Images of New York

(This is my New York)

New York is a 5 dogs in the morning city. There is an occasional cat and maybe a rat running around in the subway. Pigeons are my mortal enemy and should be avoided.

New York is a city where pedestrians can attack cars right back. As I passed by, a woman smacked the side of a delivery truck, shouting "I was right f***ing here!" in reference to her position in the street.

New York is a city where geriatrics and children on scooters pass on the street without looking at each other. Or caring.

New York is a small shop front next to a multinational corporation.

New York is a bunch of women fighting back against street harassment (Hollaback!).

New York is a place where you make loose connections - kind of like Facebook - but can also find your true soulmates - like Match.com.

New York is a gathering place for ideas, cultures, people you love and hate, uncommon experiences, and the types of education you only get by being in the big city. But it can't provide me with a decent uptown pho restaurant.

New York is a big dirty city, that I both love and hate. It is a place where I live and where I go to school, but I may not stay in forever. It is an experience that passes in just the way I need it to - slow enough to savor, but fast enough to fade into a sweet memory.

I have a project for my next zine gestating in my head, and it might involve just this topic - if you want to start giving me ideas about what New York is for you, please let me know! I may be doing a formal call for submissions sometime in the future...

(And so is this.)

The Summer Broke Ope

So, it's been a crazy summer sojourn since I was last here - I have been out literally every day since school got out... it feels so strange that it was only two weeks ago, and yet every day has been so filled that it seems as if it were yesterday. Hmm.
I have put graduation itself into a Memoirian Highlight to incorporate the pictures (courtesy of Heathy!) and also one for Heathy's visit here - just so that each post isn't crazy long! Here are some other highlights though.

