Friday, November 30, 2007

48

It's been a decent birthday. A group of friends from work took me to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch on Thursday. Gooey birthday dessert with a candle, singing waitstaff performing a blissfully short and cheerfully moronic 'Happy Birthday' song, etc. We had fun. I take birthday wishes seriously and was happy to have a candle to blow out.

I had another chance for wishmaking today when, on our company party Argosy cruise, I was called to the stage for 60 or so people to sing happy birthday to me. The regional director's ( a woman for whom we have, shall we say, mixed feelings) birthday is this Sunday. While everyone was singing Happy Birthday to me, I wished her a happy birthday as well. She must be serious about wishmaking too, because she blew out the candle on my cake. I walked back to my table with the slice of cake and announced what had happened and everyone thought it was a hoot. Tina summed it up well "That is so typical of her! It's like she was saying 'We're done with your birthday thing- Whuff!- go back to your table" Christy pulled a lighter from her purse, rekindled my birthday candle, and I got to make my wish. Thank you.

From this picture, you might imagine that my birthday wish was to lose weight:



That's not a wish, it's a plan. I simply have to face the fact that sugar is to me what vodka is to an alcoholic. Hi Wendy, welcome.

Here are some other pictures from the cruise, which was wonderful. It was a clear but cold and windy day. I was the only person on the boat to (briefly) venture onto the deck. It was blustery indeed. It was far more pleasant to enjoy the tour of Elliott Bay from inside the cabin.




Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Whatever...

I finally got my Washington driver's license, three days before my Oregon license was due to expire. I haven't lived in Oregon since March of 2004. Yes, I should have gotten a Washington license when I moved to Seattle in March of 2004, and yes, I should have gotten an Arizona license when I moved to Phoenix in March of 2006 (I always move in March...it's weird) but the important thing is I now have a state-appropriate license.

This means I'll probably move to Tennessee next month. No, actually, March. It's always March.

Monday, November 26, 2007

We're Easily Amused

"This student's last name is Nibblet" I casually commented.

Shrieking laughter from the cube behind me. Shrieking laughter from me. With tears streaming down our faces and gasping for breath we pondered if her father was the Jolly Green Giant. "What if....what if... she one day became president...Hail to the Chief would be played for (wiping tears away) President Nibblet."

Like I said we're easily amused. Be happy for us.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Aroma of Tacoma

If you had asked me ten years ago to tell you what Tacoma was like, I would have told you (even thought I'd never been there at the time) that it was a crime-ridden city that smelled like paper mills. I've been told that ten years ago that was somewhat true. Tacoma has since gentrified into a (mostly) lovely little oasis of sparkling fountains, funky coffee shops, and nice walking trails. Granted, the view from my 14th story window reveals industrial smokestacks, belching out vast quantities 24 hours a day. But the famous 'Aroma of Tacoma'? Nonexist. Until today. I stepped outside and it smelled like sauerkraut.

Let's hope this kraut thing does not start to occur on a regular basis or I'll be transported back in space and time to Pumpernicks in Miami. Pumpernicks, an authentic Jewish deli (no ham) always had gleaming metal buckets of sauerkraut on each table. They also had a gleaming metal bucket of these truly frightning baseball-sized pickled green tomatoes, but I covered weird food in my last post so I'll leave it at that.

I'm in the computer lab at work (instead of at my desk) ADD at full throttle. I simply can't concentrate on work right now. Thanksgiving vacation is coming not a moment too soon.