Random Address

I just have a few words to say to several random people encountered since yesterday...

To the guy who asked me if I "like Mexicans" and then complemented the color of my... skin. Please admire the skin on my FACE. Or don't wonder why I'm not jumping up and down at the chance to dance a second song with you. If you want to stare at people's... skin... in other areas, go to a club! If you came to a Salsa PRACTICA, behave like a responsible Salsero and stop making women feel uncomfortable with your questions and your eyes.

To the bicyclists riding to work. You are NOT a car! You might THINK that you are, but really, please do stick to the designated area designed just for you on the SIDE of the street. Traffic downtown is pretty bad as is. Cycle in YOU. And we have to try and get around without hitting the car next to us. You might wonder why on earth we would want to pass you. But here's the news: you aren't as fast as you think! Going green is wonderful and all, but until ALL of us are riding bikes on the roads please display your greenness in the BIKE LANE. (Title speak to you at all?! No? They drew a picture for ya. Look down once in a while.)

To the wonderful starbucks people who make my coffee in the morning just right: Thank you!

To Inna. You're as good as it gets! Who else can I call in the middle of the night and ask if I can crash at their place just because I'm too tired to drive home? You're appreciated girl.

It's funny how it takes paragraphs to vent and only a couple sentences to say something good to someone... You'd think it would be the other way around. I'll be working on that.

On Parking

If you already live in Seattle and work downtown, this post is not for you, as you probably take a bus to work. But if you don't live on the bus line, your company doesn't pay for parking, or you are in the interviewing process and don't know the city very well, you are most likely wondering if people really pay $26 to park all day. And the answer to that, of course, is no. They don't. (And if they do, I officially judge them...)

For about six months this problem wasn't applicable to me. I either took a bus or train to work and never had to worry about parking. But than a colleague fell in love with Salsa and tried to get everyone in the department to sign up for it. Nobody did, except me. The irony is that she only lasted a couple months. I became addicted. If you've ever done Salsa in Seattle, you'll note that the places to go out and dance aren't exactly located in prime locale. Very soon I realized that on days I have class I better take my car, or else...

For a while I parked in the cheapest "early bird" garage that crossed my path when getting off the freeway. In before 9:30, 11 hours maximum, $12 for the day. At first I parked twice a week. Then I started spending the night at a friends' house in downtown, so parking days went up to 4. Then there was a "lazy day" when I just didn't "feel like" taking the bus. So I parked pretty much every day. The total came to $60. Not that much, if you are making anything over a starters' salary. But still pretty stupid, for parking...

A wise person I know lives by the quote "people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan." I realized I gotta plan something fast, or my budget will fail miserably. So I came up with several options to lower the parking bill.

1. The garage that's NOT on your way off the freeway costs $10 before 9:00am for 10 hours. It's located on Union, between second st. and third st. Pros: This lowers your weekly parking bill by $10. (Save $520 a year and get a pair of cute shoes!) Cons: They are downright mean. If you stay over 10 hours by even 5 minutes they WILL charge you the extra $15.00. And if you try to beg for mercy the manager will yell about how irresponsible you are. (But WILL refund the money if it's really only 5 minutes and your first time. This time around I figured $15 bucks is worth the embarrassment, but I never came back to that garage...) I'm sure that if you do your research, you will find another cheap lot. I hear the one by Pike Place Market has good prices too, but I personally have never parked there.

2. If you aren't afraid to walk a block to a bus line, or if you work closer to Capitol Hill, go ahead and park in the garage on Pike and Summit. Pros: Their early bird special is $6.50 for 12 hours as long as you're in by 10:00a.m. Walk a block to Pine to catch a bus downtown and you save $27.50 a week. ($1430 a year -- enough for two months rent on a crappy one-bedroom, or a pair of Prada boots.) Cons: it will take you slightly longer to get to work than if you parked in the garage of your office building. Waking up 10 minutes earlier might be required.

3. Use this one only if you live in Northern Queen Anne. As you might know, Queen Anne Ave. becomes residential at Smith St. Parking there is un-zoned and free! Grab a spot, and catch bus 3 or 4 downtown. This is the only place that I've figured out so far, but I am pretty positive that there are more streets like this in Seattle. You just have to do a little homework and figure out which one works for you. Pros: free parking! Cons: quite a bus ride to downtown, and probably inaccessible during winter ice and snow days.