1. Finishing high school and meeting a cluster of bees outside my boyfriend's house the day we got out. Happy end of high school!
2. Picking up my family at the airport - Tiina, Uncle and Natalia have been here ever since the 18th.
3. Watching the pretty awesome Senior Highlights video at senior breakfast (and subsequently signing a silly number of yearbooks - everyone wanted a little piece before we all jumped off to the next lilypad; sadly, I don't think I put down very good yearbook entries, but just know that you will be remembered!)
4. Going to a bookmaking class: it was a 3 Saturday class and I made 3 pamphlet stitch books, 3 hardcover books (2 Coptic bound and 1 traditional hardcover book like you see in the bookstores). Since I found the awesome decorative paper that I bought during pre-college, it was great fun to actually use the stuff. I am totally going to get back into zines and bind a lot of stuff now - it's great fun! Also, I discovered that Seattlites hate Bellevue (something I already knew, but didn't intuit until we started talking about the jail and protesting, Gay Pride and other such things; it was pretty awesome to hear all the intriguing stories though - like crack being sold from an ice cream truck and traipsing about the best art supplies places in the area)
5. Picking up Heathy at the airport to complete our full set of house mayhem [7 people living in a house that usually houses 3 - fortunately, it's big enough that it wasn't too much of a burden, just "interesting" to have all those personalities conflicting in places like the shower and the kitchen...]
6. Meeting up with all of my good friends at Olive Garden for an explosive night of debauchery - Chels, Ka-chan, Heathy, Kita, Josh, Amanda, Natalia, and I sitting around a table laughing it up and then heading over to Sophia's house for a post-meal cooldown. The odd part of the evening was getting there and waiting for a table; we took two cars since there were so many of us (and Josh was jumping out of his seat to avoid my dad's glare...) and then there was an hour long wait, so we went to get fresh ice cream at the creamery nearby [so good - yet I did gain 1.8 pounds that week; I'm at 131 right now though, so it didn't dent me too much]. But once we were in, the food was good and filling and we all were compatible enough to not kill each other so I call it good. Ka-chan, Chels and I went to get makeup at Bartells following Sophia's house and had an interesting time deciding whether I said 'peachy' or 'PG' - ah... the joke never dies.
7. Picking up my diploma the day after graduation and talking to Madame for the last time - she gave me a book and it was a nice goodbye. I didn't get to see Goldstein, yet I know our paths will cross again. All is well; I can leave Interlake in peace.
8. Separation anxiety when Heathy left - that same day, everyone traveled to Eastern Washington except me and I went to my bookbinding class all depressed... it just felt like the summer would be empty without her and without constant motion. Though it took me a few days, I did raise myself out of that slump. People make me happy, you know?
9. Hanging out with Sophia and Amanda in Seattle. Amanda got her first Dick's burger (another addict has been created!) on Broadway and we went to Bailey/Coy Books and all over Broadway. Then we went to Volunteer Park and there was a random crane in a tree! It was totally awesome and it flew down and we chased it with cameras (and I hung up on Kita out of excitement to go follow it... ehe...) Overall, it was a really relaxing day and a nice goodbye celebration for 'Manda since she left for China on July 4th (and Sophia leaves for Vietnam on Wednesday!).
10. Hearing from Charlotte. In Rome. She called me and we talked a bunch of girl talk and figure out our lives... the phone cut out just as we were getting to the recent news of Michael Jackson's death (I am really sad about that actually... I didn't realize how sad I would be until I started hearing his songs again and realized that there would be no more King of Pop. Along with the other celebrity deaths last week, that was definitely the worst moment...) The next time Charlotte and I contacted was on Facebook with messages - she's moving to Israel! It was a quick decision because of some problems with Seattle and UW and all that good stuff, but I think the move will do her good and give her an exciting lifestyle (and me an excuse to go to the Middle East - yes!) She's the real light in my sky sometimes; she inspires me and helps me out with my problems at the same time. Love.
11. Having Ka-chan come back from California! Everyone had left, and then they returned. She had a great time from what I can tell, everything was exciting and interesting while things here were pretty chill as well [albeit, a lot of problems did arise with the relationship] When she came back, we hung out hardcore with Molly in Seattle, traveling once again to Broadway and sorting out our problems with retail therapy and talk. I bought a gold scarf from Red Light and need to learn how to wear it with flare, so to speak. Haha. I stayed over at Molly's place and watched Bridget Jones' Diary as she napped, then we went out for late night food in Beacon Hill and heard about crazy ladies crying "SATAN!" across the street... ah, Seattle.
12. Spending time with Sophia in her final days before leaving for Vietnam - she, Josh and I watched Public Enemies last night and it was really interesting (crazy confusing at times, but since I was reading Gunsmith Cats and have always been sort of a shooter fan, it was a lot of fun) We went into Barnes and Noble and now I totally want to buy Bonk by Mary Roach so I can learn about the neuroscience of sex - did I mention that I've been enticed almost entirely to the nonfiction section lately? It's so weird... Oh, and shrimp pizza is awesome. One of those things that you don't appreciate till you try it. Trading clothes with Sophia at her house and finding really cute tops to steal - ahaha. I got my first pair of leggings from her and I think they're pretty awesome; not yet sure how comfortable I'll feel walking around in them.
13. And that brings us to the final! The lucky 13! Or maybe unlucky, I don't know... But, other than all the actions that are going on right now in my life, there are some interesting intentions going on as well. As I type, I am hoping that my dad will let me go on vacation with Josh to the Grand Canyon (yes, he's actually considering it! I'm overjoyed). So here's to knocking on wood, making wishes on your birthday time, and crossing fingers because tomorrow will determine the fates.

And... that's what's going on! Whew... that was a lot. One of the first things that I didn't mention was that I saw Ka-chan graduate the Friday before I did; it was amazing and her speech was inspiring (she didn't stutter once and, even though we didn't work on our speeches together, our themes were pretty similar) I saw Chels for the first time in months too! And Waymon and I randomly traveled to Snoqualmie Falls! We've been hanging out a lot more together out of total and utter boredom... Oh! And I got my IB Diploma - yesterday actually - which is rad. I get my credits and am going to college with them! TAKE THAT!

Memoirian Highlights: The Week of Heathy

The week of Heathy was filled with waffles, speaking at the same time, bad food eating (which ended, literally and actually, the day that she left), hanging out with the menfolk and laughing until we cried (and no, I'm not joking). It was pretty good and mildly annoying at the same time - since we're such silly people, sometimes it seemed like we were more explosive together than life really warranted, but that was also a bit of the fun. Overall, I was sad to see her go, and hope to see Heathy again when she actually moves up here in August. Cat face!!

