So, we're back. Perhaps this should be an episodic program, actually - like a television broadcast or the Picture Dictionary. Whenever it fits fancy, the Memoirian Highlights will flock over The Cowation like a plague of long-winded draft reading material. Who knows?
Anyway, back to the action. Samedi, Saturday, le deuxieme jour.
Samedi
So, the night was Tolo night, but the day was spend-time-on-J day. In a much more energy-filled morning wake, I threw on a summery outfit that prayed for warmth but received only cold and traipsed out of the house on a hunt for shoes and a dress. I had a very specific idea in mind: army green dress that goes off the shoulder and has ruffled ruching at the neck and sleeve seams because of the elastic. Obviously, I didn't get that.
What I did get was a running around time to myself, searching from high to low for that one perfect dress and finding a really cute bag and a pair of the best shoes ever (coral pumps - garish and flashy and completely like me) I had left at 9am and went through all the places I knew to look, so by the time it drew near to 12 noon, I was burned out and searching for a sit down place.
Lucky enough for me, when I stopped off at Redmond Town Center, a new tea place had opened up in place of our cookie haven. My heart was torn, but I was excited to see somewhere I could buy loose leaf tea that didn't include hoity-toity employees in downtown Bellevue. I opened the door to the Green Grind and wafted their casual scent.
The store was clean, green, and very earthy. They had their teas up in canisters on the wall, all different colors and loose leaf. I had originally thought it was a coffeehouse but, though they did serve that as well, it became increasingly evident that they were mainly focused around tea. A smooth talking salesman waited on customers with a skilled knowledge of his product; he spoke about yerba mate with a South American man who had entered on his lunch break to marvel at the fact that, yes, you can get that stuff here. And damn good too. I tested the waters with an Indian chai, which cemented my love for the place. A cute college-looking guy served me and seemed to be trying his best to avert his nerdy image as compared to the manager. It didn't work too well, but his bashful charm drew me in and, as I left, I was smiling at how much of an embarassment I had made of myself. I really am very awkward with strangers.
My first response as I stepped out of the place was to call Da and tell him that I had found the loose leaf tea haven (huzzah!) and that we could buy some the next day. It solved the problem of my conversion to a loose leaf tea addict, and I was glad. But, just as I finished the tiny cup of chai, I realized that it was nearing 11:55am and that I needed to head out to Victor's for a meet with the theater girls to "work on theater stuff."
When I arrived there, I was semi-starving (making room for what I knew was going to be a big Applebee's dinner that night) but also had no cash, so I sat and began working on my TPPP. Always fashionably late, Maayan and Sofia showed up at 12:20pm as I was typing furiously to figure out my new project. Once they were there, the laptop closed and we headed outside to the porch to talk about our lives. Maayan paid for a lunch and I got the veggie soup off of it so that I wouldn't die, then we shared cookies and eased ever-so-quickly away from theater. It was a nice time, actually, and instead of going our separate ways, Sofia came along with me to meet up with Bree and go dress shopping.
We left an hour too early and headed over to Factoria, where I explored the dresses at TJ Maxx and Target - finally finding one at the second store. Sofia's approval and a pair of skin tone (for a white person) tights cemented me on the choice, and I bought it straight away. We met Bree and Andi at Nordstrom Rack just a bit later, and they each bought a pair of shoes (albeit from different stores, Nordstrom Rack and DSW). After what I thought was the shortest shopping trip ever, we decided to part and then head over to Bree's aunt's house (I was informed that she was a hairdresser and that she would be cool with doing our hair, which is always a plus). But, as we got to the parking lot, I realized: we had lost the car.
Or rather, we had lost ourselves in the parking lot. Sofia was laughing all out as we finally found it - I felt rather stupid, but got over it quickly. It's always great to be flailing around in the cold, pressing the button on your keys until you realize - oh, that's my car right there.
I took her home and then drove to Bree's (after a confusing traffic stop at Interlake, then Maayan's, then her house because neither of us knew where she lived) and we got our hair put up. Bree's aunt Megan was extremely nice; with a mousy smile, she chatted with us about boys and Vietnam and all that passed as she tied our hair with rubber bands and bobby pins. I was a little embarassed to have to leave early - Quinn was already waiting at my house and I'm glad I called him to make sure he didn't go up to the door when I wasn't there.
I sprang in, grabbed the tickets, and then jumped in his car to drive to Applebees. We chatted amicably on the way down the hill (as I marveled at the fact that Quinn could even drive) and then I realized - I should call Grant to tell him when we're meeting.
With the apologetic kick-down-dog mentality I always purport (and need to get rid of), I told him we were meeting in 20 minutes at the Applebees not in Factoria. Needless to say, he wasn't happy.
But we all were fine in the end because, since there were so many of us, the table took at least 25 minutes to secure. Quinn and I waited. I goggled at the fact that he had never been there before, then frantically texted Da about his name and phone number (the fact that I hadn't told them it was a male friend picking me up probably explains that...) until the waitress and our other party members clustered together to meet at a table in the back.
Grant arrived shortly thereafter, legitimizing the very very large amount of confusion about what "semi-formal" means. The sophomores were in a parade of tennis shoes and jeans mixed with casual dresses (Abby's wouldn't zip up, so I give her credit for wearin the tank underneath) while our men were in a range from boring (Chris's basic button down shirt and jeans) to extremely formal (Grant's black suit and red tie) to just plain awesome (Quinn's kilt and the brown shirt we bought for him). The girls followed in a similar line - mine was probably the least formal while Andi's was the most. Quinn and I both were a little off, so once we had finished our meals, we made a last run back to the houses for boots and deodorant. Thankfully, Da had gone to a movie so he didn't have to come inside.
Then it was off to the dance. It appeared that very few people had shown up. Sophomores and freshmen and the occassional senior, but the dance floor was mostly empty. After a few wayward techno songs, we slow danced once and then took my complicated pick-up-the-girls picture before splitting to Meydenbauer Beach. Our band of cars departed from the Interlake parking lot in a wave of male driving; the night was young.
The air was young and frigid when we pulled to a stop, and I borrowed Quinn's way oversized coat (at least on me) as we tripped over our own feet and galloped like horses down to the water's edge. We scrambled to take off our shoes as we went on the dock, watching strange lights come up and down from the island across the way, telling stories of zombie lust and making plans to hijack a boat. None of these got very far.
When we were pretty much lifeless and freezing, we decided to head back up to the cars and find somewhere else to chill. Andi's house was conveniently open, so we headed over there where her dog tried to go up Quinn's kilt many a time. By then, it was nearing midnight and past, so we were all a little tired and the car rides made me feel boring because of my lack of conversational lethargy. Andi's house was warm and didn't contribute to my staying awake.
Finally, after looking at embarassing pictures of younger people that might have been us, we decided to head to Wendy's in our band of cars and pick up Frosties for the road. Quinn ordered while I didn't, deciding ice cream was not the best choice right before bed. He dropped me off and I felt strange, laughing to myself about thinking that I could drop him off even as he was driving. We were both a bit listless, but I still, quite clumsily, asked him whether he would like to go on a "real date" sometime, and he replied, "sure."
So that was the end of the Spring Fling Tolo night. Randomness, excitement, flair, and the absolute boredom that comes from being a teenager in the suburbs at night. Well, at least it sprouted some interesting conversations!
On a side note, the picture above I found in my camera after perhaps the longest time ever [shows you how much I use my little one...] from Bumbershoot. I can't believe that my nails were that long! Anyway, I just thought it was really cool and, well, reflective so enjoy!
Check out some more posts featuring my photography.
