I think it's so cute how every Tuesday & Thursday mornings, after my Pilates class, when I pass by the downstairs weight room of my gym (where the "macho" men tend to flock), I hear 80s love ballads bumpin', haha!

you boys are just big softies at heart aren'tcha? :3

hey there muscle arms

observation of the day: my fob glasses apparently make me more approachable.

I wore them the other day because I had to cram for finals, so honestly I was thinking I was looking all scruuub. Au contraire. I got a lot of compliments that day, and I noticed that a lot of people who apparently are our regulars talked to me more and even tried to maintain conversation (I also observed that a lot of these customers were of the Asian variety. Then again, we are in Seattle, but still, coincidence?). They usually started the convo w/a comment on said glasses.

I worked again today, but this time wearing contacts, and some of those customers who approached me before weren't so chatty today. Some of them even asked what happened to my glasses. Bear in mind, this also stands out to me because I haven't been working much lately, so the fact that they even remember me was surprising.

I have another, older pair of glasses that are pretty normal and nondescript, nothing special. When I wear those, peeps definitely know I'm scrub or make a comment/joke about having slept in, even on days when I've had substantial sleep and got ready and had my hair did. Wft???

I don't know, what do you think? You be the judge...

who would you buy coffee from?

approachable fob?








unapproachable barista?








tired scruuub...?

let's take the shuttle to shattle

I've decided that even though half the month's gone pass (wha?!?!!?!?!), July is still gonna be pie month for me! Chris got me a pie pan awhiles ago, and for some reason, I feel especially compelled now to use it. It's all this sun man! It screams barbecue & picnics to me, and with that I see blue & white checkerboard picnic blankets with a warm apple pie steaming on top of it, just waiting to be eaten, mmm.

I made my first quiche not too long ago (counts as pie if it was made in a pie pan! points), and making the crust for that wasn't so bad, so I'm excited to try again. My next endeavor will be, of course, apple pie courtesy of Martha Stewart, but I'm thinking of sprinkling some cardamom & Grains of Paradise on mine. I also have an ice cream maker, so I can make that shit a la mode. I'm tempted to have a picnic to serve said pie, but I think I need to steer clear of the sun for awhile... Look what it did to me the other day:

Chris: are you sure you don't have chicken pox?
me: I've had fuckin' shingles! I'm pretty sure this isn't the pox.

>:O

a few months ago, my sister sent me this article as a response to an issue I was having with a particular friend. As much as it rang true then, lately, I'm finding myself thinking about it more & more while trying to refrain myself from harboring certain resentments towards other people...

I bring this up now because it just happened again! A situation where money & friends conflicted. After graduating, a friend of mine moved back home with his parents in Olympia because he couldn't afford to stay in Seattle anymore. Fair enough. Fairly recently, I was told he was coming up today and wanted to grab dinner & drinks at this Cajun restaurant downtown. This place, though the food isn't even that great, is not cheap to say the least. So I told them I couldn't come out tonight because I just paid tuition & I'm really trying to save money. In fact, he and this group of friends are quite aware of my financial situation. They're aware how much my tuition costs. They're aware that despite getting some aid, I still owe a couple thousand per quarter out of pocket. They're aware that I can't afford to do a lot of things right now. And they're aware that I'm trying to find another job because my current one, which doesn't pay very much to begin with, is only scheduling me 5-10 hrs a week! I've told them flat out, I'm saving my money so I can do things that are cheap or free. And since I wouldn't be able to see him tonight, I invited them to check out Bite of Seattle with me tomorrow. And what do I get? A response from a third person basically saying I'm a bad person?!

Can I just say a big FUCK YOU for making that judgment call! FUCK YOU for yet again not being understanding! And FUCK YOU for reminding me of how poor I am and making me feel bad for not having enough money to do certain things because oh yeah, I'm using it all up to get quality education toward my career. FUCK YOU because if you were my friend, you'd understand where I'm coming from and leave it at that. You wouldn't try to guilt trip me into spending the money I don't have. You would support me trying to move forward. And, out of common decency, you wouldn't keep hounding the money issue on me.

and what gets me more is that they don't seem to get that going places and getting around is easy for them because they all already live in the city or are an easy bus ride away. They think that just because I have a car, I'll drive anywhere and take them along. They don't realize that that takes gas and money, and they don't have to make the car payments or wait in fucking 520 traffic! I'm the one that always drives out there to see them. Or I'm the one that takes the trouble to bus it out there from the east side! And because of that, I have to figure out a way to get myself back because buses don't run that late or the ones that do are in really shady areas that I don't want to be around by myself in the dark. If you really wanted to spend as much time with me as you say, then why don't you ever reciprocate the effort to try to make it out to see me? I feel like people who don't have cars don't understand this and that you're not they're chaffeur.

the only people I feel like who really get this outside of my family are Megan and September, and for that, I couldn't be any more grateful for their understanding and their support. And because of that, I will & do make that extra effort to see them or to catch up with them. I have to say that one of the most touching moments I had ever felt was when I was catching up with Megan, helping her move to her new place and whatnot. After I expressed some concern about my loans and paying for education, she offered to give me a loan. I was really surprised and taken off guard by that because that's not what I was getting at at all, but her response?

What? You have to finish school.

Simple as that. In fact, I think she even shrugged her shoulders as she said that so nonchalantly. I told her that I'd figure something out, but that I hugely, immensely appreciated the sentiment. I love that she just got it. She understood priorities. It was all "no muss, no fuss". It was so poignant how understanding, supportive, and sensitive she was that by that one and simple statement that I almost cried, it was so incredibly nice of her. I'll never ever take her up on that offer because I'd rather take out a loan on my own or at least I'm fortunate enough to have my family around to help, but I'll forever appreciate her for being one of the chillest, most understanding, and most supportive people ever.