false cheeriness

I tried that thing today . . . you know the one . . . where you force a smile until you actually feel like smiling. Supposedly it works, today it did not.

But. Rather than dwell on the negative (of which I could go on and on and on) I've decided to create a list of postitives. Eventually the smile will come (or so I'm told).

1. I saw ED HARCOURT in concert.

All of your days will be blessed
So put on a smile and get dressed
Into the void we will fly away from here
All of your thoughts will be crowned
You'll be the toast of the town
Into the view of a million crystal spheres

Pretty cool, right? Check. Him. Out.
I first heard him when he opened for Sondre Lerche.


2. This is the next 5 months of my life. . .

I'm going here


Barcelona

and here


Bruges

and here


Sweden

and I'm Living here

Cadiz

So, the list might be short but it packs a punch.

So. My Europe extravaganza is close . . .

. . . and the head of my company just caught me blogging on company time. Oops.

Well, then, of course you're excused

I screwed up at work and no matter how much I apologize or how many times I take responsibility the "higher-ups" insist on exloring AML (a competitor) conspiracy theories and computer glitch end-of-the-world scenarios.

My immediate boss says I've done all I can . . . just let it go. But the e-mails are hovering at the top of my box, haunting me, my fingers itching to reply.

I like having responsibility but it sucks when what you do affects cities all over alaska in a slow, painful, inevitable ripple.

(BTW: evitable, is, in fact a word.
evitable adj
avoidable, avertible, avertable
capable of being avoided or warded off )


I know. Doesn't seem that secure, does it?

On a side note.

Humans can be pretty cool
The bus I catch everyday (which only comes once every 30-40 minutes) will always pass you by unless you're standing right at the curb, which, would be fine if the curb was at all a safe place to stand. I always sit in the shady grass and watch for the bus and hope I notice it in time to run out and wave it down (this strategy has never worked, but, I refuse to compete with semi's for sidewalk space.) However, the last couple of weeks other people have been at my stop - different people. And they always, after they wave the bus down, turn to me and say "Miss, the bus is here." They don't know me and they're always different - kind of a cool camaradery.

things I recommend

movies


Wanted Fantastic roller-coaster ride. And McAvoy is drop-dead-tongue-out-gorgeous. Also, Angelina is a badass which is always fun.


Mystic River If you liked Gone Baby Gone, you'll love this. Also, Sean Penn might be bat-shit nuts but he's got talent, and he's handsome. And, who doesn't love Kevin Bacon.


books


Gone Baby Gone Mystic River A Drink Before the War . . . actually just read anything by Dennis Lehane. His books make for perfect, edge of your seat, summer reading. If you (saw and) liked the movies you'll love his books.


music


Wanted Soundtrack Need motivation to work out? I've found it and all for under 15 dollars. Seriously. You want to feel bad ass, put on some bad ass music.


Paul Simon's Surprise An oldie but a goodie. Definitely not work out material, but good lazy-drive-after-a-day-at-the-beach music.


Jason Mraz He has new music, but not a new sound. Still love him, though, and his quirky, adorable, amazingness.

(PS I am well aware I need new adjectives, perhaps I'll invent a few.)


places

Seattle: Of course I'm repping my hometown this summer. Screw small-town Bellingham and big-city New York. Seattle is what Goldilocks has been looking for all along (and yes, we do have good porridge, thank you.)


Vanouver, BC, CA Just go. Spend an entire weekend there. Tour Granville, (There's a farmer's market and a brewery so. . .you know. . . get drunk and buy fruit,) visit the harbor, walk the bridge. Also, see a concert, Canadian's always have beer gardens, they're smart that way.


happy hours
These are all in Seattle.


Red Lion $5 Margarita's and free tacos with a patio high above the city. Fantastic.


McCormick and Schmick's BlackBean Nachos to die for, mini-hamburgers and tasty, tasty, tasty drinks. See: Whisky and Pomegranate martini (no I'm not kidding, and yes it was a little bit of heaven.)

people


Dennis Lehane He got rich writing. Bow down.


Bill Gates He retired from his billion dollar industry in order to focus on his charities. Um, amazing? I think so.


Leona Helmsley She just donated 8 BILLION dollars to dog charities (not kidding, not even a little bit) I'm awed and disgusted and whatever . . . she's fantastically malprioritized (I just invented that word and I'm proud of it).


news stories

Leona Helmsley

Norman Bates

Yes, we did just trick you.


websites/blogs


smittenkitchen


designsponge

Book of the Week

The Things They Carried
Tim O'Brien

No skeptics in foxholes :
A collection of related stories about Vietnam

This book took my breath away. It makes you hate war but also it is . . . it's human and it is grotesque and gorgeous in its humanity. O'Brien warns us, “If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie.”
I warn: the only way this book uplifts you is in the way the sentences flow together, meeting at odd moments by chance.
This book is not true and it is. At the same exact moment.
It is not my story, but I could tell it and you would believe me.

These are not stories about courage, about brotherhood and love and flowers growing from ashes. These are stories about boys, and ash, and gun fire and they are beautiful.