself a bit anxious to return to Seattle. It will be good to be home, for sure, and I love Seattle... but I think this trip home made me really realize, nothing is as it was. I did not expect it to be, and in reality I think maybe I am not as I was. I feel like a different person in Seattle, and I almost feel uneasy back in Detroit. I do not know when that happened? The thing is, I am still a bit uneasy in Seattle... so in a sense... no where feels home... except oddly enough... right now this airplane feels pretty familiar.

I have always been nomadic, free spirited, on the go, cannot commit... but lately... I am wondering... Am I starting to want consistency?

Last night we had Ashley's Graduation Party at my mom's house. It was great. My friend Mike provided his kegarator, we had wines, beer, champagne, every liquor you could want, even an ice liquor luge. It was nice to see a lot of my family members and people I have not seen in years upon years. People enjoyed themselves, old friends got to hang out, you know how it is.

And of course, everyone ended up in the pool...

Instead of telling more about the night.... I will just post the pictures and videos.

So, last night my friend Mike came over, who I have not seen in over a year. He is a pilot, so he is often flying around the country and his airline does not fly to Seattle, so I rarely get to see him. Well, it seems the stars aligned correctly because about 8pm on Friday he came over. We had some drinks at my house and were planning to go out, but then just ended up chilling with some of my family, my sister her friends, a few of our neighbors, etc.

At some point Mike and I ended up in the pool, maybe around 1am, or so? My mom had the heat up on like 95 degrees so it was like a bathtub, rather than a pool. We had deep talks and I think we might have called Jalyn at some point (probably before the pool).

Mike is one of the most amazing people I know, so I am glad I got to spend some time with him.

I need to nap because Mike stayed over and he woke up at like 7am, which means I woke up at 7, also. So, I shall do that now.

Sometimes I wonder if the world is too PC? I feel like so many people cannot take a joke, or are too sensitive, or you have to be so careful what you say to whom, because if taken out of context it can be taken the wrong way.

As an outspoken, sarcastic woman from the Midwest, I am used to sometimes saying things or doing things that can cause controversy. I did it last night, actually, talking out my ass about something I heard a long time ago that I thought was super stupid, then compared it to a movie I had seen and... bam... caused drama. I do not think it helps that I can talk to anyone about anything, and often do... and sometimes random people are crazy, or weird, or tell you something that you probably did not want to hear...

Anyway, I need to go to bed, but yeah, sometimes people just need to lighten up.

"So what I've got a short attention span
A coke in my hand
Because I'd rather have the afternoon, relax and understand"

Yeah, I rarely listen to my music on the ipod anymore. Generally I just listen to Pandora, so I forgot about some of my music. Flights are great for music.

So...

Here I am again, on a plane.. zig zagging around the country, yet again!

I have been drinking... first at the airport bar where I met this cool Canadian Chica named Amanda, from MSP, but originally from Ontario somewhere. We talked a lot about life, randomness, jobs and then she bought me a Jaeger shot. She was great.

I got the veggie meal on the plane, which had chicken in it, which how is that a veggie meal? I was OK with the chicken though, and even more OK with the white wine.

I sometimes forget how much a of different life it is in first class. I hate sitting coach. Granted, I am not a buyer, but a upgrader, but still... You can pick and choose which flights have the least amount of buyers, therefore increasing the chances for an upgrade.

OK, my seat partner just told me to look outside, there is a crazy, amazing, beautiful lighting storm. He just took a video with my camera. I have no clue where we are, but it is 8:14pm and we took off at 6:14 pm PST with an expected landing of 10:00pm-ish PST, so you do the math... North Dakota, maybe?



I've been realizing lately, I am an adult. Sure, at 26, one would think that was obvious, but apparently not. I mean, of course I pay my own bills, I answer to myself, those are obvious signs... But I have noticed a change in relationships, with my mom, my dad, my family, my sister, my friends, with Detroit. It is so weird... and I think that is all I can comment on that.

Jeff is like my best friend, and Jeff if you are reading this - MOVE TO SEATTLE! I have seen him in April, May, June and now in July. I am super excited, because, he is like my... partner in crime... and I am sure we will have some good drama this weekend.

OK, I am going to ask for more white wine now and maybe if I am lucky, pass out for a bit...

Oh yeah, my onions sprouted today and my rosemary/basil is growing more and more! I am excited to see them when I get back!

It is late, I am not sleeping... I'll rant a bit.

