I Found My Polling Place, And You Can Too

Can you even believe that Election Day is LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY???

I've stopped watching the news, actually. I'm just going to vote. And I know where I'm going to vote, because I took the time to go to MyVote.com a month ago, check my registration, and register to vote in Seattle, and then I checked my status this morning to verify that I was registered in King County, which I was.

And then I called this number: 206-296-VOTE (8683). I pressed (2), I entered my birthdate and house number, and boom: the recorded voice told me where I was assigned to vote. It was very quick, very easy, and I didn't have to talk to a person, which was a good thing in this case. I know where I'm going to vote on Tuesday! Hooray!

Which is a good thing, because I'm flying out that day to go to St. Louis. The end of the year Crunch Time has begun.

Little Green Bits

I took a weekend and went to The Homestead, this weekend, to see some people and do some things and generally make a nuisance of myself, which I did to the fullest extent. I got to see Jennie for the first time in maybe six years, and I got to see a bunch of hometown friends and I got to go out in Tacoma, certainly an...individual experience, and it was all well and good, except that all day Sunday I had to sing. Yes, sing. Which is normally an activity I like. I'm not very good--and certainly I'm way out of practice--but I can carry a tune and read music, and I like to do it.

Except when I've been out the night before among Tacoma's alcoholics, shouting over people--and when the night before THAT I had been up here in Seattle, at Neighbors, of all places, shouting at my friends over the very loud dance music. (The topic of the night at Neighbors: are those very friendly boys military and enjoying their don't-ask, don't-tell policies? Or are they just imitating the look?) (I voted for actually military.)

ANYWAY. Shouting over dance music and then shouting over Joy Division, two nights in a row, is not recommended. Sunday I took four aspirin and sang for hours, and then Monday I woke up with no voice at all, and coughing up little green bits of phlegm.

But you know, these things happen. It's the price I willingly pay.

So There I Was...

Titan and I were just walking along, minding our own business, passing a pair of dogs with their owner, when all of a sudden there was an Altercation with one of the dogs. I tried not to panic, stayed out of the way, grabbed Titan's leash when I could (NEVER get in the way of a dog fight!)--and pulled him out. The dog owner and I exchanged "Ohmigod, are you okay?"s, and after giving Titan the once over in the dark, we went ahead and walked on to my apartment.

On the way into my apartment, Titan rubbed his left ear on the wall and I didn't think anything of it. We entered my apartment, with Titan shaking his head as if to dislodge something from his ear, and suddenly I noticed that I had a drop of blood on my hand.

"I must have gotten scratched during that brawl," I thought, and that was the last coherent thought I had for some time, because it was about then that I noticed that half of Titan's ear was missing. And like a camera coming into focus, I lifted up mine eyes and saw a sea of blood, all over my apartment, all over the floor, all over my papers and in my wine glass and all over the walls and door and mirrors. I thought about Titan rubbing his ear on the wall up the stairs to my apartment and, dreading what I might see, opened my apartment door again.

Oh. Blog. It looked exactly like Jason had dropped by my apartment building and stopped for a second to clean his chain saw. A huge swath of dog blood ran the entire length of the wall.

And then a lot happened all at once. I dragged Titan into the bathroom, washed his ear, and tried for the life of me to stick a bandage on it. Let me tell you how hard it is to get a bandage--ANY bandage--to stick to a furry, soft, flexible ear. Every time I'd think I had it on there, he'd shake it off--and spray the bathroom walls, shower curtain, and mirror with more blood.

Finally I got it somewhat bandaged and dragged him into the hallway while I used hydrogen peroxide on the blood stains, and about then I had to call for help. Fortunately a very nice boy had some good advice and offered his services.

"Just come over here," he said, himself the owner of a big dog. "I have liquid skin, and a big plastic cone. I'll help."

On the way, flustered and lost, I ended up in U Village and thought I would take the time to get bandages at the Bartells. And then I looked at myself. I looked exactly like I'd been in a room with blood spatter--it was on my skin, on my arms, all over my white tank top, and of course I'd been too flustered to bring along a damned jacket. Sarah called me about this time, as I was digging out my motorcycle jacket from the back of the car.

"Sorry," I said, juggling the phone from one ear to my shoulder to the crook of my elbow. "I'm putting on my motorcycle jacket."

Sarah, on the phone, sounded a little confused. "Are you going for a ride?"

"Oh no," I said, maybe a trifle hysterically. "Titan got his ear bitten off and I need to buy bandages and I can't go into the store to get him any bandages in my blood-spattered tank top!"

Sarah: "...Well, as closing lines go, that's a pretty damn good one."

Outclassed

Sarah and I, talking about depression and comfort foods:

Me: "I've stopped even putting brie on bread--I just eat smooshes of it off the butter knife."

Sarah: "I've started eating FAKE guacamole."

Me: "...Wait, what? Are you just eating the green avocado paste?"

Sarah: "No. I've started eating the PRE-MADE stuff. That's how lazy I am."

Me: "Are you telling me that you normally make your own guacamole??"

Sarah: "Well...sure. Don't you?"

Re-Reading: A Short Ode

I'm not the only one who re-reads obsessively! Gretchen Rubin does it, too!

Comfort Food For Your Mind.

Gretchen Rubin's blog, The Happiness Project, is not just fascinating but also useful--as opposed to my blog, which is just fascinating. (RIGHT?) Today she has a post about finding comfort food for your mind in the midst of stress and anxiety, which is not only a great idea, but might prevent people from EATING comfort food, since the whole point of comfort food is to relax your mind. Wouldn't be easier just to relax your mind without the food? Go straight to the source, as it were?