- Ah... tea. It brings us our very favorite memories - exploring the rich flavors and intercontinental merits of one tea over another, basically growing into minor tea snobs as we debate the merits of loose leaf over bagged... but then, I took Heathy to my favorite little tea shop in RTC and this tea-ful beauty changed.
It started as a friendly encounter with a tea merchant - and ended with the guy giving Heathy his phone number and a lot of free tea. Apparently he thought she was cute and, just as in niche manga everywhere, totally hit on her without her even realizing it. Now, whenever we discuss tea, we have to avoid the Tea Guy - code for the 30-something that totally freaked us out, even though he seemed like an upstanding guy. Though I suppose it was a single incident, it definitely makes me wonder about unwanted male attention...
- Heathy and I had our ups and downs this week; there were some moments when things became trying because our personalities clash when we live together. I think it's because we have such different routines. Though we laugh together and have a lot of fun talking about things, I don't think we're very similar in our lifestyles. I am quick to get ready, she takes a long time... she gets sad, I get angry... things like that. Although there were some issues faced that way, I think it's just good to note that being best friends doesn't mean that the pressure isn't on when you live together. That is the same principle that kind of takes apart couples that live together for their first year - things just aren't the same when you see every little detail of their lives.
- Going to the sushi place with Josh and Heathy wasn't terrifying, but it did make me feel somewhat bad that I didn't like the food... I tried some things that I liked, but I found that most of it was still not something I'd prefer to eat. Ah well, here's for the trying.
- We went shopping and chatting, like true girls, that week. I bought some cute brown shoes (which, sadly, are slightly too big for me so sometimes my feet slip out) from Plato's Closet and we went hunting for a bathroom cup that Heathy's dad [apparently] collects. We settled on a mug and chocolate and a Japanese toy for Will (who she was talking about during the entire vacation - I guess I can understand the separation thing for couples, it's hard).
But my favorite memory of the week with Heathy was definitely going for a walk from Idylwood to Marymoor. Despite the fact that Heathy had blisters and I was wearing a somewhat sexy top and got honked at, we decided to take a walk and read/talk/photograph/write. It was very relaxing to just walk and talk about life. We took photographs of the natural life of Washington and I really appreciated just being able to live here - it is beautiful, you know? Then, when we got to Marymoor, we stepped on the rock stones to soothe our feet and had an interesting experience with "pleasure" and the foot. Whee, randomness!

Memoirian Highlights: Interlake Graduation '09

The day of graduation (it's so big it deserves it's own sections):
- Grad rehearsal in the morning and the chaos of a nearly unplanned graduation on the field (geez... you would think that the administration would get a little more prepared)
- Went out with Josh and Heathy and got my makeup done at Clinique (really nice actually, considering that we kind of botched my makeup the day before with Heathy's decision that she was my 'personal styler')
- Went to lunch with the grandparents at Applebees - craziness and awesome reunion of two halves of our family. Celebrating graduating in style!
- Running around and changing into my graduation attire (I finally got nervous about my speech at about that time and ran it over with Heathy)
- Walking over to Interlake and doing a mini-photo shoot with Heathy along the way (pictures in the next post are courtesy of her!)
- Running around talking to everyone who came in, all in the same attire, and wondering why our entire staff appeared like witches and warlocks in their black graduation robes.
- Lining up, nervously, as the stands filled and we watched our graduation begin... we walked across the field with locked arms, broke off as we exited the blue and white arch, stampeded attractively forward to our seats (I, being a speaker, sat on stage) and sat through what seemed to be a remarkably short graduation ceremony - shortest I've been to! Millhollen's speech was inspirational, but less 'him' than I thought it would be. The other pleasantries were pretty well done, but I felt like the principal missed the point on a lot of things. For myself, I was feeling nervous so, while I didn't tremble, I did stutter a bit - however, I think it went over well as a speech 'for the people.' I bucked Interlake in style and everyone caught the fever - sweet!
- Cascading out into the monolithic crowd of students and well-wishers as they said their goodbyes. Heathy took a lot of pictures of me with some of the friends I think I'll never see again, as well as my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle. Overall, it was a crazyfest because of so many people flooding the Commons and figuring out where they were going next. I was tired already and it wasn't even Senior Party!
- Out of the mayhem and into the odd... when I stripped away all my grad attire, donned my dad's coat for warmth, and realized that my heels weren't the best for partying, we were off to get searched for the senior party. I was pretty pissed off that they took my bag even though it only had lipstick in it (geez) but then started talking to Molly and all the people from our senior class so as to ignore it. It was a lot of waiting for the buses, but once they arrived, I found myself on the all guy bus with just a few Russian girls and me. Luckily, Goru was there and we chatted the entire way - yay!
- Our first location was a boat. (I'm on a boat, mothafucka'!) It was more awesome than I'd thought because I didn't originally like the idea of a boat, but the ride was pretty smooth and once people had eaten their fill and we started dancing, it was pretty good. I was sad that there wasn't more time to dance since they were actually playing pretty good songs (Pitbullll!) but then came time for the hypnotist and the crazy show of popular people doing insane things while under the influence of belief. It was hilarious, but long, and so when we finally returned to shore, it was already late.
- I was falling asleep on the bus as we headed to our next location - Family Fun Center. Although I like playing games, I was just too tired for this place by that point. I shot dinosaurs with Nitsu and then promptly proceeded to take a pretty long nap on a table near the food area. When I woke up again, I walked around and played some other games (including beating Omar at Tekken - yesss) but ultimately just wanted to go home. When we arrived back in the morning, I was so disoriented that nothing even made sense anymore...

