Friday, June 25, 2010

A Needed Breather...

It's been a rough day at work. Cases that are more complicated and emotionally draining than I have dealt with before seem to be pouring in and I can feel my mind shutting down in an effort to block the experience before it reaches my heart. I have been pretty good about leaving emotionally distressing experiences in my cubicle when I go home at night but today after a client said, "Amanda, what has happened to this planet? How did it get so out of control out there?" I know some serious distractions will be in order to keep my mind off the woe's of the world. My concern is that I am going to seek out these distractions by way of J. Crew, Nordstrom, or Anthropologie. Especially when this long coveted gem is on sale:

{www.jcrew.com}

Knowing that my shopping allowance has been spent I am trying to focus on my other distractions that are ultimately more fulfilling and far less guilt inducing. First up bingo-karoake at the Greenwood Senior Center (so much rowdier than it seems) followed by a trip to fair Canada for a weekend of friends and 13.1miles of running fun.

Hope everyone has a happy, relaxing, and rejuvinating weekend.

OLIT

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Gotta Blame it on Something...

It has been 12 days since my last post and I know that this is unacceptable. I try to take responsibility for my wrong doings, I really do, but today as I come to my dear readers in an attempted act of contrition apologetic words escape me. Instead of "please forgive me" all I can hear repeating over and over in my head are the wise words of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus (or Mili Vanilli for those of you not in the know). These words, a pet maxim of mine, are "... whatever you do, don't put the blame on you. Blame it on the rain."

When I moved to Seattle in the summer of 2009 I was well aware of the city's gloomy reputation but always being one to give the benefit of the doubt I ignored warning and dove in with abounding optimistism about our future togheter. Who needs the sun? Rain boots are hot!

A year later I can honestly say that my time here has been filled with bliss. The only real issues to have arisen stem from the shoddy roads, terrible infrastructure, and clueless motorists that plague the streets rather than the damp climate and my new vitamin D difficiency. But even saints have their limits and these past few weeks known around here as "June-uary" have really taken its toll and left me feeling miserable. It is a drizzle induced despondency that not even a good cathartic cry during Toy Story 3 could ease. Finally today the sun has emerged and we are promised a high of 72 degrees! But instead of sighing with relief and allowing the healing to begin I am filled with panic. Tomorrow we're probably right back where we were yesterday (which was a summer solstice with no sun!!) and so what am I doing inside? I must immediately go hiking, running, kayaking, and sun bathing (these white legs are surely not helping my quest to fight off old maid status!!). At any moment these rays of warmth will disappear indefinitely!




I know I am not alone in these feelings of gloom, doom, and subsequent anxiety. I suppose at some point I will have to weigh out the mental taxation of the weather against my own love of the city and decide "do I stay or do I go"? Until then I must admit that it is nice to have a scape goat in common with the majority of Seattle-ites. Tomorrow when once again I am feeling lathargic, angsty, and self-pitying all at once and someone says "Hey. What's wrong with you?" it's comforting to know that all I need to do is cast a finger towards the sky and say "I'm sorry. It's not me, it's the rain." And the thing about this particular scape goat is that "the rain don't mind and the rain don't care. You gotta blame it on something. So blame it on the rain."

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Beer Me!

One of the best things about living on top of this hill...



Is a view like this...


And a great thing about riding your bike while living on a hill like this is the thrill of going down it. Unfortunately what goes down must come up again if she wants to get home to devour her roommate's homemade fajitas. And this is the biggest drawback I have found to living atop this handsome hill...

I was recently gifted a hand-me-down bike and it was not until today that I had the time (and the helmet) to get out there and try it out. I had been renting hybrid bicycles from a local bike shop and these bikes had been dreamy. When I moved to Seattle I brought with me my beautiful, apple red, Schwinn beach cruiser (named Harvey, thank you very much). Unfortunately, after being tied to the roof of my sport utility wagon, Harvey is a little worse for the ware and his 3 speeds are not quite enough to get me around Seattle. The bike that I was gifted is a hybrid bike similar to the ones I had been renting. The big difference? My hybrid bike has a distinct lack of upkeep but a definite excess of rust. But I figured since it's a hybrid it will ride with the same ease that the rental did. Oh ho ho! What a foolhardy little troll I can be! With confidence in my "new" bike I decided I would make its inaugural ride's destinatation be Magnolia. To my non Seattle-ite readers this means ALL the way down the west side of the hill across a bridge and then TADA another hill to ride UP! Well getting to Magnolia was not a problem but once I was I came to find out that my new friend is prone to making mountains out of mole hills. The slightest incline felt like a spinning class from hell. Shins, hammies, and lungs were burning! Defeated, I turned around. Back at the base of Queen Anne I had a mountain to ascend. The bike, currently nameless, and I had an awkward and silent (I use silent loosely as the huffing and puffing were defeaning) walk up the hill. Now sitting here in my apartment, sweating something fierce, and doubting my level of fitness (I ran 16 miles on Saturday for goodness sake but this nearly killed me?? How can it be?) I am craving a cold one to soothe the aches and bruised ego. Me and Mr. Nameless Bike are not on the best of terms. Perhaps once the wheezing subsides we'll be on speaking terms again, but I don't think I will be taking him down the hill until he decides to get a major tune up!


Exhausted,
OLIT

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Recipe for a 100% Wonderful Day...

This morning started off a little unsure of itself. I had a 5:45am running date with a friend and this commitment loomed over me even as I slept. I woke up at 2:15am, 3:23am, and 4:35am thinking it was time to get up and cursing the day I became a slave to running. When 5:15 actually did roll around my mood was not much better. I reached for my phone at least 4 times to call Mikaela and cancel but each time the excuses I thought up in my head were not good enough to say out loud despite my best attempts to perfect them. And so with no call to tell her otherwise Mikaela arrived at 5:49am (4 minutes late!) and I came to find out that she was entering into this 8 mile expedition with a similar mindset. To make a long story short: she came, we ran, the rain conquered. When I finished I looked like a drowned labradoodle. My pony tail was one giant rat's nest with odd frizz-curls framing my face but luckily an accompanying doodle-stench was absent. I say luckily because there was no time to shower. I hurriedly (and somewhat violently) brushed the rats out to create a lovely fluff-ball on my head, stuck a headband on forementioned fluff-ball, and packed up left-overs from last nights foray in Moosewood Restaruant: New Classics and ran out the door.

It being Seattle the weather on June 2nd is nothing but doom and gloom but for some reason today I decided that I would eat while I worked in order to afford myself a walk to Pike's Place. So after eating my polenta and Sicilian Stir-Fry (the rosemary, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, and red wine are what make it delightfully Sicilian) I grabbed my umbrella and headed out. I picked up a coffee from the tourist laden original Starbucks and got down to business -- scoping out the flowers!

I did not title this entry "Recipe for a 100% Wonderful Day" because I have bad hair and woke up earlier than I would have liked so that I could run 8 miles in the rain. But I am sure that you, my ever so clever reader, know this. You have patiently been reading so that you too can know the secret to a 100% wonderful day and finally we have arrived. Hold on to your fedoras because here it is...

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PEONIES at $10 for 6 stems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know!

Did I tell you or what?

Take a minute. Process.

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Now, get in your car / hop on your bike / board that bus and get down to the market.

Or just enjoy this picture. Can you spot the peonies??



Feeling sunny in spite of the surrounding stratocumulus',
OLIT