So, a big pet peeve of mine is when people do not take responsibility for themselves and their own actions. I am not perfect, but I do try to follow that as close as possible, especially these days. Of course, there is the occasion where maybe you drink too much, or you are dead tired and something slips out... But for the most part I try to live with a clean conscience and try to take responsibility for me.

I kind of got involved in a weird situation recently, where I became unnecessarily and unwantingly (is that a word??) entangled with two people that are totally emotionally and mentally unstable, and have not taken responsibility for themselves. It is a weird feeling when you are dealing with people like that, almost like you are drowning, and a hand is pushing on your chest - keeping you under water... I try to remove those people from my life, as it is just not healthy.

Another thing, weak people - and I am not talking about sensitive - I am talking about weak people, with low self esteem, low self worth, insecure, jealous, etc... People that let people other take advantage of them, won't stand up for themselves, etc... I think that is another bothersome thing for me. I am a pretty independent woman, I rely on myself - and of course I use my family and some friends as a safety net, as everyone should have a security net as sometimes you do fall down... but for the most part I do it on my own, and I like it that way.

Oh, another thing I like, is boundaries. I find that in the past few years, especially since moving to Seattle, I have found my boundary comfort levels, defined them, and know where I place most people in my life, and where they are within the boundaries. Boundaries keep things simple, and easy to deal with, and well, drama free.

This past weekend, I stupidly crossed a boundary. Partly because I was caught off guard and partly because I felt bad for one of the parties involved, and my womanly, helping, nurturing, fix everything instincts kicked in... I felt bad for both people in this situation, especially the woman (stupid, I know, they brought it on themselves!) and now, I am kicking myself for not just hanging up the phone right away. Damn curiosity, it always kills the cat!

But I will say this, even though it is not the easiest thing... When you are in a relationship, and shady shit happens, and you catch your honey in lies, it is time to leave, because the lies get worse, and deeper, and then you end up investing time and energy, which will only end up hurting more in the long run. If someone brings out the bad in you, the sadness in you, makes you hurt... leave! Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and if you are not getting respect then it is time to get out!

I cannot sleep. Mostly because I was all hyped up running around my apartment, packing for my trip.

So, today I went to Cafe Darclee for lunch with a new friend, Mike. Um, so, the food has gone WAY downhill!!! I know prices are up and what not, but my crepe was not good, not the same as it used to be, I guess the crepes do not come with salad anymore... I know they changed ownership, but really, they had to change the food to a crappier version of what it used to be? And the service - so slow! I used to love this place, and now, I might skip it.

My garbage disposal randomly stopped working, and my sink smells like crap because last night I guess it did not chop up all the pieces of onion and egg shell I put in it... Oh man, it's bad. I poured vinegar down the sink, which helped... a little... They are fixing it tomorrow...

Another thing, I am testing out the GrayLine Shuttle to go to the airport. It is 18 bucks round trip from the Warwick Hotel (which is about 3 blocks from my apartment) to the airport. Hopefully it works out OK, I'll definitely review it.

Oh, the plants I planted last week... are growing, well, the one plant is. I cannot remember if that is the rosemary or the basil?? The long planter is onion and so far it is not sprouting.

href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Elise.Oras/20080712Leschi/photo#5223532778568552226">

drama. yes, so much drama. i am not going to explain the whole story, but basically.. if you are a guy cheating on your girl... don't get me involved, and definitely do not, under any circumstances whatsoever have her call me, because i really do not need that. you're a grown man, deal with it yourself. and if she does call, do not expect me to lie for you and cover for you. oh, and don't lie to me, too. lying just gets you in trouble all around!

whew, now that venting is out... it is very warm in my apartment, i have the windows open and the breeze smells like clean laundry. it is because the street cleaning trucks put some type of detergent into the alley, and i know it is not natural, but i love the scent.

yesterday my friend and i went to cougar mountain to just... take our mind off of seattle drama and drama people. it was gorgeous, i have never been and we just went on one of the shorter trails, but here are the pics!

From 2008-07-13 Co...

After that we came to my rooftop, drank some beers, grilled some food and then off to Del Ray. We chatted with randoms, had some food there, and then eventually came back to my place to chill for a bit.

Then tonight I went to Umi Sake House for a late night dinner, with my friend Peter.

A side note, in the past week, I have had three people from my "past" re-enter my present life... and let me tell you... it has been wonderful.

Yesterday my friend James and I met up and went to Leschi to a park there and worked on his screenplay a little, and just talked about random stuff. We also pretended we were little kids and we found swings and had a good old time.

