Category Archives: Randoms

lend me your hand and we’ll conquer them all

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We were going to make tacos. We’s been simmering black beans all day, and everyone was on the way with their assigned ingredients.

Perfect day for tacos, too. A friend’s birthday. Recovering from a weekend of celebration. A touch homesick. What we all needed was some homemade tacos…like the ones Mel used to make.

And then the stove stopped working. And the TV, and the internet. Two of the main outlets and our electric stove stopped working.

After a little banter, seven girls ended up sitting around two boxes of pizzas, drinking wine and playing some of the most ridiculous games of MASH.

As I get older, I’m finding that I like almost like the things that replace foiled plans better than the original idea. They’re messier, sure, but with the right people around, disaster turns easily into perfection. The only times we ever talk about are the ones that were ridiculous.

The time I grated cheese by cutting it into tiny strips because Brad’s new place didn’t have a cheese grater.

The time the cops busted us on Sara’s 18th birthday.

The friends I made because I fucked things up and had to stay away from Portland for awhile.

The boy I started seeing because that other relationship didn’t end the way I thought it would.

Something wonderful seems to always come from the broken ideals. Sides sore from laughing, a closer connection, new relationships. When plans unravel, it leaves me exposed and open. I’m finding, though, that that’s not a bad thing — it leaves me open for something better.

Like seven girls, a couple of pizzas, and a lot of laughs. Tacos can wait.

I’ll try selling it, anyway.

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it's the last night in this little house by the capitol.

 

 

I’ve spent the past hour or so flipping through new blogs I haven’t seen on 20sb. This song came on. Seemed appropriate.

Any asshole can open up a museum
Put all the things he loves  on display
So everyone can see ‘em.
The house, a car, a thoughtful wife.
Ordinary moments in his ordinary life.

But if she breaks a smile she’ll give you away,
Because no one wants to pay to see your happiness,
No one wants to pay to see your day to day.

And I’m not buying anything
But I’ll try selling it anyway.

And aside from that, how am I doing? Not so well, I think. My dad comes to Olympia tomorrow to move everything back down to Vancouver. After we load up the truck, he’ll head back to Vancouver and I’ll head up to Bothell for my going away party. Yeah, I’m at that point — Mackenzie is throwing me a party at her place, which will be the last time I see those folks before I leave next Thursday.

And Sunday is the going away open house my mom is throwing. Friends and family will be stopping to bid me adieu and wish me luck.

And then it’s hanging in Vancouver, getting things ready to go. A Taco Tuesday with my wonderful Portland friends, a family dinner, and …well, then it’s Thursday, and I’ll be on my way to South America.

It’s getting harder and harder to process. I’m feeling more and more overwhelmed, since I still have way too much to do. And, as always happens when I’m here, I’m frustrated at being in Olympia. My time here is just pointless. Wasted.

Optimism is failing me at the moment.

I still find it to be strange that I’ve lived in Olympia for almost a year and have failed to put down any roots. Perhaps it’s a lack of trying, but maybe it’s also that this is just not the place for me.

When I first moved, I hung out with the people I know here on a semi-regular basis, but mostly through the campaign that ended in May. After that disbanded, there wasn’t much left to do, and so there was less time spent with them. It’s okay, in the long run, since when it comes down to it, I don’t have all that much in common with them anyway, but even when I tried to get to know people here, things were just…weird. I went on a few dates, more in an effort to meet people and make friends than to actually date someone, but there was just no real connection with any of them.

Maybe it was knowing that this was temporary. Maybe my unhappiness at just being here shone through.

I guess I’m a bit scared that Santiago will be my Olympia — the difference being, of course, that it’s 6500 miles away and I won’t have a car for quick weekend getaways every single weekend.

So, I guess I just have to put my faith on the knowledge that it’s where I belong right now. And hopefully that’ll be the difference.

And this is what I call a new year.

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I feel bad writing this, since it’s dark in my little room, boyfriend is tossing and turning and not able to sleep, and maybe I should be considering something like that too. But I feel a post is due. Or, overdue, as the case might be.

Typically, New Year’s Eve is always something of a let down. I feel like there’s a huge bar that needs to be reached as far as the fun level goes, but it’s always just a bit out of reach. I’ve rung in many, many new years in my life where I sat quietly on a couch or floor, sipping a mildly alcoholic drink after ditching a lame party, getting into a fight with my ex, or simply missing someone that couldn’t make it. It’s never really been bad, but it’s never been great.

This year, though, was great. There were dresses, and there was champagne and jello shots, and wizard staffs, and best of all, I was surrounded by some of the best friends I’ve made over the past couple years. Had boyfriend not had to work, I’d say it ventured on perfect.

I have  a stupid tradition. I always listen to Death Cab’s “The New Year” on New Year’s day. I know, it’s kind of trite. But I still do it.

So everybody put your best suit or dress on
Let’s make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
As thirty dialogues bleed into one

I wish the world was flat like the old days
When we could travel just by folding a map
No more airplanes, or speed trains, or  freeways
There’d be no distance that could hold us back.

