Making up for Lost Time

I have to warn you, next week our internet usage at work stops next week, so as much as the updates on this blog have slowed to a lull, they may stop altogether....but I'll try not to let that happen!

Well, what has happened recently....a LOT. I took the WEST-B exam. (Washinton State Educators Exam - Basic) a week ago today...it was intense. Although I didn't think the exam itself was too difficult, the stress leading up to it was...The exam itself was difficult in spots, simply because it's been a looooooong time since I've taken such an standardized test, and I had to recollect things I learned many moons ago - like how to find the area of a volume a cylinder...!?!?

Also, I turned in my applications to SPU and CityU...I have an interview with CityU at the end of March, eek! If this grad school idea doesn't pan out I have no idea what I willl try next.....:S

I went to California with LUCIA and hung out with RAFA for 4 days. It was sooooo much fun. It was a great break from everyday life and just so nice to be with people I haven't seen in forever. I also got to see Barlow, who I haven't seen in like 2 years...that was fantabulous! :) We did quite an amalgam of things from bowling to mini golf on a water logged course, to making Rafa watch "He's Just Not That Into You" and going to San Francisco....I took about a million, not even exaggerating, pictures, and I would like to promise to upload some asap...but we've seen how well that has turned out in the past. If/when I remember, I'll put up some pics.

I guess I was making up for the last 5 months spent doing nothing except work. teehee.

So anyway, I'm back. I've started writing a book in my head. Perhaps I'll theorize about it more fully at some later date....but until I actually begin putting it down on paper, it will remain blog-free.


Cheers!

Fail.

Last night I watched The Bachelor and one of the girls was asking him all her important questions about "the little things" that you have to know about someone (in her opinion) before you marry them. One question was about his favorite ice cream.


I never realized it, but I don't really have a favorite ice cream. What does that say about me? I guess I'll never be married then...according to Molly.

Lives in Murderville

I have been a bit reluctant to write this story as I've been holding out hope that I would have more conclusive evidence with which to present you, but as of yet I have not been told the actual "accident" that occurred in my apartment complex on Saturday so I will recount the story as best I can with no solid conclusions to draw other than from my own experience...Whew, run-on sentence much?

Saturday I left for work around 8:45 and all was clear and normal on the horizon (aka, my parking lot). When I arrived back at the apartment complex at 2:00, the world had changed. Driving up to my building I was suddenly confronted with the sight of at least 6 sheriffs' cars and the fact that my entire parking lot and building were taped off with the yellow "POLICE LINE, DO NOT CROSS" tape....ummmm what?! I thought to myself....Ok, well....what do I do? What is going on?! What could possibly have happened?!? Ok, deep breath. I wanted to go into my apartment, as my plan for the rest of the day was to work on my admittance essays (see previous blog) and study for my exam...however, that was no longer seeming like an option as the DO NOT CROSS line glared suspiciously at me, barracading my little apartment behind it. I looked around for someone to talk to, but although there was an abundance of police vehicles there were no policmen (police people?) in sight. I went up to the apartment office and asked the lady who works there. She told me there had been an "accident" (and yes, she USED THE AIR QUOTES). WHAT?!?!?!? She told me they had been there since morning and weren't letting anyone through. So, I opted to go to the mall...I needed a haircut anyway.

While at the mall I got a haircut from a funny little woman (from Mexico) named Lupita. Now, I made the mistake of mentioning to Lupita that I spoke some Spanish and that was the end of our English conversation. She grilled me about Venezuela, my job, and MOST IMPORTANTLY my boyfriend. Ok, I realize most of you at this point are going...Chels, honey, you don't have one. I know!! But did I mention that all of this occurred on Valentine's day? Lupita was strongly reluctant to believe that I did not, in fact, leave a very forloen boyfriend behind in Venezuela and she continued to chat with me as though I HAD...even though...I hadn't. Who knows. Anyway, this converation led to a general conversation about Latino men...including stories about her husband. Ok, not so bad, fairly interesting, as far as hair stylist conversations go....UNTIL, she began comparing Latino men and American men's LOVEMAKING styles. She didn't seem to notice the look of horror on my face or the fact that I completely stopped responding to her comments and she prattled on for a solid 10 minutes about how Latino men are better in bed. awkward! Fortunately, I don't think anyone around us understood a word of it, unless there were other hidden Spanish speakers, and heck, they probably thought it was entertaining.

Moving on...I wandered the mall for a while, nervous to head back to my home, for fear of what I'd find. By this time of course, all sorts of thoughts had crossed my mind. I won't even delve into a few of them...I finally mustered my meager courage and headed home, timidly parking and walking up to the blaringly yellow line (still there, nothing seemed to have changed, except that now there were two cops in bullet-proof vests and a girl in the back of one of the sheriff's cars), and waved one of the cops over. He came over and told me in no uncertain terms that "looky-lous" were not wanted and I needed to leave. I explained my situation and that I lived above the apartment they were investigating. After checking my ID and and verifying that I do, in fact, reside there he let me go up, with the promise that I would come back in a minute to give a statement. They made me answer questions like "Where were you last night between this time and this time?" "Did you hear any yelling or loud noises" "Where there any people outside this apartment when you got home?" etc....

The cops stayed there the entire rest of the day and into the evening, when they put up some sort of floodlights to shine down into the apartment. At one point I peeked out my window, although I was terrified of being considered a "looky-lou"!! A girl was being put into the cop car by her head (you know what I mean, how cops do). They finally left sometime around 11 at night.

What conclusion can we come to folks? Please you tell me, because the only ones I can think of are not pretty.

Could be a drug bust....but would they be there all day? And why ask me questions about yelling and noises the night before?

