Save Tibet

When it rains it pours

Today I had an interesting observation. It has rained heavily for the past three days. As I was walking downtown sans an umbrella. Why is it that all the people with umbrellas walk under the awnings, forcing those without to walk in the rain? By a vowel people. If you are using an umbrella you don't need to take up this precious space. Save it for someone who is getting wet.

Excuse me, you have something in your ear.

Living in a city exposes you to many oddities. Some might call them "freaks." After living in a city for some time these "freaks" begin to fade into the background. It isn't until something truly shameful or obscure occurs that you notice them. The "aghast" factor, where you do a double take and then awkwardly stare like some frozen computer. I experienced this very phenomenon on Tuesday. The Market is a great place for this. I passed a large man, dressed in a leather vest, leather pants, and a white t-shirt. His head was shaved and body heavily inked. One could say he stereotypically fulfilled the "biker" label. But this isn't what caught my attention. Oh no, it was the piercing. His right lobe, stretched to a height which dangerously flirted with his nipple caught my attention. Attached to his lobe was not the expected "Native" object, it was a carabiner. Laden with keys it joyfully weighted his earlobe to the functional position. As I stop, staring, I witness the man straddle his hog and put the keys in the ignition without removing them from the carabiner nor his ear. I hope he doesn't catch it on a mirror.

Blogthings when Bored

You Are A Hazelnut Tree

You're a charmer with a killer sense of humor. You are very demanding, but you can also be very understanding. No matter what, you always make a lasting impression - you're quite popular. Passionate, you are an active fighter for social causes and politics. In general, you are moody, honest, a perfectionist, and very sexual.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

You Are Snow

Magical yet potentially destructive You are well known as fun to play with People anticipate your arrival but then are quickly sick of you You are best known for: your serenity Your dominant state: reflecting

What Type of Weather Are You?

A Blue Shirt Monday

Today was one for the record books. My design studio consists of roughly thirty-five people. Twenty of which are men. Of those twenty, fifteen wore blue shirts and khaki pants (the famous IBM uniform). I find myself at a challenging crossroads. I am new and should tred lightly in my new corporate setting. But the situation is such that all decency is diluted by a plethora of comedic potential. The momentum is unstoppable, the humor predictable and repetitive. What will Tuesday bring...red shirts I hope.

Blonde Tsunami

In one of my last U-district adventures, I was nearly drowned by a sea of blonde lemmings. I found myself walking south from 47th to 45th. The street appearing normal, a demographic of balance. Slowly at first my eye, keen as it is, begins to notice a changing of the tide. At first a small group, three, in matching shirts, products of the same factory. As if a secret conveyor belt were working overtime, waves of feminism begin to crash against the calm of the "Ave". By the time I reach 45th, the seemingly banal waves have grown into a tsunami of catastrophic magnitude. I find myself drownding in a sea of blonde. Incessant chatter crashing all around me. Rush week consumes me, eroding my non-Greek countenance--transforming me into a sex-crazed teen. Violently, images of unfulfilled fantasies whip through my head. The musk of perfumes intoxicating. Perspiration weeps from my brow, my hand clammy to the touch. Just as soon as it came, it passes. I remain, a rock in a sea of normality once again.

Flogging, not your everyday kink

Seattle continues to surprise me. If one just takes the time to open their eyes and ears, there is an amazing amount that she will present to you. Today was another lesson of her allure. I was casually walking down Seneca towards a place for lunch. Two people a man and a woman in business casual attire are having a conversation on the sidewalk. The gentleman's ecstatic gesticulations tease my visual thirst. He continues making a striking motion from above his head behind his body. The woman intently gazes on, studying the subtler movements. As I approach nearer, my ears ring with anticipation, longing to make sense of this affair. Within ear shot I hear the man instruct, "It is this motion here with the elbow that gives you the most reward with self-flogging." The world is an instantaneous blur, an easel of colors which possess neither shape nor order. My brain questions my ears, "Self-flogging?" And then the woman confirms it, "I just haven't been getting the result I am looking for. My flogging technique isn't quite there." The colors quickly collide into focus, a jolting halt reminiscent of youthful carnival rides. As my legs drag my reluctant eyes and straining ears around the corner, my brain is left mute. All that remains is a stupid grin upon my face, and a stomach which yearns to be fed.

A Day of Accomplishment

So today proved to be a successful one. It was a hard day at the office as our team was working to prepare for our boss leaving on vacation for the next month. Things were a little hectic and energized. But the day was beautiful and we accomplished all we needed. But the ultimate success came in the evening. Tonight I successfully passed my National Intercollegiate Soccer Officiating exam. It included a brutal fitness test and a written exam. Now I am legally qualified to officiate collegiate soccer. The UW will never be safe.

Hindsight is 20/20

A post by a friend. Sometimes others just say it better. Click on the title for a link to her website.

Why is it - that when life tries to tell us something, we don't listen... Day to day provides wonderful opportunities and yet it's chance - the 'stupid' coincidences of life that cause us to make irrational decisions we can pretend to feel good about.

Why listen to something that makes no sense? And why does it feel so empowering to follow something that makes no sense? Is it just the desire to want what we can't have? What about learning to be happy for the present moment? Why do we never feel the right feelings at the right time? Or hear the birds until after they've flown away? Why do we always seek to rebel what's right for us? And run from the things we know are good and comfortable and right...

Do you follow your gut?
Do you follow your heart?
Do you follow your brain?

And if you should be so lucky to find they all align at some point, will the opportunity be missed? Is it already too far gone? Has the damage already been done? 'They say' "it's never too late..." but why is it, than when you realize what you want - it appears too late - the circumstances that were in your control are suddenly out of reach.

I have this horrible habit to resist the thing I actually desire.
I seek patience and yet I'm growing impatient with myself.
Everything I pushed away, everything I rebelled, is everything I want.

And everything I thought I wanted is changing.

Rapunzel

Last Friday a group of us completed a giant sand sculpture for the annual Sandfest weekend. Although none of us had ever done this before we were quite pleased with what we were able to accomplish. This 8 foot behemoth was the tallest of all entries, and proved to be an amusing interpretation of the children's classic story.