The Interpreter

I had high expectations for this movie, but I was mildly disappointed. It was okay, I guess.

My movie habit is back!

Put that thing away!

I saw a p#nis! I'm walking to work when this guy catches my attention. I'm trying to focus because my eyesight isn't the greatest. I'm wondering what he is looking for. When I got close enough and realized it was m&sturbation session, I was appalled.

Look if you have to pee and there is nowhere to go, you gotta do what you gotta do. But that! In public! At 8:50AM! That is not cool.

I tell my coworker what happened. She's about my mom's age.
Coworker: Oh sweetie, that's the first one you see and like that.
Me: No....I mean yeah.

Jjejejejej I'm not outing myself to someone that could be my mom.

The last time I was appalled on that street was when one of the security guards was smoking pot before 9AM. Oh yeah, I feel safe now.

German Food

My friends took me to dinner to a German restaurant. I played it safe, I ordered chicken. The waitresses held up whatever image I had of German women. Tall, strong, blonde, blue-eyed. When she asked me if I wanted water, I was afraid to give the wrong answer. ;)

Seattle Day #4

Let see today was my final day in the Emerald City. Time flies.

I went up to the Bank of America Tower observation floor. "The tallest building in Seattle contains more lawyers in its 76 floors than in all of Japan." Amazing views. It was me and this professional photographer taking pictures for a good hour.


I'm not an architecture buff, but the main Seattle Public Library may have changed that. This is another reason to move to Seattle. I loved this place. It was just cool. Books galore, of course. Public computers every which way I looked. (sigh)

Next came something I did not want to miss Bill Speidel's Underground Tour in Pioneer Square. The tour guides were funny. I love a good sense of humor. Picture this: A toilet from the late 1800s. Camera flashes everywhere. Yep, I was right there with the Japanese tourists taking a picture of an old ass toilet and so was everyone else.

Went back to the Elliot Bay Book Company because it was right ther eand it was calling my name. A few more hours and it was time to go pack.

This was my intro to Seattle and I will be back. It was a wonderful birthday vacation.

Seattle Day #3

My plan was to go to the Seattle Art Museum and Tacoma's Museum of Glass. Museums are closed on Mondays. I'd know this if I was a regular patron.

I made it to Pike Place Market which has the original Starbucks nearby. The place was busy. So that was where it all started...now I see them on every corner. That was one of the 'awe' moments when I started working in SF. Coffee places at every corner. You'd think I would have bought a tall something-or-other latte, but I don't do coffee. I listened to a gospel group perform songs. And at my request, they sang "Amazing Grace."
I walked by Pike Place Fish and saw the guys throwing the fish around. I wanted to stay longer but can't stand the smell of fish. Had lunch at a Russian restaurant. Yummy.
Oh yeah and my most expensive purchase was at Pike Place Market...Polish pottery. Beautiful.

Next came the cruise. This was very relaxing and the first place I saw some Hispanics. I can't move to a city that does not have Hispanics. They were from Venezuela.
The cool part about the cruise was seeing the Seatle skyline on a sunny day and seeing the Coast Guard ships that crack the ice out in th ocean.

My day continued with a stop at the Seattle Aquarium. It was not crowded! I know the target audience is probably children, but I love educational places. Teach me something. jejejej

I was wiped out by the end of the day.

Seattle Day #2

I didn't rent a car, because the guidebooks said traffic was bad, parking was expensive and I could walk everywhere. I walked alright. There are some hills in Seattle that I think rival the ones in SF. I was tired yes, but enjoying every second. (Note: Need to start exercising.)

Being in my spiritual mode, I went to mass at St. James Cathedral. The place was beautiful, but no Spanish mass. I had to go for the English, which took away from my participation since I don't know the English version of prayers. The mass was good, very organized, no crying children, great choir. Completely different from my regular Sunday mass.

I trekked down to Pioneer Square, Seattle's oldest neighborhood. I spent hours here because I came across The Elliot Bay Book Company. I was in heaven! Great bookstore, with creaky wooden floors and staircases. Books, books and more books. (Sigh)

Seattle

To celebrate my 31st birthday, I ran off to Seattle. I needed to think about my life and what I want. Am I doing what I need to do to get what I want and what I need? I reflected on the last three decades. What I've done right. What I've done wrong. What needs improvement. Oh yeah and have some fun.

Seattle is a beautiful city. One that I would not mind moving to as a matter of fact. Great weather, so much for the rainy reputation. I even got a tan while I was there. Seattle reminds me of San Francisco only cleaner and greener and it brought back great memories of Vancouver. Therefore, I think I am meant to be in the Northwest. Next stop Portland?

Today I spent the day at Seattle Center, which contains both the Space Needle. and Pacific Science Center. Tourist trap? I'm sure of it, but it was fun.

Almost time...

for me to run away for a few days. Why is it that I plan something and everything seems to run smoothly up until the couple of hours before?

Work came out of nowhere. People wanted things they could have easily requested on Monday. But no, the request came today hours before I'm supposed to be on a plane.

It's official

I need a break and pronto! While making an attempt to catch up on my blog readings, perusing some posts, skimming others. Trying to remember the names of certain blogs because I managed to delete my favorites.

I read the following sentence:

"I wonder whether it is possible to suffer from reverse SAD?"

What? This does not make sense. I read the post again. My interpretation:

"I wonder whether it is possible to suffer from reverse Software Architecture Document?"

All I have to say is, Rational Unified Process artifacts...bite me!

Not there yet

I am not used to the time change. Going to sleep at 3AM (because it should really only be 2AM) and getting up at 6AM. Missing all my 9AM meetings because I can't seem to get there on time. This better change soon, because I am tired.

Spring Forward

Woke up at 11:30AM. If the time had not been changed it would have been 10:30AM, which seems a tad more acceptable.

Church was packed today. This kind of attendance usually only takes place on two days: Easter Sunday and December 12, El dia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Moments

Moments in history that have served as bookmarks in my life:

1. March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot

2. May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot

3. 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles

4. September 19, 1985, Mexico City Earthquake Magnitude 8.1

5. January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger explodes

6. December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 explodes

7. March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez oil spill

8. June 4, 1989, Massacre in Tiananmen Square

9. November 9, 1989, Berlin Wall falls

10. Riot at my high school, racial problems

11. 1990, World Cup - Italy

12. January 16, 1991, Operation Desert Storm

13. April 29, 1992, Los Angeles Riots

14. My brother runs away from home

15. April 19, 1993, Waco compound burns

16. January 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake

17. April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City Bombing

18. My uncle commits suicide

19. My brother is in a serious car accident

20. July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. dies

21. My mother is diagnosed with kidney failure

22. September 11, 2001, World Trade Center, Pentagon, Pennsylvania

23. February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates

24. May 8, 2003, Tornado hits Oklahoma City (blocks from my parents' home)

25. January 2004, Discovered blogging ;)

26. November 2004, Presidential Election

27. December 26, 2004, Tsunami

28. Today, Pope John Paul II dies