From 2008-07-12 Le...

Last night I met up with a friend, Moss, and his friends at Twist. They were just finishing up there, so I was kind of just in and then out. We walked over to Karma and had a few drinks there ($10 drinks at Karma is no fun!!) and we danced a little bit. Then Moss and I ran to my house which was only a few blocks away so I could switch purses, weird, I know. Then we went back to Karma, where Moss stole a blinking Ciroc Ice Cube, then to Del Ray, but there was a line, then Twist, there was a line, and Moss and I decided we wanted to go dancing, and his friends wanted to go to Amber or somewhere, so we split for a little bit.

Moss and I went over to Twilight Martini Lounge, which, let me tell you... wow, um, I probably will never go there again. That's all I can say about that. Though we did dance a bit, and Moss bought a bunch of drinks for us, oh and he stole the second thing of the night... a Corona...

We ended up meeting up with his friends, but I cannot remember if we went to another bar, too. Then we went to my house so I could get some stuff cuz I was going to head to Fremont with them, and Moss told me he would drive me home in the AM and to grab sleep things, so I grabbed a toothbrush, flip flops, pajamas, etc.

We went to Fremont, hit the hookah a bit, I made a banana and honey sandwich and we eventually passed out. Moss drove me home at like 7:30, because he had a cricket game and now I am trying to go back to sleep, but it is not working!

ZenniOptical.com is a website that sells really cool glasses, with prescription, starting at $8. Seriously, 8 bucks. They have a ton of cool styles, in every type of frame and color. All you have to do is get your script from your doctor, enter it online, pick your style and a few days later you have glasses in the mail!

It is perfect for a 2nd pair to leave in your car, or at work.

Check out their news story on Fox -- Zenni on Fox!


ZenniOptical.com

I just got back from the Tiger's game. I went with my new friends, that are friends of Charlie and one, Jake, is kind of from the Detroit area. Oh my, we had a blast today. Jake got us terrace level seats, but we only chilled there for about 2 innings, then off to the beer garden.

We were making fun of people, I am sure they were making fun of us, we drank a lot of beer... There was this one guy "bro", you know the popped collar, faux-hawk, "I'm going to take my shirt off so you can see how tan and jacked I am" type of guy (and he did)... Then there were these Canadians in Twins jerseys, that didn't even understand how baseball worked, or that they were not at a Twins game, though they didn't know who the twins were...

The game went to 15 innings to finally the Tigers taking the win, as the back up catcher for the M's was pitching. I think they ran out of pitchers? Oh, did you know there is a 14 inning stretch?

Just here, are pics... They explain better than I can...

From 2008-07-06 Ti...

We also yelled at Curtis Granderson while he was by the beer garden. Jake kept cheering for the Mankato Mashers (Curtis's old Northwoods Team that is now the Mankato Moon Dogs)... He totally acknowledged Jake's cheering. And then...


After leaving the game we went up to Guadalajara, in Wallingford, for dinner and it was yummy. Then to Finn MacCools in the Univ District, where happy hour is half off all day Sunday, nice.

I need to recover now...

Planes. I am on a plane, yet again. In fact, since June 17 I have flown over 10,000 miles. Zig Zagging around the country, that is what I do.

This time it is Delta, part of the Sky Team Alliance, which is good because I can get even more miles on Alaska... I recently switched to Alaska from Northwest when I moved to Seattle, because Alaska is based in Seattle, and it just makes sense.

I am flying to Salt Lake, then I fly on to Seattle. Luckily I do not switch planes, just stay on the same one. I think I have an hour in SLC, so I am going to try to figure out if I can get off the plane for a few and just strech my legs.

I have not blogged in awhile, mostly because I have been busy. Like I have written before - coming home is exhausting. I am here, there, everywhere. Everyone wants me to come see them, which is so hard, especially when you are working all the time, and are carless. Oh well, I am on my way back now.
___

So, I just got off the plane in SLC. First, there are SO SO SO many kids at this airport. I was waiting in the line in the bathroom and not exaggerating, there were 30 kids in the bathroom belonging and not many mom's.

Then I went to the bar to get a drink, and it was full so this random guy said I could sit with him. He was a nice mid 30's guy named Michael who lived in the LA area, but was born in Michigan. We talked a bit and then parted ways. I got on this plane and I am so excited because I know my friend Tom, who I have not seen in 3 years, will be waiting for me at Sea Tac. I really really cannot wait to see him.

I am going to try to sleep a bit, we'll see if that works...