And that was the day and night of graduation. Overall, I'm pretty psyched that we're out now - as Molly and Kelsey and I conjectured in the early morning at Family Fun Center, there were a lot of people who thoroughly enjoyed high school... and then there were people who didn't. I liked some parts of high school, but overall it was more complaint-worthy than memorable. Happiness ebbs and flows though, maybe when I look back on this in twenty years, I'll be saying 'yep, those were the best years of my life...' Haha - doubt it.

Memoirian Highlights: Prom!!

If you wondered why I was away for the entire weekend, just look at the title bar.
This weekend was supremely exciting! Exciting and exhausting and semi-sickening... guh. But now, all fun is completed and the work has returned. So, in one last ditch effort to procrastinate, here comes my Memoirian Highlight of prom:

Buyer's remorse and sweet-smelling soap drenched me the Friday before prom; I had attempted to ready myself for a girly care weekend but, instead, mistakenly bought expensive products with reckless teenage abandon. To make matters worse, a new Sidekick had arrived in the mail, only adding to my horrendous dilettante nature...
As I fell into a deep consumerism-based depression (shedding tears and making promises), I was reassured from all directions that I need only understand that money is to be used and we can clench and move on. So, I breathed in a water-laden sigh and dozed off to sleep with the feeling of worthlessness still pounding into my chest.
***
Showering the next morning reinvigorated my sensibilities - hey, it isn't the end of the world, I declared. Smelling of warm vanilla rose and aloe vera, I plodded out of the bathroom in a pair of basketball shorts and sleeping shirt, ready to face a hair appointment and every horrifying makeup calamity I could imagine ("no, that's not burning your eyes, it's SUPPOSED to do that!"). Phoneless (because we were just learning how to use the Sidekick and my father had to proffer it, like a bewildered child, to the technicians at the T-Mobile store...), I trundled along old Redmond roads to Hairmasters for Raymond's trim job.
Halfway through the haircut, I decided curls were much better, and I was subsequently turned into the sexy hair beast with a little gel and a blowdryer. Hopping from the chair, I realized that I was quite late and hurried to call Natanya - only then did I find that she didn't know the time to meet. Calamitous from the get-go, this day would prove to be one of missed appointments and harried souls. Time to saddle up for the ride.
Fortunately, Abby needed about 30 minutes anyway, so when Natanya and I finally barreled into her house, we were completely ready for the makeup. While we were poked and primped, asked for dress colors and jewelry choices, scoured for makeup knowledge and nail polish use, Abby and her mom kindly instructed us on the motion of what average teenage girls apparently know by instinct - I must admit, I was bewildered. My makeup came out silvery and mercifully not too thick (it also came late; we were already running late when we received a phone call from 'Manda that she was IN SEATTLE and not going to make it to lunch on time - whoopsies) while Natanya's was a little too much for her liking. After making some more hassled phone calls, I took a deep breath and decided not to be flustered. The day would play out as it would - nothing to worry about. Regardless, I sped home, tossed some things into a bag, and hurriedly plopped into my dress. No time to waste!
Josh, who had been "cooking in his car" outside, came in to pick me up and then (after quick 'hi's' and 'bye's' to my parents) we rushed off to Maggiano's for a little Italian lunch that no one was completely ready for - eating that early and then preparing to eat again was a challenge. However, when we arrived first, there were few people sitting around, and henceforward we were immediately seated. I munched on bread like a small rat villain until others arrived (Natanya and her date were also late, but not so late as Amanda and Justin - we shake our heads at them). When the food was finally brought, my half-size of fettucine alfredo and creamy potato chicken soup proved to be too much for me, and Josh had to finish off the second half. They were all excellent (and reasonably priced), however!
Through with the lunch and the speaking of attractive upper lips (Justin...) and Epik High (Amanda) and general laughter at the new guest from Liberty (Jacob), we left the restaurant to go our separate ways; Josh and I returned to my house for a pickup of scents and movies, then ventured to gather Kita and Mr. Waymon from the house down the street. They looked sharp; Waymon sporting pinstripes and Kita in his straight black tux. Josh and I looked quite sweet in our matching teal colors, and my silver makeup and nails (now not so bumpy after endless repainting moments) looked less out of place with a teal dress than a yellow t-shirt.
There was no time to lose as we climbed back into Josh's VW Jetta and sped off to Bree's house - paparazzi met us both at the door and once the rest of the group showed up. We were casually early, but others came just as the limo pulled up and we were literally steaming in our formal attire. The unusual amount of sun in Washington was promising - at least for the girls in dresses. The guys did not fair so well... All said and done, however, we were ready as the car pulled up to take us and our South American driver opened the door to a new experience. My first limo ride!
