Beef Stick

Ever thought about picking up a job during the holiday season? It could be a fun way to make some extra cash. Plus, you would be entitled to store discounts during the shopping season!

Nordstrom and REI are obvious choices. A holiday job would certainly justify a kayak and snowboard. However, I don’t know how to kayak or snowboard. I could learn. Or just go for Nordstroms and get some True Religions. But actually, have you been in Nordstrom or REI? Total chaos. I don’t want a stressful holiday season.

If I were to get a holiday job, I would want to work for the Hickory Farms booth at the mall.



Have you ever received on of those meat and mustard gift packages from Hickory Farms?!? Delicious. The meat lasts forever. My grandpa gets me one for Christmas every year; it is usually gone by December 26th. Sometimes I share. Sometimes I don’t. What of it?

Local News | Why can't we handle snow? | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Why can't we handle snow? | Seattle Times Newspaper

Again, you're always better off to over-react about the snow. This is precisely why. The city didn't even know that the freeways were solid sheets of ice until 4pm? Excuse me, what? Invest in some walkie-talkies!

Local News | 86-year-old Columbia Sportswear executive fools robber | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | 86-year-old Columbia Sportswear executive fools robber | Seattle Times Newspaper

Today, one of my BFF's sent me this article and said "This is how I picture you in your 80s."

Damn right.

La Nina

Sara VS. La Nina. I'm keeping score, and right now we're tied at 2-2. It is going to be a good game this winter. I scored a point yesterday for using my new giant parka in the snow. Today, La Nina scored 2 points for my 3.75 hour commute (FML) and nearly committing me to an icy death in Lake Washington. I answered back with an epic game of Snow Diamond for a point.

Snow in the Pac NW is a chaotic event. Truly--there is nothing that causes more craziness. Especially when it happens on a Monday. A monday morning. Everyone tackled the drive to work, which was slow, but totally safe. It continues to snow throughout the day, but doesn't really stick. We're all riding high from our relatively successful morning commute, so we're not too worried...WRONG. Be worried! It is always better to over-react about the snow. Stay home as soon as you see a flake! There's no glory in manning up and coming to work. You will always regret it. Always.

I was smart enough to leave work at 3 (along with the rest of the city). I was not smart enough to consider the fact that 75% of my 10 mile commute was going to be on BRIDGES. Bridges that have significant inclines. Bridges that have been freezing over all day. Bridges that cannot be accessed by road crews because the entire STATE is gridlocked.

I've never been in a more terrifying driving experience in my life. "Driving" on a freeway covered in an inch of ice is a ridiculous task. It is comical on TV, but not in real life. Especially when you have to literally dodge fishtailing cars and city buses and people putting chains on in the center lane. It's not like you can stop halfway up on an icy hill either. You'll never make it. Oh, and on either side of the freeway is a 350 foot deep LAKE. So, if the fishtailing bus slams into my flimsy Mazda3--over the edge I go.

Three hours, 10 miles, and a splitting headache later, I made it safely to my home. At my home, everyone was excited about the snow, but they hadn't been in their car for the last 3 hours. After a Rainier and some thai food, I started to get excited about the snow too.

My roommate rallied a bunch of people to go play in the snow at the park, and we invented the BEST SNOW GAME EVER. We called it Snow Diamond, which basically combines a snowball fight and all games you ever played in PE as a child. Here's how you play:
-Draw a large diamond in the snow, bisected by a line, so you have two adjacent triangles. (yeah geometry terms)
-Divide into teams, and pre-pack an arsenal of snowballs.
-Everyone takes one snowball and puts it on the center line. (make sure to yell "put your balls on the line."
-Play dodgeball with snowballs!
-If you get hit, you're frozen (cuz it is SNOW).
-Your teammates can unfreeze you by diving underneath your legs (like in tunnel tag).
-The first team to freeze all members of the other team is the winner!

