Final Four Baby!

Back on the Saddle

I rode my bike yesterday. Farther in one day than all last year. I have a love/hate relationship with my bike. Love the actual bike. Hate to ride it. Well, maybe “hate” is a bit too strong, but ever since I fell off my bike, we’ve had kind of a bit of a, well falling out.

Recently, on those few and far between sunny days, I’ve been feeling the urge to ride again, especially since I plan on doing a triathlon this summer. Over the weekend I replaced the tube in the back tire (the slow leak was always giving me an excuse not to ride), and with yesterday’s beautiful weather, I decided to go for it.

So finally, I rode. From my car (not quite brave enough to ride on the streets yet, instead I parked along the Burke) to school. Then later in the afternoon, further past school and finally back to my car. I would have kept going if it wasn’t for that dinner date with Boston.

I guess it was kinda a big deal. You know that is the case when your boyfriend and roommates are totally excited about a measly 8-mile bike ride!

The Deceptions of Craigs.list

Lan was one of the first friends I made in college. We bonded over marathon gossip sessions over dinner in the dining hall and late night study sessions. We haven't been as close are we would have liked in the years since college, but that is all about to change because she is moving to Seattle next month!!

Her and her husband were in town this past weekend, looking for houses. They had pretty much settled on one, when another which seemed to be to good to be true* popped up. It was large (important when moving from a large house with lots of furniture), had hardwoods (important when you have a dog), was convenient to both her and her husband's new jobs, and had AMAZING views of the bay from above Alki. From the pictures on the ad and the pictures the landlord sent, it looked like a gem!

Until I drove over last night to check it out. So I'll give them one thing, the views were AMAZING:


A huge deck spread across the entire back of the house and looked over the bay and the city. But that was about all it had to offer. Besides...

Textured pink wallpaper in all 3 bedrooms:

And even in the bathroom. Which also comes with pink carpeting. Ooh, think of all the germy things hiding out in that carpet. Oh joy:

Love the wood paneling and sark green shag carpet in the office! (Sorry for the blurry shot):

I didn't take a picture of the red-carpeted stairs, the miniscule closets, or the jug of carlo rossi in the fridge, but I think you get the picture!

Needless to say, despite the views, Lan and her hubby will not be moving into this charming home. But have no fear, instead they will be moving 6 blocks from me!!! How fun!

*Lesson learned: When something seems to good to be true, it probably is!

500!

I have been taking pictures, but my camera and camera cord have had a sort of falling out, and didn’t make up until today. But, that works out perfectly because this is a special post. My 500th!

So in honor of reaching this milestone, I thought I’d look back to the start of it all.

This post is also know as, “Why I Started Blogging.”

Back in 2004, I had no idea what a blog was. One of my coworkers was “frienemies” with another co-worker who had a blog in which she bad-mouthed numerous other co-workers (she eventually got fired, or more likely “dooced.”). When coworker #1 told me about coworker #2’s blog, I enlisted the help of google to check it out. Despite the fact that she is a dowdy, middle-aged woman (Ooh, harsh! I apologize, but it is true), I totally devoured her blog. From her blog, I made my way to another (younger, more fun) co-worker’s, then eventually on to the blogs that I still read today – Katie (who ended up being the first to ever comment on my blog), GFF, and Courtney – to name a few (plus others that are no longer around).

After a failed attempt in early January, I first jumped in the world of blogging in April, 2005. Now 3 years and 500 posts later, I have new “friends” around the country, some of whom I’ve met, and most that I look forward to checking in with each morning as I have my morning tea. I love the blogging community I’ve become a part of in the past 3 years..

So, now I raise my afternoon tea (I drink lots of tea, now I’ve given up the d.coke) and toast to 500 more posts! (More audience participation) How/why did you start blogging?

Hangin' Tough

Who: New Kids on the Block
What: My FIRST concert
Where: The Carrier Dome (Syracuse, NY)
When: 1990 (6th grade)
How: My friend's mom so graciously offered to take us

Guess what... they're baaaaaack!

Two questions (this is an interactive post, come on now - play along!):

**What was your first concert?

**Would you attend their concert (NKOTB) if their tour hits your town?

Friday Nights: 2000

For the last year and a half of college (from my 21st birthday on) I spent every Friday evening at the same bar. Happy hour started at 5. There was a $5 cover. But there was free food. The pizza was actually good. So were the fries. Maybe that is why bordered on “overweight” senior year. That and the 50 cents beers. At that point in my life I could put 10 away in a few hours… no problem. For $10 I was fed, drunk, and entertained. They always had a band. Typically a cover band. To which we sang along and boogied down. And the best part was you were home and in bed by 11. After a quick stop at WaWa, of course.