For most of the ride, I didn't even feel as if we were driving. We caroused in the back - Bree, Jacob, Natanya, Andi, Kelsey, Nicole, Josh, Kita, Waymon, and I - and played with the cups and drank the communal water... It was a fun ride down to the Botanical Gardens, where we were to get our pictures done. Once there, however, I must admit that there was some tension in finding the photographers. No one knew how to describe where they were, so, as if we were on an unnecessary manhunt through the jungles of flora, people lost patience and began to whine. Luckily, we found 'Manda, Justin, Ka-chan and the rest of their group relatively shortly, and the photography ensued! The bright glaring sunlight made our pictures more dramatic but also more squinty... oh well, our shining group was once again photographed from every angle (as well as Josh and I, and finally myself alone). Following this quick meet-and-greet, we barely saw Ka-chan at all for the rest of the night. Our group was lost in their own individualized party, and, as we clambered back into the limosine, we were ready to set the rest of the night ablaze.
The driver, who had been sleeping in the back at the Gardens, promptly took us to Bree's cousins' Seattle apartment - and proved he was a ninja in disguise along the way. The tragedy of failed air conditioning on one of the rare days of Washington heat had startled us to the point of asking the driver to fix it. So, without any of us noticing, he pulled into the divider on the freeway, ran back, and fixed the controls! We were completely taken by surprise, a few girls even yelling out that he had abandoned the car. We laughed the rest of the way into Seattle.
Once at the apartment, another frustration turned into peals of laughter. At the door, we were to be buzzed up by Bree's mysterious cousins. Yet the door, at first, would not open. So, finally, Josh pulled hard on the door, yelling at it to open - and it flung open with a crash! Laughing, we sprawled into the hallway and then into the elevator. Just as we thought we were safe, Bree told us. She didn't know the condo number. She thought what they had said was 410, so we journeyed to floor 4 to look for said condo. We knocked on the door, even noting that it might already be open. A kind old lady stepped out. Seeing us all in formal attire, she asked us what the occassion was, and we, all a little stunned, asked her whether this was the correct apartment. She informed us that we were perhaps mistaken and that there were no 400 apartments - this was room 10 on floor 4. Someone behind us suggested that maybe it was FLOOR 10, and we all collectively smacked ourselves in the face. Once again, a giggling trolley of teenagers trekked back into the elevator. And then we forgot Waymon. Nicole asked, and yet he did not appear. Yet, once on the 10th floor, we found that he had been there all along! Showing off his opportunistic chaps, he had taken an earlier elevator than the rest of the group. Needless to say, our raucous guffaws must have made quite the impression on Bree's cousins...
They're awesome apartment, overlooking the whole of Seattle, was stunning from the onset. We ate amazing chicken (which I mistaked for turkey, as is per my idiocy sometimes) and watched the sun set over the city... When tired, we sprawled out over the couch as Bree snapped photos (and consequently caused that cute picture above - thanks, Bree!) It seemed like the day was done, yet the night was just about to begin. Once again, our group was pictured and prodded, and we finally left the condo to cruise the city for about 20 more minutes before finally heading to the big event: prom.
Prom at the Space Needle was pretty amazing; the views were great, the desserts were delicious, and the circular nature of the dance hall was enigmatic and exciting. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like a dance.
Half the senior class showed up way later than expected, and by then the groove had been taken out of our little clan. I didn't even dance with Josh once (though we exchanged snide remarks about it) and we were all looking for people that hadn't shown up yet. We were interested to see Ms. Corso, O'Byrne in formal attire, Goldstein, and other various teachers, but that really didn't set the mood for dancing. So, instead, we hung around the observation deck and later mosied on down to Seattle Center for what I consider the best part of prom night - rides!!
I was a little tiffed that we weren't going to experience our last dance (literally and figuratively) in full, but it definitely wasn't going the way I had expected anyway. So, as it grew later, we headed down to Seattle Center and part of our group spread out to enjoy the little carnival. I didn't go on the bumper cars, but then we went down the huge inflatable slide (as we did when we were little kids) and around on the carousel, which got some awesome photographic moments. We also played Tekken (I was beat.. and sad) and tried our luck at getting stuffed animal prizes (what failures we are...) In general, once the limo returned to us, we were all tuckered out and ready to fall into a prom-induced sleep.
The limo ride back was somewhat of a blur... a lot of darkness and playing with the neon lights and etcetera. When we returned to Bree's house, there were cupcakes and other goodies to keep us awake for a few more hours, but once the movie choices got contentious and Josh had to take most people home, I began to fall asleep. The night ended shortly - and with no booze or drugs.
***
The next morning, we gathered around the last vestiges of what was a great party night. We noshed on the leftover foods (which was maybe not the best idea, in retrospect...) and played around because we had woken up 2 hours earlier than was predicted. Lighters were tripped into 6" long flames (haha, Jacob), phones were messed with, people were sat upon (once again, Jacob)... overall, the aftermath of a great evening had come and gone, and now we were all in a muddle of glittery makeup and hairspray. Overall, it was a good prom.