4. This solution worked best for me. Use it if you are commuting from the south (as in way further south than Tukwila...) and have time between work and whatever activity required you to bring a car after work (like Salsa.) Instead of driving into downtown, I get off exit 156 and park at Interurban Ave. Park and Ride. It just so happens that the exact time I get there bus 161 pulls up - only runs during peak hours and stops right in front of my building. You can also catch 150 - runs more often, but takes a little longer to get to downtown. For me, there are actually no cons with this option. Parking is free. (I save $60 a week, $3120 a year...) and I actually get to work faster than I would driving, because the bus takes the carpool lane, and I can't. And if you drive from the south, you know that you are guaranteed to hit traffic at the Michigan Curves. Of course, getting your car after work might take a little longer than taking an elevator down, but I have time to kill between work and Salsa anyways. So it works out.

Let me know if you have parking tricks people should know about! Leave a comment.

My Observant Creativity:

Corner Bugs

Ok, so my motivation came right back after a brisk walk to Banana Republic and back. If you work in downtown, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Every day you see them working the corners. Stop thinking bad stuff. I'm talking about the GreenPeace/ FeedTheChildren/ EnvironmentalProtection/ OtherVeryMuchNeededButNotOnTheStreetsOfSeattle charity volunteers. They are officially annoying. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not against charities or charitable giving. I contribute on a regular basis to a number of them that I find useful and beneficial to causes that I support. I'm not even against the particular charities that I mentioned above that the volunteers work for.

What I am against is having to cross every intersection trying desperately not to look up and make eye contact with that very volunteer! It is uncomfortable. It makes you feel like the meanest person ever. (It's also a hazard, as when you are looking down, you are likely to miss the poles coming at you out of nowhere until you meet with them head first). Their persistence is bordering on harassment. If they do catch your eye, they will bug the money out of you. Literally. You are bound to be talked to, asked your name, told about their charity and asked to sign up for a $50 a month donation. For the rest of your life.

What they don't understand is this: the turnover at their companies is high enough that there is a new one of them on a different corner every day. However, the people passing are still all the same! And even if each person working in Seattle was going to contribute to a given charity, it's very likely that they already have before you even got hired! None of us have money enough to sign up for a monthly $50 deduction for the rest of our lives with every single volunteer that we pass each day on our way to lunch! I'm not trying to be rude. I just want to walk to lunch once without being harassed by the corner bugs!

If you are a corner bug reading this, don't get mad at me and leave nasty comments. Try to get another job. If it happens to be in Seattle, you'll see where I'm coming from. FAST. I promise.

Writers' Block

I have officially hit writers' block. And I never thought I'd say that :) Lucky for me, a little pre-planning got me a list of potential things that I'd want to write about eventually. The problem: none of them seem appealing at the moment. So if this post seems forced and unnatural, it's because it is. I guess I will just start a tradition of posting lists once in a while, and start with a list of things I'm currently bummed about.

1. Inna is not calling me back with her work schedule. I was going to have a mini-birthday party tonight at her place. Can't let anyone know until she gets back to me and it's already 1pm.

2. Even if Inna gets back to me, the GayPride parade and events are closing off all the streets around Halo. So we probably won't have anywhere to park.

3. If I cancel my mini-party that means I wasted 1/4 a tank of Gas driving to Seattle today.

4. I'm officially jealous. Of my parents. Because their tickets to Latvia have nice seats that they got to choose, fly directly through Copenhagen, have extra leg room, include 2 pieces of luggage each, are fully refundable, and the flight is 13 hours long. The airline will choose my seats, I'm flying through Chicago and Warsaw (not to anyone flying international: Do NOT fly through Chicago!), my flight will be 19 hours and all I will take is a carry on. And my ticket cost $100 more than theirs and aren't refundable.

5. I miss some of my old friends. Very old. And I'm pretty sure that I've lost all their contact information except MySpace, which it looks like they've last checked on April 11. So talking to them is probably not happening for a while...

6. I'm realizing that Salsa is hard! I wish I could go back to the time when I didn't think about anything and just danced. I swear I danced better back then!