I laughed and I cried there. Some of my best college memories happened inside those doors. And those are just the ones I actually remember. Friends have been back since. They say it just isn’t the same. I prefer to just remember it as it was then.

The New CD in My Collection

I got a new cd. I have been holding back recently, this is the first new one I have gotten in a few months. It was a random recommendation from an acquaintance who knew my taste in music (meaning she knew I liked boys who sang and played the guitar). She thought I’d like Jared Campbell. I listened to a few songs from his website and decided to order a cd to see what he is all about. I am all about supporting the new guys out there and sometime you just have to take a leap of faith and buy a random cd.

Well guess what, not only is the cd pretty good, but he is from my hometown! What?!? How crazy! And we are not talking about some huge city, but a small one surrounded by dairy farms and big fields. I’m glad to see there some talent coming out of there. He’s been doing the northeast college circuit and playing around home. Maybe someday he’ll play a show out west. I’d love to check him out live.

Do You Ever Wonder What Happened To…

All those boys you “dated” when you were younger??

JAY Then: My first ever real boyfriend. He was older and could drive. Now: He got married this summer, lives in rural Pennsylvania and is a firefighter.

MK Then: A counselor with me at summer camp. A complete stoner and my ultimate “bad boy,” yet so smart and intriguing and so thoughtful when he really tried. Our drama-filled “relationship” lasted 4 on and off years and he is probably the most influential guy (in terms of relationships) in my life. Now: Finally a college graduate and now a hockey coach at a small college in New England. It looks like he finally got his life together. I haven’t seen him in forever (5 years) and I don’t want to because I know that even after all these years I still have unresolved feelings for him. I can’t go down that road again.

T.BAIRD Then: A tall, lanky senior who I had never once spoken to but I decided would be my next boyfriend. In just a few weeks, he was! He was super sweet and super nice, but he headed off to college and I moved to Virginia. Now: Just out of law school. He has talked about moving out to Seattle or Portland but I think it is just that, talk. I run into him occasionally when we are both home for the holidays.

(VIRGINIA) CHRIS Then: My first “love.” I broke his heart when I left for college and my family moved back to NY at the same time. We’ve only seen each other twice since then. Now: Living in DC and working long hours on some top secret government project. That is about all, he really doesn’t seem to do anything.

(HOTT BODY) CHRIS Then: Initially attracted to solely his body, I soon learned that the quiet guy in all my classes was lots of fun and didn’t shut up once he got to know you. And did I mention he was hott? Breaking up and then still having every class together, led me to the conclusion that I will never date anyone I study/work with again. Now: He married a few months ago, lives in the suburbs and still drinks beer and watches sports regularly with his best friend from college (who is married to his wife’s best friend). He is not quite as hott now that he has a beer belly.

CONCLUSION (Then) They were all good while they lasted but, (Now) with exception to maybe T.Baird, the “grown-up k” would never date them now.

Thanks to mutual friends, out of the blue emails, and the miracle of Google for providing the information for this post.

A Middle School Obsession

When I was younger, the middle school years, I was OBSESSED with turtles. All my friends had favorite animals and because I am allergic to every animal out there that is sporting fur, turtles seemed like a logical choice for my “favorite.” Between the stuffed animals, figurines, posters and t-shirts, I had close to a hundred turtle things. I was fascinated with the Galapagos Islands and the tortoises there – actually I still am! I wrote my term paper for biology class on tortoises; I got an A of course! One Christmas JQ gave me (with permission from my mom of course) my first pet. Willy was my very own red-eared slider turtle. Before dying of anorexia a few years later (seriously – I think he was depressed and he stopped eating) I learned a few things:

Turtles, and their tanks, smell. It is this God-awful stink that can permeate through the entire house if you don’t clean the tank often enough (I didn’t).

Turtles can be awfully quick! I turned my back for a minute once and I had to search for a good hour to find Willy.

Turtles really weren’t that much fun to play with. You can’t cuddle up to one, or take a turtle to the park.

My obsession with turtles began to fade right around the time of Willy’s death. If I remember correctly, that was about the same time that my obsession with boys began.

(The picture above is one my coworker took while “working” down in Mexico on a pier inspection. I’ve never had any inclination to join the company dive team, but this does make it look tempting!)