Chronically Distracted

Tea!

Tea in the morning(night). But not real tea. Herbal tea. Fake tea. Pretend tea.

Tea lied to me because I never knew Herbal tea wasn't "Tea."

I'm sorry, tea world, but this is my tea.

Chamomile and anise (pronounced in spanish please) for yucky stomachs.

Mint and peppermint for something different; but THEN. Omg, then I found out that there are other teas.
Not just like that orange and raspberry stuff that I would never drink unless I was with someone who loved it and they offered me some before they had a drink of it or poured me some in my own glass.

I found green tea ("real tea" (pfffft)), different kinds of it, and Chai. Chai that tastes like pumpkin pie. Sometimes. Chai with (soy)milk and sweetness. Except Starbucks, last resort Chai which tastes sweeeet.

Tell me about tea. Because I love "Fireside Chai" with "Caffeine-Free Rooibos." Which I pronounce in my mind "roobios."
I love Té de Limon (Lemongrass Tea). I think rosehips will probably make tea taste good. I'm going to try; I'm so excited; I'm going to try a sweet tea. They have it at the store. It's organic. Organic potential goodness.

I don't know nothing about tea, but I'll keep drinking it.

I went to a Zumba class today. (a fusion of hip-hop, salsa, and aerobics! apparently a fusion that really varies depending on what class you take).

So that was interesting.

The preface of this would be that I saw a really cool Zumba demonstration and thought, I could totally do that and have fun! And it'd be good for my health!

With a bit of trepidation I went to my local Zumba class and I am not entirely sure I'm going back.

They play reggaeton music. Which is not bad in of itself, it is just not quite to my tastes. Essentially I don't like not being able to understand what they're saying (and here I mean slang), and I'm not entirely sure I want to understand what they're saying. This, of course, would be fine if it was a hip hop class because then I would feel like there was a whole history and social aspect behind it, therefore I don't have to think about so much (I realize I already have over-thought it. it's what i do.).

Also, doing aerobics, dancing to "sexy" music with some women who seem a little a bit to into it, while the instructor keeps going "a yi yi yi!" and squawking like a bird because the song is vaguely jungle like in it's theme, while I keep glancing at the door praying no one can see me, does not necessarily make for a great workout experience.

But . . . it was a great workout and I felt appropriately exhausted afterwards and it would make up for all the sitting I'm doing.

Avoid embarrassment or utilize a convenient way to be healthy?

Guess we'll find out next thursday.

Yum.

(in Seattle)




and Yum.




And I dare not leave out more of the Serious Pie (best pizza place!), which this time had potatoes on it that were delicious in a cheesy kind of way.



I love going to cafes to hang out. Optimal homework places, when they're not playing Beyonce over the sound system . . .

The view from Ivar's restaurant in Seattle (one of many, probably!):


My delicious meal?

Clam Chowder, Mmmm. One of my favorite meals that I can have even less often than before. Let's just say that I wasn't too worried about salt when I was in Seattle.


I am not a big fan of fish. I at one time loved eating salmon and sushi. I'm not allowed to eat sushi anymore, got kinda sick of salmon. Not this salmon though:


This was probably one of the more mellow moments of the Seattle vacation. A great vacation.

I've been watching some Anthony Bourdain No Reservations lately, and I wish I could just eat. Cook anything I want eat anything I want. Experience good food and know it when I taste it.
The problem is I don't have enough basic cooking experience to even know what to do with food after it's in the kitchen. I have to look it up.

The plan is to keep cooking new stuff so I can understand how it all fits together. That plus grad school? Yeah, grad school is definitely taking precedence.

Maybe after I graduate I'll start a 365 a la Julie&Julia but with just any recipe I choose. I would loooove that.
Hopefully with less break downs. Is it possible to be a fangirl for food?

Also, weird result of having to cut down on food and sugar and cooking almost everything on the pioneer woman's website is that I hate watching food network unless it's a contest show.

The California Library Association convention was inspiring. Maybe not in the way it may appear to have been to others.

Mainly what I felt inspired by was connecting with others who I felt had a similar disposition to mine. It made me feel like I'm on the right career path. Writing an annotated bibliography and crossing my fingers, hoping that my amazing team mates could get the finishing touches put on our database and turn, it in also made it an interesting experience. but it all got done!
I have some reading to catch up with, but being present in the reality of my future instead of reading websites and books about all of it felt like I was breathing again. Not just stuck in the same stale place.

This may also have something to do with my recent urge to hibernate. I just want to crochet, cook, and watch television shows. But being inside all the time is very counterproductive to a healthy school life, I have discovered. I would love to just stay in, but keeping my sanity while doing school requires more human to human interaction than I may have anticipated.

I'm excited about acquiring these new skills and understanding more as I go on, and I want to just hide out in doing things I feel are warm and inviting.

It's an interesting place to be in, wanting to be alone and in the midst of the social event at the same time.
Good thing there's tv on the internet!