7. I can't wait to have a career that I want, yet am completely unmotivated to work towards it.

8. My cell phone sucks. It needs to die.

9. I feel like I'm a complainer and project the wrong image to the world :)

10. I have writer's block.

Storm

I was "inspired" to write about this on Sunday, but hesitated because I already posted that day. I guess I should have, because yesterday I was too exhausted to write anything at all. Interestingly enough, I still have the same topic on my mind today. In the past, I'd think of something, but would end up writing about an entirely different thing the next day. I guess somebody really needs to read this though. So here goes.

On my way back from Mars Hill church (great sermons! check them out at http://www.marshillchurch.org/) I had the urge all of a sudden to turn off music in my car and just have a quiet moment to look around, and notice the sky (note to those who don't know me: music is NEVER off when I'm driving). When I looked up, there was a rainbow -- always reminding me of God's love for people. But even though it was encouraging to see, the rainbow did not catch my attention. What held my gaze was the ugly yellowish color of the storm cloud, with yellow puffy little clouds on top. I wondered why God would choose that particular moment for me to look up. There was nothing beautiful about the sky above. I paid no attention to the sunlight all around me, until I realized that I am driving head first into a storm.

And everything was gone. The sky became one big black blob, and the rain poured so hard that I couldn't see the stoplights of the car in front of me. This went on for about twenty minutes. Nothing but loud, heavy rain beating on my car and completely blocking my view. I'm not usually scared to drive in the rain, but I slowed down significantly and said a quick prayer for protection. (Nothing happened by the way so don't expect a miracle accident story.) I guess it was overwhelming that the rain came so sudden and strong.

Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore of driving in such conditions, the storm suddenly stopped and ahead of me I saw a glimpse of beautiful, clear, blue sky. The clouds were nothing like the ones I left behind. The colors were vibrant and cheerful. Although I couldn't see it yet, I could tell that the sun was shining out there. And this time I really noticed all the corners of the sky that had its' rays reflecting on it! While the rain drops got further and further apart, I kept thinking about the analogy that I could draw from this picture. I thought about how in order to appreciate the sun and see the beautiful clouds you have to drive through a storm. That that's how it is in life sometimes. But right when I actually saw the sun and was about to drive out into the open sky the freeway turned, and in front of me I found the endless storm cloud again.

In order to get to a clear sky you got to keep driving in that direction. If you veer off even a little bit you will drive into the cloud again. If you go back, you will hit the storm. And even though there is sunshine on the side you originally came from, the sky is still the murky sickly yellow grey color. To get to the vibrant blue sky and appreciate the sun you have to keep going straight.

I am no philosopher. I don't have deep insights and analogies to offer at the end of my story. All I know is that for some reason, for some person, I had to share this. Whoever you are, I hope it helps and I hope you draw the right conclusions and applications from my little weather experience.

Oh, and if you don't like the weather in Seattle.... wait twenty minutes :)

A Perfect Bride.

I was originally intending to write about all the things that went wrong with the wedding in which I was a bridesmaid yesterday. But despite all the trouble, this wedding was the happiest, most stress-free one I’ve ever been in. After thinking about it a little, I decided that the reason for the light, happy atmosphere is worth my time more than all that went wrong. And that reason was the bride.

For all of you still curious about the things that went wrong, I’ll highlight just a few: the flower arrangements didn’t turn out right, so the bride stayed up fixing them the night before the wedding; the hair stylist for the bridesmaids didn’t show up in the morning – we curled each others hair; the limo driver got lost on the way to the brides’ house; and as to prove that my writing is not just empty babble, one of the bridesmaids’ dress zipper broke during reception and we had to sew her in (see two posts below for complete story on the dresses.)

But back to the bride. First impressions really aren’t fair to this amazing individual. She is as tiny as Thumbelina, and looks no older than twelve. Combine that with “blond” comments that periodically come out of her, and you would think that you are dealing with the latest version of Jessica Simpson. That is until you pick up on the sarcastic humor of those comments and the bluntness that she so skillfully turns into innocence. Oh. And also all the complex mathematical calculations that this “little girl” is capable of computing in her head.

I met her when I moved to Washington four years ago. She was my cousin’s friend, and for a while the three of us were inseparable. The “three musketeers” lasted until two major events in her life intervened. That year she met her now husband. Just a little after, her father unexpectedly passed away. This is when everyone met the true Angela. The strong, determined, hard-working, wise and inspiring woman that she really is. In my life I’ve met endless people who become bitter and spiteful after tragedy hits. She was the very opposite.