So, that very long entry was prom 2009 for us. Yippee! Everything worked out a lot better than when we were stressed out and planning it. Anyway, to continue with my posting tradition, here is the item I am grateful for.

I am grateful for...
Psychology textbooks. In which I can get lost, be a nerd, and actually perhaps understand our cognitive functions a little better in the real world.

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Predictive Text

So, if I were to title this blog post fully, it would be called: Totems Got Talent & the Predictive Text of My Life. Because for some reason whenever something clairvoyant or similarly hinting at a future time, I (rather than calling it foreshadowing) call it my "predictive text." Aren't we so glad to be in a modern age?

Memoirian Highlight: Totems Got Talent
The afternoon was a lazy bump on the log of my life (and as melodramatically cliche as that sounds, it was the only fitting introduction). I bummed around after I heard tennis practice was canceled, yet again, due to hurricane-like rains. Seriously? We've been outside for a full practice perhaps 2 out of 16 days of tennis now. Wonderful, wonderful Washington.
But the "gift of time," as Ms. Keeney deemed it, was thrust upon me, and I had only the inclination to do the responsible senior student thing: sit on my bed, reading and knitting. I probably should have worked on my portfolio or studied up for some test that would possess my soul in the coming days, but instead I just piddled my time away making string into fabric and finishing up the last 100 pages of Fool.
Eventually, it was time to rise from my aching seated position and wander off down the street to Sammamish High School for Ka-chan's Totems Got Talent show. Sometimes high school ideas are not bad, sometimes they are not good, but generally they are always fun to watch. So I loped from the bed to my car and drove in the direction of the sun, which, by the way, was directly in my face because I am too short and therefore the protective covering did not reach my eyes. I really need to get sunglasses - curse you awe-inspiring natural occurances!
As I reached the school, I was still wrapped up in my literary world, and so after I bought the ticket, I began reading in my seat. Frantically, and with a passion, I finished the final 20 pages of the book and was satisfied just as the lights came down for Peter and Ali.
As our hosts, they were a soft-spoken comedy act and just funny enough not to upstage the performers. There were many many musical acts - most of them amazing, actually. There was a violinist who really made the canaries sing with her performance of The Hot Canary (she won 1st place), a boy who used the entire guitar as both a percussion and strummable instrument (who won 2nd), and a tap dancing tiny chick who was sparkly and beautiful and I don't know how she got her legs to move like that (who took 3rd). The other acts were inspiring as well; both hiphop and interpretive dancers, giving us a feel for the entirety of the dance world, a bevy of singers from jazz choir and other hidden talent pools, speed painting and comedy from Ka-chan, Mr. Leffler going down on Mr. Kendrick (who was a judge, and actually super awesome with his obviously faked German accent and Diet Coke montage) and even a lip-synching Pokemon master - which may have been a little stretch for the judges. Other than Kendrick, the judges were Gingrich (an older man with a dry wit and a round intonation) and Renee (a blond woman who was clearly the "nicest" of the panel). Overall, the night ran one hour longer than expected, and I was set to marvel at the colored lights flashing on the back of the stage as my starvation muscles clamped down over my stomach. I hurried out to give Ka-chan a goodbye hug and then rushed home to garbanzo beans and dal.