It seemed especially appropriate this year. Because this is the year that I live in Chile. In drunken conversations with friends that night, it was the same as it’s been: they’re unbelievably excited for me. They’ll be just as excited to see me return.

I’ll get back December 24, 2011. Christmas Eve. It seems only natural that this would be my resolution:

I’ve done enough reflection on this year in the past couple months. So here’s to this new year. I hope we all make it a great one!

Oh, and I have a new year’s resolution for this blog. Start replying to some damn comments, you self-centered bitch.

Wrapping up Christmas…

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Are you reading Tall Brunette’s blog? You should be. And not just because she made this for me.

I really love this. It’s just so perfect. I plan on incorporating it into my header, but that task is buried somewhere in my massive to-do before the New Year list.

I’ve been such a lazy motherfucker. But, as always, I have excuses. Which I won’t get into now because no one really cares. Suffice it to say, things have been piling up and I’m back on the move…thank goodness.

So here’s the wrap up, which is a pun because at Christmas you actually UNWRAP things. Get it? OK nevermind.

I’ve been sick the past five days. I haven’t been sick in years, so it’s particularly infuriating. Sure, it’s just a cold. But my nose is completely torn to shreds from blowing it so much, my throat hurts from coughing, and my eyes are all puffy from watering and not sleeping. Gross. I am a walking bag of mucus and I’m way far over it.

Here are highlights from the last two weeks, as pictured in my facebook 365:

Jami/Mackenzie TRON and Olympia times:

Mackenzie came to Olympia and we saw TRON. Go see it. Seriously. I don’t care what you think about the whole idea, go see TRON. It will change your life. Then we went out and karaoked and got completely drunk and stumbled back to my house. Turns out Olympia can be fun. I keep forgetting this.

The Jeremy came to Oly:

A few really great days together that included Zoolights, movie watching, and lots of hanging out times before I headed back to Vancouver for the holidays…it was basically perfect.

The Nutcracker for a terrific bargain with some of my favorite ladies:

My wonderful friend Melissa works as a stitcher for the Oregon Ballet Theatre, and was able to get me some tickets to The Nutcracker for a mere $5 each. I took my mom, my cousin, and a family friend — and it was the best way to start the long Christmas weekend. Got me in the spirit for sure.

Then of course there was Christmas…but I haven’t gone through those pictures yet, so I don’t feel like talking about it. Just be jealous of my new Kindle, my Autobiography of Mark Twain, cute boots, seasons 1 and 2 of Mad Men, and other various goodies.

And yesterday, I spent all day fiddling with the Kindle and watching Mad Men. Because I’m sick and fucking entitled to, man.

Things to look forward to include a venturing with some Seattle friends to a New Year’s party hosted by Portland friends, getting lots of work done, and my last full paycheck from work. Sigh. Adios 2010. You’ll be gone before I knew ye.

Karaoke and blogging. They go together.

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Aw Hay. So some awesome bloggers over at 20sb came up with this absolutely brilliant idea: a karaoke blogring. I was super sad to have missed the first round, which was 90s tunes.

Anyway, I got the pleasure of hosting the always hilarious Sara from Sara Swears (a lot). (Note to my mother…she swears a lot, and we you were warned.)

I’m trying not to read into the fact that I was originally supposed to be over at Harley’s blog, but she was having computer trouble. So then I was supposed to be over at Justin’s blog…but he was having computer trouble. So now I’m supposed to be over at Matt’s blog, but I don’t even have the correct link. So hopefully I appear somewhere. If not, I’ll post my video later. It’s halfway decent, so I’d hate for you to miss it…

So here’s Sara. She’s rad, so be sure to check out her blog.

 

Please don’t watch this video. No, seriously. Please. Walk away now before you lose any sort of love you have for me. Also, I really can’t afford to lose any more dignity at this point, y’all. I’m going to go ahead and blame every single thing that happens in this video on Four Loko.
So the song I chose isn’t from a broadway musical exactly, but it is from a movie which is close enough, so there. All I can say is if you haven’t seen this movie, you’re going to think I’m out of my mind (what’s new?). Oh, and you need to buy it immediately because it’s just that good.
This video was recorded at 6 in the motherfucking morning because we were all hyped up on caffeine and alcohol. It features my best friend (the first one to be seen on camera), me, and my sister-in-law. At the time, I specifically remember thinking, “I don’t even feel that drunk.” That? That is a bad sign, my friends. If you ever think/say this, beware. Also, I look like an obese trucker in this video. I did not realize this at the time. The reason I had that shirt tied around my waist was because the girl in the video had one. The reason we were wearing baseball caps? Well, honestly, I don’t have an answer for that. When we watched it back a few nights later, my best friend’s first response was, “Why the fuck are we wearing baseball caps and why the fuck do we look so goddamn retarded?”

Oh, and I’m obviously kind of amazing at lyric memorization.

Sigh. I think I’ve made enough excuses for this video. Stopjudgingme.

 

…it’s amazing.