After being the baby of the family for 17 years (her next sister is 16 years older) Angela all of a sudden had to take over her father’s job in order to keep the house that her and her mom were left in. Besides taking up his night shift without any grumbling, she also finished school and started college that year. I’ve heard the rest of the family say that if it wasn’t for Angela’s attitude, they would not be able to deal with the tragedy that hit them. Her father was a person who was loved by everyone, not just his family, so the loss was huge. Especially in that it was unexpected. But through her pain, Angie stayed as easygoing as she has always been. “I know he is in heaven, and that I will see him there when I die. Besides, he is better off with God, right? So I am happy for him even though I miss him, of course.”

Let’s just say that after living through that, a little wedding blues had no chance to get the cheerfulness out of the bride. Even through all that went wrong Angela never turned into bridezilla. She just wasn’t going to let anything ruin her day. And she made it truly special for herself and everyone involved.

The perfect bride. (And my other creative endeavors from the wedding. Please keep in mind that all I had was a cheap Sony for a camera and the images are much MUCH smaller than the originals...)

















SEWN IN BRIDESMAID:

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I know, I slacked and didn't write anything today. But I have a good excuse :) It's my birthday! I deserve a day off...

Have a great weekend peoples!!!

Secret's Secrets!

For the past three years or so I have not paid a cent for underwear, and never more than $15 for a bra. I have done my Christmas Shopping for 10-15 people for under $40 dollars, and acquired quite a collection of free lip gloss. How do I do it?

One thing I am good at is not buying stuff. I mean, I have my moments. But I've been complemented on my ability to walk in and out of stores with either nothing, or only what I came in there for. That said, I am a sucker for deals and steals. And the places I will share on this blog are no big discovery. Nevertheless, you might be surprised how much money you can save by going there at the right time, with the right tools.

Recent spree -- Victoria's Secret. You might think of it as the store where they sell bras at $55 a piece (ridiculous, right?) But it could be your money saving haven! I am not generally a promoter of credit, especially not the retail kind at standard 22% variable APR's. (For the record: I have one major credit card with $0 balance on it, and two retail ones. Also all paid off.) But if you are going to get a store card, make it Victoria's Secret! After signing up, you will receive countless free-panty coupons and acquire points that quickly add up to $10 gift cards. Small tip: ALWAYS use your card. If you want to, you can pay for it right at the register with cash. But this way you'll get points for the dollar amount you put on the card, as well as for using it each time.

If you don't have their credit card and don't want to open one, do not despair! There are more ways to save and things to know about this store. (I don't even think I know them all at this point...) The simplest thing you can do is actually give your e-mail when the cashier asks you for it. Unlike other places, VS will not bombard you with ten ads a day. Instead, they will send you coupons. Wonderful, useful coupons, such as free lip gloss, lotion samples (and their samples are HUGE), and, of course, their signature free panties.

Another thing you can do is search for their coupons online. One of my favorite websites is http://www.retailmenot.com/, where you can either print coupons or get catalog codes to enter for savings like free shipping.

Perhaps the most obvious of all money saving "tricks" for Victoria's Secret are their semi-annual sales. My best advise to you -- go early. On the first day of the sale. That's when you can find unbelievable deals. This year I bought approximately 30 items, and the total cost me $35 dollars. And that's with me being stupid and not checking http://www.retailmenot.com/ before, where I would have found a coupon that would have saved me another $15...

I will break my purchases down for you so that you can figure out how this works... the total cost of everything I got was $76.00. That's with a piece of lingerie that cost $29.99 but I later decided to return. On this purchase I could have applied the "$15 off $75 or more" coupon from http://www.retailmenot.com/, as well as the birthday "$10 off any purchase" card that I got in the mail before the sale. Total amount I would have paid: $50.00. Then I still would have returned that lingerie. Another $29.99 back on my card. Left for me to keep: 30 pieces of lotion, bubble bath, shower gel, lip gloss, etc. for a total price of approximately $20.00!

So much shopping and no guilt factor -- a dream come true!

And the bride wore... an eighth grade prom gown?

Before I write this post let me make one thing clear. I am not obsessed with weddings, and especially not with getting married. I am, however, somewhat overly interested in a certain wedding photographers' blog. But that's because the guy is AWESOME. In my opinion, he is literally the best out there in wedding photography. I check his website at least twice a week. I know. A bit much for a person who is not even romantically involved with anyone -- much less is planning a wedding. After looking at his pictures today I was totally inspired. And trying to write about something other than the inspired topic would just not flow right. So bear with me while my inexperienced self offers a little input about weddings, out of all things.

