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Attempted to hike up Sehome Hill today but I was pretty uncomortable with the amount of mosquitos there were. I must smell wonderful to them, because they were feeding off of me and not Morgan. If they were cute, I wouldn't mind looking over my shoulder and finding four of them clinging to my shirt, but they are not - they're fat ugly flying leeches. Made it half way up and changed my mind. Instead, Morgan and I just strolled around the Sehome area, got lunch, waffle cones and slowly walked home. I love these days.

Today's photo is of...well, it was really neat looking and outside of the art building on the Western Washington University campus.

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Woke up early and walked downtown to go exploring. Got myself some pretty new shades and tried the vegan-friendly Mexican restaurant, Casa Que Pasa. They're famous for their rediculously large burritos. I got the potato burrito - which everyone who has mentioned that place will rave about - and it, for lack of a better word, sucked. Enjoyed the sunshine. It is HOT!

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Lunch at Colophon Cafe in Fairhaven.

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Went with Sara to her coworkers going-away party. We had dinner at the Black Fish at the Tulalip Casino - it was delicious. Started with three kinds of oysters, grilled prawns with veggies and sweet potato fries as an entree and finished with a dark chocolate cupcake. The whole meal was extravagant and our waiter was... pretty friendly. He flirted with all of the women (there were 28 men and women in the whole group, more women than men) and made lots of sexy jokes after one of Sara's coworkers asked how big the king salmon was. :| Blew through $20 at the casino and called it a night. I made it home and into bed around 1:30.

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Vitamins

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I passed out last night around 10. I was beat. Slept in this morning until 7:50. Nearly ten hours of sleep and I still moved slowly through my apartment to get ready.

Work went by quick.

Tonight Morgan is staying at his parent's. I had forgotten, until I was finished with my errands after work and gave him a call. Sleeping alone can sometimes be awkward, but then I also get annoyed when I don't have enough room in my bed to stretch out my limbs. Oh my, can't live with him or without him.
Tonight I will go to bed with Chewbacca*.



*see May 4th post please.

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Happy Memorial Day!

The funniest thing about staying at Birch Bay is that the walls do not reach the ceiling. We are all adults and do not need to be told to behave ourselves, but it was the creaking of the couch or bed whenever it's occupant rolled over in his sleep that woke me. It's actually kind of nice - like camping almost. :)

I woke a few times and slept until near noon. Morgan was finishing up a shower while Stu and Gus were hanging outside. Quickly got ready and we all walked down the the C Shop for ice cream. Walked damn near to the far end of Birch Bay to get more charcoal. Came back tired and still too full from last night for even a late lunch. We gave up and packed to go home. Great company for a beautiful weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

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Slept well and woke up when Morgan left for work. Got ready for the day at an enjoyably slow pace and went downtown to listen to Allison play. Heard another local artist named Jasmine Riley who is wonderful live. Was home and packed for the night when Morgan came home. Stu and Gus met us shortly after and we carpooled up to Birch Bay. A trip to the grocery store left us poor and hungry. The clerk loaded the receipt paper backwards, which explains the blank strip. Morgan told her to write down the total and call it good. Came back to the cabin and the boys cleaned up the yard for Morgan's parents (Gus and I stood around for a bit and then somewhat helped). So nice! Stu grilled steak and burgers. We retired around the fire with s'mores stuffs and told stories and made jokes. Went inside as it started getting cold and watched Underworld. Made it all but fifteen minutes through and called it quits. I slept damn good.

Such nice boys.





"Fire means flavor!"

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It's almost nice enough to go outside today. Almost.

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T.G.I.F. Morgan and I had a movie night. Watched Laura (1944). Check it out if you think Vincent Price was a hunk. Watched Mulholland Drive for the first time in years. I liked it so much more this second time around, I wonder why I put off watching it again for so long. I don't get it but I do enjoy the ride.

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I am going to finish my cup of tea and get to writing. No more putting things off! I will likely be laying low the next couple weeks to begin next steps and gather momentum before the plunge.

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Wednesday. Oh, what can I possibly say about Wednesday. Has there ever lived another procrastinator of such high caliber, a person who could not complete a thing until the last moment?

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Went around Fairhaven, downtown Bellingham and WWU putting up posters and flyers for Allison's show at Caffe Adagio at noon on Sunday. I will definitely do this again, it was neat.

Morgan's Sunday-hangover turned into a cold, so he was immobile when I got home. Made a late dinner and paired it with Escape from New York. Mexican food and action movies compliment one another quite nicely.

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Gravity and I had an argument this morning and it's been taunting me ever since. I had a great time last night, but no more of that for awhile... I'll save that unfavorable state for special occasions.

Today was the first time I got to hear Allison play live since January. Morgan and I made dinner for her and John and in turn she let us hear some of the music she has been working on lately. Attending Berklee is doing wonderful things for her, as well as her music. In the style of the aspiring-musician's friend, here I will shamelessly plug her music:

http://www.myspace.com/allisonmusick

Today also marks the true beginning of my Song-a-week project. I got Allison to agree to join me. She'll be doing the "advanced study" or this course. Her theme this week is bossa nova (as well as mine, which is how I chose hers) and she'll have to prominently include the phrase, "meek and mild," in her song. We'll see what happens! glad to be writing again!! California, here we come :)

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Today my family and I (along with Sara) went to Chuck E. Cheese's for Andrew's sixth birthday. I hope that spelling is right...

Sara was kind enough to help me on a last-minute gift hunt for Andrew. He ended up with lots of neat stuff. I love spoiling these children! Maybe that urge out of me now, I won't need to in ten years. :P

It was fun! Sara and I got quite a workout in running around after the little people. I haven't been to one of those places since I was six or seven. With everyone playing games, we ended up with seven hundred and fifteen tickets! Thought that was impressive until the little snot in the booth next to us yelled that she got ninety tickets in one game. Little SNOT.