Could have been some domestic violence...but wouldn't they just put the guy in the cop car and drive him away?

Could have been a stake-out...oh wait, no. too obvious.

Could have been a rape....
Could have been a murder....

Could have been an "accident"....

dun...dun....dun.....

Isn't it Ironic?

I am a writer, I always have been, always will be (that's not the ironic part). I love writing and I think I've been blessed with the creativity and skills to be a good writer. I write on this blog infrequently these days, but I also write in a journal and have throughout my life written in many forms. Just the other day my mom discovered an old box of poetry from my younger days...well, we won't examine that too thoroughly, I used to think all poems had to rhyme. eeshk! Not my best work....Here's the ironic thing: I have spent the last month trying to write an entrance exam to get into graduate school. I can't do it! The harder I try the less capable I am of putting thoughts onto paper in any sort of interesting manner. I've written and thrown out my essay 4 different times, each time starting over in a completely different way. The essays lack voice and character and they read more like a medical chart than a captivating piece on my aspirations of becoming an educator. It's ironic that the thing that I'm so good at and love doing is currently the biggest thorn in my side and is what is getting in the way of my reaching my goal. Hm.........

Eavesdropping...

Yesterday (Sunday) morning I opted for a quiet time and some study time at Starbucks (my valentine's gift was not a box of chocolates or red roses, but rather, a starbucks card! wow, if that doesn't say love, I don't know what does...). I hunkered down with my beloved coffee and arranged my study materials on the table. Little did I know that the three middle-aged gentleman at the table behind mine were chatting...loudly....about things I didn't want to know. They talked about their wives, 2 of them were divorced, and about how they never loved them. Really? Then why did you marry her? One man regaled the others with anecdotes of his new girlfriend (22 years old...that would make her....YOUNGER THAN ME.....yuck!) Do men not understand that that is scummy? and not cool? It doesn't make them more of a dude, it makes them more disgusting. Anyway, I couldn't see any of their faces, but their stories prompted me to get up and move to another table...but as I attempted to exit my chair, I managed to spill the entire contents of my purse, including a bottle of tylenol, over the entire Starbucks floor. As I scrambled to pick up all the contents (and believe me there are a lot! I'm carrying not only the normal purse items, but also work items, studying items, quiet time items, library books, etc....) about 10 people, INCLUDING these men walked by...they walked over my stuff. Not a single person stopped to help me. Not a good samaritan in the bunch...ok, that may be an exageration, but it kind of felt like it. Well, so much for my Starbucks fairytale.......

P.S. What kind of a bank is open on President's day?!?!? I've had a total of maybe 20 customers, and that may be a stretch.

Did you know?!

So, for a the last week or so there has been a "game" going around facebook in which one person writes a note including 25 unknown/interesting facts about themselves to share....while I'm not really a big fan of forwards and that kind of thing, I recognize that this blog has been a bit vacant recently, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some little known (or maybe not, depending on how well I know you) facts about myself with you....

Ok, here are my 25 unknown/uninteresting, oops I mean interesting things about me.....

1). I've been tear-gassed.

2). I have a "condition" known as Grapheme Synesthesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapheme-color_synesthesia) in which I associate every number is a color. I also do it for people, but with people the colors change. Up until a couple years ago I thought this was normal...since I discovered it's not, I've only known one other person who has it - my mom. Must be genetic....

3). I'm excrutiatingly shy. I know most of you don't believe me, but it's true.

4). I've eaten ostrich. and pheasant. and venison.

5). I've never seen Lord of the Rings. and I plan on keeping it that way.

6). I dislike foods based on texture more than on taste. (I hate mushrooms, seafood, and pretty much anything slimy for that reason)

7). My closet is organized....by color AND categorized into daytime/nicer.

8). My favorite TV show of all time is FRIENDS. I'm pretty sure I have every line memorized. Challenge me sometime....

9). I LOVE WARMTH and SUNSHINE. I would much rather be too hot than too cold. Why do I live in Seattle, you ask? I wonder that as well...but I do love how beautifully green it is in Washington.

10). I want 4 kids. yup, 4. However, that might be a problem (see 11).)

11). As of this month, I've been single for 4, count 'em 4 years.....I'm ok with it, but society is not.

12). I'm currently applying to graduate school to get my Master's in Teaching...it's a stressful process, but if I'm lucky enough to get in, I am so excited to go back to school.

13). I'm an ESTJ personality type. Heavy on the E and the J.

14). I heart Tae Bo. I'm horribly inflexible and weak, but I love love love it.

15). Most of the people I love live far away from me these days :( With a few exceptions...

16). I'm a music junkie. Seriously I'm always looking for new good music. I've recently discovered Wilco and Band of Horses. Also the new singles by Lifehouse and The Fray are worth a listen.

17). I loved snow all my life until this December. Now it is my worst enemy.

18). I've been piranha fishing. and seen an anaconda up close and personal :S

19). I talk in my sleep! Ask me about wrapping presents for "the old jazz band people"

20). I love to play the piano, although I only took lessons for two years, so I'm not that good.

21). I suck at all sports. But I love to swim and play tennis. And I like to go to sporting events on occasion.

22). I did not vote in the McCain/Obama election, nor did I watch the Superbowl.

23). I love learning languages. I speak some Spanish...and I've just started learning Bosnian. Ti su curka! Zravo drugarice. Sta ima? Zaspah....cool, huh?

24). I hate driving, especially if there are people in my car. But really, I hate driving in general.

25). I named our washing machine and my bedroom door.

I'm also realizing that by posting this on my blog, it will re-post to facebook...oops!