So if you ARE romantically involved with someone and planning a wedding, you should definitely hire that aforementioned photographer. His website is http://www.victorzerga.com/ and I can almost guarantee that you will not regret it. I have yet to hear any negative comments about him from brides that I know, who have used his service for their special day.

The person you should NOT hire is a certain seamstress who runs a shop from a garage behind her house. If you are a Slavic bride you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. And since I don't want to get sued for defamation, (although everything I am about to say is true to the best of my knowledge,) I will not give out any other identifying information. Let me just say that the end result of her work is an overpriced dress that looks more like an eighth grade dance outfit bought from a cheap chain store than a bridal/bridesmaid gown. The quality of sewing is actually not bad at all. But that's because she doesn't make the dresses herself -- she ships them overseas and has someone else do the work. The dress you will get will look nothing like what you had in mind or gave her a picture of.

Most likely it won't fit you right either. The lady apparently has very little sense of measurements. She has an excellent sense of slacking, however, so she will assure you that the dress fits you exactly how it's supposed to. Even if you can't breathe, the zipper in the back looks like a snake more than a straight line, and the chest area is somewhere closer to your chin. Some of her responses: "Get a push up bra," (No bra on earth could push THAT high!), "Girls like tight clothes these days," (um, no. Girls like to breathe these days!), "You are too picky," (I'm so sorry that I would like a $220 dress measured for me to actually fit!).

If you've already made the mistake of ordering here, I BEG you, do not let the lady herself fix anything! Get what scraps she has left over of the same fabric (good luck!) and take your dress to a professional tailor who knows what they are doing. Mine discovered, that when she claimed there was no more space to take the dress out, and I still could barely breathe, it was because she failed to undue the original seam. Of course it was still tight! What she did with the straps ended up looking like a cat scratched the fabric all over. Very noticeable on silk and barely fixable with a limited supply of fabric.

And if the demanding brat that you are does decide to ask to fix a strap that's too short, be prepared for a myriad of nasty comments said to you in a sugary voice. With a smile. In front of the guy that you came with. (He deserves to be warned of the evil traits you've been so carefully hiding from him all this time, right?) Also, prepare yourself for last minute appointment cancellations (and by last minute I mean over the phone when you let her know you are at the house), long waiting periods for things to get done, and her forgetting to actually do the things to get done when she does finally decide to see you. If you are in fear that the woman who's about to make your dress is her, leave me a comment. I'll let you know.

Some more thoughts... get a Vera Wang gown, have your wedding in Paris, and wear dance shoes. They are more comfortable :)

I'm sure my input will be more relevant once I actually go through my own wedding. But that's not going to happen for a long time. And inspiration to write today is just something I can't help...

ORIGINAL DESIGN:


END RESULT:

New Life, New City

Alright, so maybe this post comes a wee bit late... (about a year). But only half of my life is in Seattle right now. So while plans to relocate are contemplated, pre-meditated and put into action, I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences -- past and present. A person is qualified for "Klueless" if they're not living in a city, right?



The half of my life that already IS in Seattle is work. I am currently employed by a rather prestigious organization that pertains to neither my major or passion. But hey, I'm EMPLOYED! Straight out of college and in this economy! This could, of course, be just an excuse for being a lazy bum and not pursuing any career I'd actually enjoy. I could also blame mentality instilled since childhood -- work is not supposed to be enjoyable. It's supposed to make money. Maybe I'm not brave enough to challenge that thinking yet. But the day will come. Trust you me!



I've been commuting from about an hour away for the last 12 months. By this time it's gotten old, especially since I've taken up several purely Seattle based activities. Between Salsa, Mars Hill church, walks on Alki and several friends residing in 981?? there is barely a day that I'm NOT in Seattle. I've been slowly exploring the city, with some exciting new finds and revelations -- but I don't feel like I can make Seattle truly my own until I move. Which will happen in September. Until then -- bear with me and my pearls of wisdom about completely miscellaneous events and interests.



I was considering starting 5 different blogs but quickly changed my mind. So if you are interested in books, fashion, music, salsa, theology, economy, snowboarding, apartment hunting, money saving, negotiating deals, and embarrassing moments, all at the same time, go ahead and add this to your favorites.