After that, Sara and I went south to grab a few things so she could crash at my place. Came back up to Bellingham and made it just in time for people to start mobbing around downtown. Went bar hopping and came home quite sloshed. We ended up having our neighbors over and before we knew it we were all sloshed together! I love how liquor makes everyone the best of friends. :)

All in all, a memorable day.

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Finally!

I watched Star Trek! Feels like I've been waiting years to see this movie... oh wait, I have. And guess what? I loved it. No surprise there. Morgan, not so much. No surprise there either. We thought we were being smart about waiting a week after opening night and seeing at a smaller theater, but it was still packed with people. Love it!

Today's picture is of a sandwich. Nothing special... except it was the BEST sandwich EVER! Roasted eggplant with tomatoes, basil, provolone and pesto spread on both sides of rosemary foccacia. For awhile it was heaven, and then it was over. Morgan said I could have done this one a lot better - it could have looked more like a canyon. I make him wait for his food when I want to photograph it, but I gave this one four shots then took pleasure in eating it. That's it for today.

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I've been wanting to photograph my matryoshka doll since I started this project-365. Today is perfect, as I am pretty worn out from yesterday and am enjoying lounging around. These are a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other, or commonly referred to as "nesting dolls." I think I was 10 when my dad brought this home from Russia, and through the years this is one of the last items that I have kept from his travels.

I love how the little doll appears to be annoyed!

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Happy Birthday Me!

Today. Was. Awesome.

Morgan and I (actually got enough sleep and still) were able to get up before 9am, get ready, get coffee and get on the road to Seattle. We started the day off with the Underground Tour, which was creepy and oh-so awesome! We both dig exploring historical sites, so this was great.

Wandered around Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market, then down to the waterfront. Had lunch at El Puerco Lloron, this hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that I've been eyeing for years. The food there is amazing. So much time wasted! It started to pour down rain so we decided to make our way back North.

Stopped at the Best Buy at Northgate. I LOVE this store! It has a ENORMOUS music section! Morgan bought me a new capo and strings. I stumped the salesperson by asking for a demonstration of a loop pedal that he happened to know nothing about. That was fun, he was trying his best. I'm sure we'll be back there soon to take advantage of his discount.

Had dinner in Lynnwood at ye olde Spaghetti Factory. Spumoni ice cream is something else. All day I had been trying to convice Morgan to watch Star Trek, and he finally gave in. We headed to the Loews Theater to find that they weren't even showing it. F**kers. haha It ended up being pretty late when we got home, so the plan is to catch it on Thursday night. We better...been waiting forever for this stupid movie.

Awesome birthday!

This is one of the skylights for the Seattle Underground. Up top, they look like grids of purple glass. Neat!

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Work. Was. A. Nightmare. For most of the day, my boss treated me terribly - and he wasn't even in the office! What the hell? I cringed whenever the phone rang, I did NOT want to talk to him. I am almost tempted to take up my old, old job at the adult store. Hah, that is desperation. If he doesn't lighten up, scraping up a crappy old job would be an improvement.

Morgan made my night better. I didn't want much of a plan for my birthday this year, but I did ask for the day off. Tomorrow we'll head into Seattle and enjoy the day. I wonder what he got me for my birthday...

On a side-note, did you know you can sip a surprisingly satisfying amount of nectar out of Azaleas?

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Happy 6^th Birthday, Andrew!

Today my oldest little brother turns six years old. My, how time flies! Unfortunately I couldn't be with him today, but the official birthday celebration happens this Saturday and we'll have lots of fun.

Happy Birthday, bud! I love you!

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Happy Mother's Day!

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¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
&
Kodomo no Hi omedetou!

I love May 5th!

This is my first year as a legal participant of Cinco de Mayo festivities, but I have always been able to celebrate Kodomo no Hi (Children's day in Japan). What a sad thing that the United States does not have a holiday as awesome as this. This was like my pre-birthday celebration when I was a child living in Japan, as it falls the week before my birthday.

Morgan brought home Pacifico and made Mexican food for dinner. We ended up watching Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. With this, I figure we killed three birds with one stone: we commemorated the life of the late Ricardo Montalban, celebrated, with him, the nation of Mexico on Cinco de Mayo, and reminded ourselves of how awesome Spock is in preparation for the new movie. I nearly cry when he dies...

Happy get drunk day!

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May the 4^th be with you!

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My little siblings LOVED everything about camping - they were very sad when we left this morning. We'll be planning another in the near future. I love nature!

My mom took advantage of the cheap grocery store by the campground and bought some crab. I didn't have very long because she was ravenous and wouldn't let me take another picture. I sharpened it a bit, and now the face of this crab is plain creepy.

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Went camping with the family over the weekend.

We rented a cabin at Jim Creek and arrived last night. There is so much to see and do here!

Here's my sister in her silly mask. Note her excellent taste in footwear.

My parents and brothers explored for a bit while my sister played with her friend. I found them climbing up the side of the hill and disappearing in the trees! I quickly caught up and we went on a short (but steep) hike.

Here's an image of two photos merged using exposure blending.

And this was our cabin!

All in all, a fun trip.

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Happy First of May!

May is the best month for me. Three birthdays, Mother's Day and Memorial Day weekend make up for an awesome four weeks that will fly by. The sunny days are merely an added plus!

Hello, May! Great to see you again!

Tonight my family and I arrived at our rented cabin for the weekend. These are my brothers being silly.

I laughed so hard when I first saw this.^ What a goofball.