And where was I at in Seattle?
At the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, one of the most amazing museums ever.


Half of it is all about music history, and it's interactive, and half of it is an amazing science fiction museum. I love it. PLUS! there was a jim henson exhibit while we were there. If you're in Seattle than you should Definitely go to this museum. Unless you hate music. Then we obviously have nothing in common.

Well I'm starting NaBloPoMo on a late note, as it's 11:16 p.m.!

But since I've totally slacked on my Seattle trip pictures, here's s'more! No, not smores, some more pictures! Then I will go to sleep and hopefully rest well. Went to the California Library Association conference this weekend and it was muy fun, and I will definitely have to update everyone (eeeveryone) on that later.

For now, Seattle pic!

Can you guess where we went before/after the Space Needle?
hint #1:


hint #2:

I could watch this over and over again.


I'm so tempted to buy the song, even though it's $1.29 on itunes.

Especially since it's been posted by both of my teachers in both of my classes!



:D

Way up here,


we saw this ,


and I ate this.



We all ate this

and this


So, so delicious. And rich. And delicious.

It's the monorail!


'cause we're going here!


and here!

Pizza close ups, yummy Serious Pie



Molten Chocolate, all gone.


What's this? Where are we going now?

Best pizza place, so, so good. In Seattle, of course.




Close-ups to come.

Didn't post yesterday, have some family related things going on. But here are more pictures. :)

The Max Hotel Room




The art comes from local artists.

At the sushi restaurant connected to the Hotel Max.

My new nemsis, miso soup (it has soo much salt, but it's sooo good):


BBQ eel bowl with rice and assorted veggie stuff. So good, but also probably more salt than I should be eating . . . it was yummy though.


When we flew into the city I couldnt help but think, wow, this place is kinda ugly. That would change after a few days there.

Okay, I really don't have time to write an entire post about Seattle.
So as of tomorrow, I'm going to post one picture of a Seattle from my vacation, along with a few words of description, until I am done. Then I won't feel guilty everytime I log on, and I'll feel like I'm actually interacting with people!
Which I haven't been doing sooo much of since school has started.

Good new is, I got an A on my first paper!! So I'm purdy happy about that. :)
Still got several more to work on. Learning a lot (that I may or may not understand at this point) about databases. More gibberish about that might come soon, if I can collect enough free time to write about it outside of school!

I hope my lj friends are doing well, or as well as can be. Back tomorrow with a picture!

I'm working on my Seattle post, but my life is consumed with school (and some crocheting here and there. just wait till you see what if finished!). Luckily, that includes watching things like this:



Which only makes me want to go to library conferences all the more.





Hey! This is sort-of seattle related! Right?

I got my computer back! Everyone muppet and/or snoopy dance!
Also, been feeling better about things in general, other than my knees hurting from improper yoga.

So! Since I keep promising to post and don't deliver, I am instead going to teach you all about facebook etiquette.
Via this video:


:D!

I haven't been feeling to so great. Let's just say that hearing too much about the environment is not a recipe for kitties and peanut butter candies. (read: sunshine and happiness).

But I'm working on it, trying to find solutions, and then I read my horoscope for the week:

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I have tuned in to your yearning for resolution, O Seeker. I know that your heart fervently wants the riddles to run their course, the mysteries to be revealed, the uncertainties to be quelled. And I have ransacked my imagination in search of what consolation I might provide to appease your quest for neat, simple truths. But what I have concluded, O In-Between One, is that any solutions I might try to offer you would not only be fake, but also counterproductive. What you actually need, I suspect, are not answers to your urgent questions, but rather, better questions; more precisely formulated questions; more ruthlessly honest questions. Dig deeper, please. Open wider. Think fatter. (http://www.freewillastrology.com/)

Which is part of what I need to hear. I'll let you know when I come up with some good stuff, or at least find a website that's just good news!

My computer is broken. The outside of it, I can still turn it on and type on it, but the more I do the more I'm scared the monitor/screen is going to fall off (it's a laptop).
So no picture updates juust yet. Also, I have been totally slammed by graduate school, as was to be expected.
Which of course means that I have a new obsession!!! (she said in a sing-songy voice).
That would be watching The Guild: http://www.watchtheguild.com/
The episodes aren't very long, and they are very good. The first one might not seem that funny at first, more awkward, but the more you watch it the more it just gets better and more hilarious. Also, I don't play online games, but doing an online graduate program really makes me feel like the people in the game. Just obsessively on the computer All The Time.
I wish I could do a proper update but I'm hungry and need to read about 60 pages before I go to sleep. And watch What Not To Wear.

Night!!!

Viewing:

(It's really good, albeit five minutes. Some of the words are blurry, but watch the whole thing once through first and then go back to see what they say.)

Reading: HHAHAhahahah*cough*. Oh, honey. You don't even want to know.