Other imporant rules:
-You can leave the diamond to pack more snowballs, but you can only throw from within the diamond.
-You can't throw snowballs if you are frozen.
-Double fisting is allowed.
-If you are diving under someone to unfreeze them, you can still get hit.
-If you catch an intact snowball, your team wins the entire round.

Snowmageddon continues tomorrow. I'm not getting back into my car for at least a week, but I'll play Snow Diamond anytime. Oh, and I'm going to join EVERYONE by posting something about the snow on facebook.

Snowmaggedon in Seattle

We are not going 40. Or 4. I might die in my car tonight.

Snowmaggedon in Tacoma today

The mall

The mall

Today, I went to the mall before it was open. I'll never make that mistake again. Stores open at 3 am on black Friday, but the mall doesn't open before 11 on any given Sunday? I showed up at 10:30. With nothing else to do, I wandered to the food court to at least see if sbux was open. The empty mall-ways were playing some semi-inspirational celine dion song from the 90s while randoms in parkas sat on the benches, apparently waiting for stores to open. Or just starig at me in a creepy manner. Sbux was open -with a line 30 people deep. Why? What are all these people doing here? There is nothing to see! All the stores are dark. Not even any mall walkers. Just people sitting.

So I got an eggnog latte, sat down, and stared at people in a creepy manner until the stores opened.

Horse Racing

For me, going on trips requires a lot of preparation/training.

Prior to attending the Olympics this year I hosted a party where we watched Cool Runnings, dressed in patriotic gear, and drank Canadian beer. For the record, drinking everytime you hear "bobsled" or "olympics" during that movie is a bad idea. We had a similar-type party during the Opening Cermonies.

Prior to Oktoberfest, my friends and I patronized every german bar in Seattle on Thursday nights for 6 weeks prior to departure. I also watched Beerfest and practiced drinking out of boots.

2011 is the year of the Kentucky Derby. May 7th in Louisville. There are A LOT of things that need to be done to get ready for it. Good thing I'm starting now. Most importantly, I need to learn how to make lots of money by betting on horse races. So, I purchased my very own copy of "Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies." Good thing too, because I can't imagine how hard it is for smart people. The book is 332 pages long! So, between now and May, my blog will be filled with horse racing tips/facts.

Today, we learn that the "backstretch" is the straight part of the racetrack opposite from where the finish line is. It also means the stable area where the racehorses are kept. That is confusing, especially because I've always thought that the backstretch was the part right before the finish line. Sigh.

Here is a list of things I need to do before the Derby:
1. Re-read and/or watch Seabiscuit
2. Watch Secretariat (my book says that horse has held the record for 30+ years)
3. Go to Emerald Downs
4. Find a bookie
5. Learn the words to "My Old Kentucky Home"
6. Become familiar with where Kentucky is on a map
7. Come up with an awesome idea for my derby hat
8. Figure out how to make a mint julep
9. Figure out how to make sweet tea
10. Save up some gambling money
11. Find ways to use the word "trifecta" in everyday speech
12. Learn how to calculate payouts
13. Search the app store for Derby-related iPhone apps
14. Determine whether or not there is anything else to do in Kentucky
15. Convince all of my friends to go!

If you've been to the Derby or have any additional tips, let me know!

WWF

I used to suffer from a really intense addiction to Words with Friends (WWF). I would stay up late. I would start playing in bed at 6:15am after my alarm went off. Flight attendants would continually ask me to turn off and stow my phone. I even played while I was DRIVING. That's when I realized that I had crossed a line.

Another problem was that I just wasn't very good. I lost all the time. Even if I did win, it was usually on a fluke. Like, I happened to pay "Qi" on a triple word or something. That was the best I could do. But, that made it easy to quit. I've been clean for months, and I've successfuly found other methods to waste time. Like updating my blog. Or trying out for reality TV shows. Or watching Season 2 of gossip girl on DVD. However, I still maintain close connections with some of my former WWF competitors. Sometimes I get to share in their victories and defeats....like in this epic game below.

Happy Birthday Elece!

Theresa: Are you flying into Reagan?

Elece: Yes, except I call it National, because I'm a democrat.