Right now it's foggy outside, but I must tell you that the clouds will eventually part and perhaps we will see shining day this afternoon! I have now the conviction to go to Cheap Wine and Poetry, which is totally awesome because I love literary readings and am kicking myself for not being more involved in Hugo House as of late. Anyway, other than that, life is pretty much a monotonous hole that I'm trying to read my way out of (finished "Death of a Salesman" and Fool in the last two days - along with two knitted squares of variable difficulty)

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Memoirian Highlights: Part Two

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!

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Memoirian Highlights: Part One

I think I am going to do a monstro-post after I finish with my theater presentation outline - hold on a second.
Back! Alright, so I was debating all day whether I should post an omnibus post about the weekend or if I should split it up into specific days [I know, why do I think about these things that much? Probably because I'm a crazy person] and finally decided that I can suffer through writing a longer post as long as I split it into sections. So... here it goes!

*DISCLAIMER* After a conviction of the heart on Friday, I have decided to write personal narratives in a style I call "Memoirian" because it combines my metaphoric-physical perception of self with the true events [a.k.a. my fictitious life and my real one intersect - sweet!]

Vendredi
I woke with a stutter. My lips pursed together and I let out a long wheeze - like the slow death of an old car. I rolled over once, buried my nose into the red pillow before tossing off the sheets. I woke up too early, I thought, though, truly, my issue was going to bed too late. After a week of WASLing, I had grown accustomed to 9am wakeup calls and elaborate mango smoothie breakfasts.
As I stumbled into a simple dress and tanktop, pressing a comb haphazardly through frizzy hair, my stomach howled for morning food, which today meant a buttered English muffin. I groaned.
After riding into the back parking lot, circling hawk-like for an exclusive space near the tennis courts, I grudgingly put my hand on the parking brake and stepped into the school. Catcalls and curses in the hallway over waking up at this godforsaken hour passed by and, all of a sudden, it was 7:30am and we were herded into the cafeteria for a special project.
"Welcome to Group IV!" called Sheriff O'Byrne, once Principal Principal now morphed into a solidly built cowboy with a megaphone. Interlake's day of forensic crime scene investigation was about to be underway. As we huddled with friends, muttering about our misfortune, the Sheriff rounded us up and separated us into hesitant groups.
I found myself sitting at Table 3 of Group IV, waiting with a surly expression as other layabouts congealed around me. I was not pleased - though I suppose it beat going to English class. We were then given our case (armed robbery of the accountant) and were shuttled off to prescribed classrooms.
The remainder of the day was a blur of mindless activity; from H.Q. Thompson's, we fingerprinted suspects, used bullet trajectory to recreate the scene, and took an extended lunch break (at which we went to buy cupcakes for Ms. Dossett and other burned out children). Just like true lawmen, by the end of the day we were ready to crash and I took refuge in Madame's just in time to catch the conclusion of Moliere.
Though it wasn't a poor day, it was extremely dull. I was charged up to go to tennis practice (after mistakenly missing it the day before - eck) but then "LA PLUIE DES DIEUX!" came crashing down. Hail feathered our courts in a blanket of white quickly swept away by rain - I stood outside and laughed, pseudo-searching for the coach while truly just watching the macho baseball guys jump away in fright of the falling stones.
Needless to say, practice was canceled.
So, I went instead to chill at Kita's for about an hour and a half, talking as we do, and then gracefully left to my own home in preparedness for the evening. I was ecstatic to be going to see Vikram Chandra at My Avatar (the final leg of the Hugo House Literary Series this year) but, as in previous literary series, I was blown away by the entirety of the show.
We got into downtown Seattle and went to the Town Hall; once I got inside, the columns and church-like windows, the pews covered in teal upholstery, and the semi-circular amphitheatrical feel got my pen moving as people migrated to their seats. First came The Maldives, a pretty awesome folk band that was the source of jokes all throughout the night (from the director at Hugo House, commenting on numbers [8], their instruments [banjos and harmonicas], and their beards [5/8 of them had beards!]) As they calmed down the audience, the Hugo House director pranced up on stage and joyfully opened for the winner of the Youth New Works contest - a senior at Roosevelt who was more than a little nervous. As she read her work, I considered my own writing dream and the trials and failures that would come with it. Though the smear of jealousy painted my face for a second (ok, maybe a minute) it passed as I eased into her story and thought of how many great writers are coming into being.
