On Saturday Will and I went to the Sasquatch Music Festival held at the Gorge Ampitheatre (central Washington.) It was about a 3 hour drive there, which was significant, so we set out at about 9:30 AM. It was a lovely drive, as I got to see parts of Washington east of Seattle. When I drove in last year, it was dark from the time I hit Spokane (far east) so I missed all of Washington’s glorious scenery. Needless to say, I was blown away by its stunningly gorgeous views. I became an iPod DJ in the car as I exposed Will to some of the music we were about to hear (he’d only heard one of the acts before.)

There was a ton of people there, and we only missed the beginning of the first act by 10 minutes or so. It was really sunny, bright, and warm out most of the day, and I ended up with some sunburn. Throughout the day we saw Rogue Wave, Gomez, Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens. Neko Case got on stage and sang one full song, and partway through the second one, it started hailing marble-sized pellets! Having learned from previous experience going to Summerfest in Wisconsin (another outdoor music festival) I had bought us some disposable ponchos. We wrapped ourselves in little cocoons as the hail pummeled us for about 20 minutes. Neko left the stage as it turned white with all the hail, and someone announced the show would continue once Mother Nature ran its course. The hail kept coming down and luckily I was pretty decently protected by the billowy nature of the poncho, in that there was enough air inside that not every hit was direct. When they did hit, OW! I was wearing sandals, and when they struck my toes, that was a whole world of pain. After the heavy part of the hail turned into rain, Will peeked through a little hole in his hood and asked if we should go. I’d already seen the acts I’d been really excited to see, so I said sure. It wasn’t likely to get any more comfortable anyhow, and we were sitting on a really steep, grassy hill that was ready to turn into mud as soon as the hail melted.

So we headed home, mostly dry. On the way, Will asked if I wanted to stop in Roslyn, WA for dinner. On the way in I’d commented that Roslyn was the town they filmed Northern Exposure in, and I’d always wanted to see it. So I squealed with excitement and said yes, so we took that exit and drove for quite awhile until we came upon a tiny little town that looked *exactly* like Cicely did in the show!!! I took a bunch of photos of Fleischman’s office (notice they repainted his name on the opposite side of the door from where it was in the show :o ), the Brick, KBHR radio station, and the Roslyn Cafe, where we ate dinner. I was grinning like a madwoman the whole time. When I went to the bathroom I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my eyes glowing with this intensity that frankly quite surprised me. I was so happy and excited I couldn’t contain myself. :D What a wonderful experience to have had, and so unexpected at that!

Will and I decided that the hail was a blessing in disguise. We had planned on staying until 9:30 when the Flaming Lips were over, but by packing up early, we got the chance to make an unplanned detour so I could see Roslyn, and Will would have more time to talk to Hiroko and I to Jules. It worked out nicely. :D

In other news, today I had the day off, and it felt very odd. Jules called early but I was too tired to talk, so he called back an hour later, and he was tired, so he decided he’d get up early and we could talk then. Yesterday I’d noticed that the craft store was going to be open today, so after breakfast I drove over there and got some yarn for my d20 project. Someone outside my apartment noticed my car was dripping some watery fluid so I took it over to Jiffy Lube and had them look at it. They couldn’t find anything leaking, so I just got it serviced. That took a lot longer than expected, and when it was done, I went grocery shopping, which I hadn’t really planned on doing. I spent a ton of money, which I felt really guilty about, then came home and unloaded it all and put it away. I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside on my balcony with my laptop. The light made it really difficult to see so I went inside and grabbed a cardboard box, stood it up, and made a little light shield for the computer. It must have looked incredibly silly and suspicious, especially when Jules called me on Skype and I started *talking* into the box. Hah. I felt really tired in the evening so I took a nap, which helped a lot. I made soup and grilled cheese for dinner and watched some episodes of Northern Exposure and Frasier. I started working on one of the faces for the d20, but the actual size doesn’t match the pattern so I’m going to have to make some adjustments. I was too tired and wiped out to worry about that tonight though, sadly. :(

As I was standing there doing my dishes tonight, I felt this pang of sadness as I realized I’m becoming ordinary. Not that my insides have changed or anything…I am still the insanely creative, wacky person I’ve always been…but all I have time for these days is the ordinary bits of life. Going to work, traveling, eating, showering, and sleeping. With little side trips to do the dishes or laundry, or go grocery shopping. Moving has eaten up a lot of my “free” time and resources (I’ve had to take a dip out of my sleep time to get things done) so there’s no time to do anything like sit and relax for a bit, write, or crochet. It’s beginning to eat at me more and more each day and I’ve definitely come to realize this lifestyle is not sustainable. It’s okay for now because I’m working to get myself established again, to pay off my debts, and to be able to afford marriage. But once those things have been taken care of, I will absolutely need to find a change. If I have to keep pushing aside the most important parts of me in order to survive, I won’t be happy.