Microfinance & Bacon

Much thanks to Jacob Anderson for sending me this interesting article on microfinance in India. I'm all for microfinance. But, just like we saw in our own country, giving credit to anyone and everyone who wants it doesn't do anybody good.



Also, much thanks to Erin Illingworth for sending me this blog post on Peanut Butter and Bacon Cookies. They look delicous, yet disgusting at the same time. I'll give them a whirl, but my candied bacon recipe will give anyone a run for their money.

frugality vs. cheapness

According to my esteemed colleague Andy, "It is good to be frugal, but not obviously."  Recently, I've been noticing some of my colleagues employing some questionable money-saving techniques. How far are you willing to go?   I'll replace the heels on my shoes 3 or 4 times before I'll buy a new pair...but there's a line somewhere.  I've observed the following money-saving practices at work recently:

 

- reusing sandwich bags in your lunch for an entire week

- consuming a leftover Subway sandwich that was 6 days old

- using an old spaghetti sauce jar in place of a water bottle

- adding Starbucks Via to Kirkland Signature Brand frappuccionos.

- buying a new TV only once every 10 years.

- living for an entire week on nothing but free food from the Holiday Inn express.  

 

Thoughts? What obscure money-saving techniques do you have?

Government saves the day

Local News State bans 'blackout in a can' caffeinated alcohol drinks Seattle Times Newspaper

This is outrageous. Will it also soon be illegal to mix red bull and vodka together? On the other hand, maybe the State should start banning all things that are bad for us. Maybe the state can ban candy, because it is bad for me and I binge eat it. I can't control my consumption of candy (I've tried), so I should rely on the government to do it for me.

Quarter-life crisis

My hired friends are so supportive. Heather helped me find grey hairs today at work.

Apple Slicer

I’ve been eating apples my whole life, and I’ve lived in the apple capital of the world for the last 8 years.

Only yesterday, did I learn what this kitchen utensil could be used for. I thought it was for mashing potatoes or maybe had something to do with making cakes.

What if the rules didn't apply?

Today's blog post is inspired by my friend Brandon.  Yesterday, we were discussing certain seedy hotels located in Aberdeen, WA.  At some point in the discussion, he posed the question of  "What would you do if the rules didn't apply for one day?" 

 

It is an interesting exercise of the mind.  How far outside the rules would you be willing to operate without feeling bad about yourself?

 

I don't think my answers were that crazy.  I like to attribute this to my impeccable moral code.

 

…drive above the speed limit.

…set a hotel on fire.

…jump off of the Columbia Tower.

 

I added "rob a bank," but the more I thought about it, I felt bad.  Stealing is bad.  It's not even that interesting if everyone else can do it.   Would speeding be worth it if everyone else could do it? If the rules didn't apply, why would you even need to drive fast to get somewhere on time anyway? 

 

Are the rules even restricting me?  I kind of do what I want most of the time anyway.

 

I'd like to know what you would do if the rules didn't apply for one day.  And why. Comments please!

 

Target

I have a love/hate relationship with the Northgate Target. Now, that place is a disaster. They're constantly out of stock, and the shoe department is a disaster of size 6.5 and 11. 8.5 is the most common shoe size in America--why are you always out?!?!

They must be doing something right up there though. Every time I go in just to buy laundry detergent, I come in with $100 - $200 worth of other goods. So, they must have the store layout right or something. I can't go in there to buy only what I came for.

However, customer service is still lacking. Your goods aren't priced low enough to excuse your sales staff from basic service concepts. If I wanted cheap things and poor service, I would go to Walmart. I thought Target was supposed to be a step above. For example, you don't tell a customer that you're going to go get something out of the back for them...and then forget to do it...leaving them loitering akwardly in the store for 20 minutes.

Or maybe you do. Ten minutes into waiting, I had already decided that I was going to buy the product, because I had waited so long! Of course, I could've just left and come back another time. But, that would mean another $100-$200 in extra goods from THAT trip. You and your mind games Target!!! Get out of my head!