The next thing I noticed: patterns. The winner of the New Works contest for adults, a bubbly woman with an acting frame of mind and stock-straight posture, was wearing a patterned dress that matched the jacquard (maybe?) print of the carpeting. The director at Hugo House was also wearing a patterned outfit - complete with stockings that looked more Urban Outfitters than Armani Exchange. I appreciated the color and life as each of the winners completed their stories (both about growing up, both wildly different in every way) and the Maldives were asked back to the stage to intro for the next amazing personality - Christa Bell.
I didn't know what I was getting into when I first came to the show. I really didn't. Maybe it's because, in the back of my mind, literary readings still connotate to coffee shops and dive bars where people snap instead of applaud and everyone is smoking. No! Christa Bell, a beautiful black feminist poet, taught us heartily about Sheism that night, taking her new scripture continuing on CoochieMagik and playing with the audience. She experimented with singing, vaginal hand gestures, and coochieomancy (the art of asking a question and then opening up a woman's legs to - surprise! - know the answer). I wish I could say I was that confidant on stage - but I honestly can't.
As she left the stage to applause and scattered standing ovations, in between wondering about what the older couple in front of me had thought (they hadn't responded at all throughout the entire thing) and trying to jot down mental notes about technique for my graduation speech, the Hugo House director announced that "she felt sorry for the guy who had to follow that!" And here, coming out on stage, was Vikram Chandra.
I had not seen him clean-shaven or with glasses before, nor had I envisioned him as a portly man. But he was all of these things, and he was still brilliant. I believe that some writers are also performers and others are less so - Vikram is of the latter category. But his prose sang, a draft worthy of my praise (and Da's hard-earned cash, as I bought another of his novels outside at intermission). I closed my eyes part of the way through to envision the glittering red trapeze artist falling to her death. That moment was when I felt my dream as a writer legitimized. It was inspirational.
Vikram segued into the intermission, retreated into the audience with a kind smile, and I began to jot down more notes. That was when I decided to work in Memoirian style - I didn't have to be literal all the time. Memoirs could be flashy and fun and whatever I wanted (plus, I much consider this style more like reality; we combine countless portions of fiction into our daily lives anyway). I briefly looked up from the page I was scribbling, which consisted of the conversation of two women behind me talking about language barriers and general oddballities, and there were The Maldives, gracing the stage with their gangly limbs. They introduced Cheap Wine and Poetry (which I might go to this week!) and then sashayed into playing two more songs before the final reader stepped out on stage: Jennifer Finney Boylan.
A transgendered man who became a woman, Jennifer from James, read a portion of memoir about her life in two worlds. She had apparently known Vikram Chandra at Johns Hopkins in grad school and read about him in her story (and made me smile at the strange synergy between my bringing a Hopkins bag with me from the shoe cage and their stories) as well as a porcupine in an engine and a convention of ventriloquists. She also played electric harp and the piano, sang a song that she hadn't ever performed for an audience, and generally lit up the stage with wonder. I was just so in awe of all the guests that night, I came home exclaiming that things were awesome and ready to start writing for miles and miles of paper.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep.

Ok, ok, I know... I was going to make this a monstro-post, but that didn't seem to work out once I got in the groove of Memoirian language. So, there. I have officially changed the name of this post to Part One and will hence commence with Part Two - Samedi [a.k.a. Saturday in French, in case you didn't realize that Vendredi meant Friday in French and that this was the logical next step of a Part Two post]. See you there!

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