I plan to crochet the sides, sew a backing to all of them, and stuff it with polyfill. I’m considering adding a matboard core to each piece to give it a bit more structure and possibly make it functional rather than just a pillow. Still pondering that though. The end result will have a diameter of about 24 inches.

Just upgraded WordPress in an attempt to counteract the hideous amounts of comment and trackback spam I’ve been getting with an escalating frequency the last few weeks. I think everything should still be functional…be sure to let me know if it isn’t!

I don’t have any cutlery so this morning I spread cream cheese on my bagel using my index finger.

I’ve been extremely busy the last while and thus there hasn’t been much to write about. Most days consist of getting up, commuting 2 hours to work by bus, working 8-12 hours, commuting another 2 hours home by bus, eating dinner, showering, and sleeping. The good thing about being that busy is that it doesn’t give me time to be lonely or bored, both of which have been problematic for me when I have too much free time. It helps a lot that I’ve become more familiar with Seattle over the last few months so I feel comfortable hanging out in the city on my own and exploring a bit.

Since last I wrote a few major things have come to pass. The Silent Hill movie came out. Will, Chad, Max and I saw it opening night at a cinema downtown. For the most part, I was pleased…I was grinning like mad for the first 3/4 of the film, then kind of slipped into uhhhh? mode when it got to the ending. They changed the motives of the townsfolk, which sort of ruins the basis for the SH mythology. :\ Not too happy about that, but I guess it’s asking a lot to explain SH in under 2 hours. I ended up seeing it a second time the following week and was less disappointed the second time since I knew how they were going to handle the ending. Still, a worthwhile effort.

That same Friday (opening night), Will, Chad and I went to see LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad play at Chop Suey. It was after 10 by the time we got into the venue, and nearly midnight by the time Bukem got on stage, by which time I was starting to drift off. This was, of course, after a full day of work. The drum n’ bass sent me into a trance and I fell asleep about 10 times before Will asked if we should head home (around 2 AM.)

Will went to Japan last week to visit Hiroko and shop. XD Coincidentally, Ross was also there visiting his sister at the same time, so they got to meet! Ross took a ton of photos, which was really cool because I got a slightly different perspective of Japan than the one I’ve gleaned from Will’s photos. They also met up with Jon (vertigo) who now has a job in Japan. Sounds like they all had a good time. Will got me a really great Engrish shirt too.

While Will was away, my main goal was to find a new place to live. Hiroko should be coming back to the states sometime in the near future so Will wants to have a place ready for her when she arrives. I considered living with other people in a house, where rent would be a lot cheaper…and for a long time this seemed like the most appealing option. Jules was really concerned about me being lonely so he pushed for this situation. I contacted several people about places and went to look at one, which ended up being way too nice for me. In the end the idea of living alone started to appeal to me more, so I looked for 1-bedroom and studio apartments in Ballard. I looked at two places about a mile from where I live now and the second one was *perfect* so I focused on trying to get that one. And I did! :D

I must say I am rather excited about this place. Like I mentioned, it’s not too far from where I live now, and it’s basically right across from the canal locks, which means the water is only a couple hundred feet away. There’s a lot of trees in the way bordering the public park, so there’s no direct view of the water, but you can feel the sea breeze. A really nice bike/walking trail passes by the edge of the park, following the water all the way east.

And the apartment itself…wow! It’s a 1-br, second floor place with a HUGE balcony and a skylight in the kitchen! It’s something like 650 square feet…so plenty of room for one person, especially someone like me who doesn’t have much stuff. The best part of all of it is Jules will be able to stay with me there (ie, we won’t *have* to move again once he arrives here.) They also allow cats there, which is a good thing as we intend to get one some day. :3 The rent is more than reasonable for the size and location of the place…it is, of course, more than I’m paying now sharing an apartment, but the trade-off is having all that private space to myself to do with as I wish, to not have to worry about bothering my roommate, etc. I’ve never lived alone before and I think it will be a truly valuable experience.

I’m not actually living there yet as there is no internet access hooked up yet, but I have signed the lease and moved some of my things over. If all goes well, I should be able to move most of my things tomorrow night and over the weekend, and by Tuesday night be able to stay the night. Since Will and I have paid for our May rent in full, there’s really no reason to rush out of here so I’m not going to push myself too much, especially because I’m sick right now. ;_; Everyone at work is coughing, sneezing, and holding their heads in pain, so something nasty is about…and I got it too. *sigh* Oh well.

I’m quite proud of myself that I was able to find this place on my own (yay for craigslist) and pass all the screening processes to secure it as mine. They did screening for background, credit, rental history, and employment. o.o They seem to really want quality people living there. This has brought out my confidence more since I’ve had to do it all on my own, and the thought that I’m not only doing this for myself, but for Jules as well, helps a great deal.

Well, I should get some rest now as I’m really exhausted, and sick Annys need their rest.