And also, you might get skinnier?

In the post, she mentions that Victorian literature or children's books are comfort food for the mind, for her, and that she often re-reads: "When I’m upset, I want the comfort of knowing that I’ll love the book and that I won’t be upset by some unexpected plot twist."

AMEN, SISTER. I admit in full view of Blog and Everyone that I am an obsessive re-reader, re-watcher, and re-player, often to the detriment of those around me. The "repeat song" option on iTunes was invented for people like me--before its arrival I had to Alt-Tab over to my mp3 player and actually hit the "<<" button every time I heard the song coming to an end, which was imprecise and broke my concentration. I once sat, writing, in my then-boyfriend's single dorm (hi, SP!) and played the same Metallica song over and over and over again, until he finally rose up and closed the mp3 player.

People arriving in my apartment often comment on the number of books I have--a lot--and I've read some decluttering articles about how books are a source of clutter, and every right-thinking person should cull their collections occasionally. That's a Palin-load of nonsense. Not only does Freakonomics' Stephen Levitt back me up--a high concentration of books in a home has been linked to higher grades, and heavy library visits don't have the same effect--but a big source of happiness for me is to have my own private library of favorite books that I can read over and over, twice in a day, three times in a day, maybe as little as once a month. Re-reading is the bomb.

My Weekend on YouTube

This isn't really my weekend at all--no one appeared in Viking hats, sadly.



But nevertheless it's an excellent song for exactly what everyone does in L.A, which is where I am.

Blog Block

The problem with everyone and their brother reading my blog is that if I start doing things that I DON'T want everyone to know about, I can't blog about it. And no, I haven't suddenly started making meth in the basement (because I don't have one) or going to the Mormon Church's Single Sundays--which do exist, by the way--because I have no idea where the nearest Mormon temple is around me and I don't care to find out. Really, it's a combination of motorcycle class (I have my REAL license! I passed the test with flying colors!) and dating and Blog knows what else--although the blog doesn't actually know, as I haven't yet shared--plus the fact that I haven't slept through the night in two solid weeks. I don't remember the last time I suffered this badly from insomnia and I am OVER it, people. So over it. Make a note.

But in spite of these obstacles, I will be back to blogging very soon. Promise.

Advice from Mom

Keep your hands away from your face.

Don't pick at it.

Smile, Miss Dear.

Pull your shoulders back.

Sit up straight.

Always have some green on the plate.

Wait for the boy to call you.

If you take hours in the bathroom, eventually your date will leave you.

Walk after dinner.

Coffee creates mood swings.

Sugar ruins your skin.

Eat more protein.

You can get water for free from the drinking fountain.

Don't be jealous of skills that other girls have. Each person gets something.

When in doubt, buy the next size up.

Don't get in a power struggle with a boy. Let him have his own way. You do things your way when you're not with him.

Blot--BLOT--don't rub.

When in doubt, a big smile will get you a long way.

Comb that hair, Miss Dear.

STAND UP STRAIGHT, sweetie! How will people see your beautiful figure if you slouch?

This idea copied blatantly from Maggeh, who besides having the coolest name in the world, is a genius.

In Honor of GET OUT THE VOTE Day

A great video:



For some reason, my firefox is acting up today, so if you can't see that, try this link on Internet Explorer. That worked well for me.

It's well-shot, and well acted, except for perhaps Halle Berry. Jonah Hill and Sarah Silverman are especially good. Send it to five friends! GET OUT THE VOTE!

Also, if you're in Washington State, the deadline to register is Oct. 4th, BUT you can still go to the county auditor's office and register for the next FIFTEEN DAYS, so HURRY. HERE is a list of all the county auditor offices. (Look at me, I'm doing research!)

What if you're registered--or think you are--but you can't remember where? No worries. Try here: MyVote.

Clarification on Yesterday

My life has not ACTUALLY gone to pot. My mother emailed me, concerned: "How can your life have gone to pot already? You're only 27!"

My life is really fine, thank you for being concerned, everyone. No worries. But my pipes have been backed up for three days and tends to put a damper on a girl's mood, not having plumbing or being able to use her kitchen sink or bathroom sink. It's amazing how dependent a modern girl can be on indoor plumbing. And I've been working a lot, because it's SAT week and my high schoolers are FREAKING OUT. Also I dropped a favorite mug a friend gave me and I'm sad about it, and I cut myself (AGAIN) on said mug, but beyond that, I am fine.

Moving on to vegetables: I ate my missing two cups yesterday, in the form of vegetable soup, and I've already eaten two cups today, in the form of vegetable soup. (Green on Green soup, to be specific.) Just half a cup of vegetables to go.

I know you're fascinated by my vegetable habit. Don't try to hide it.

The Vegetable Challenge

When the rest of your life goes to pot, talk about food instead!

Some absolutely terrific blogs I have found lately:

Heat, Eat, Review.

Are you single? Do you eat a lot of processed food? Is Lean Cuisine one of your actual food groups? You need this blog. It will absorb guilt, process your extra sodium, and actually tell you what processed food to eat and to avoid. And it's funny.

Cheap Healthy Good.

I didn't mean for my first two blog suggestions to both have three word titles, it just happened that way. 'Swear.

Anyway. Cheap, Healthy, Good is exactly what it sounds like--they focus on tasty, healthy food--and it has to come cheap. They break out all their recipes by nutritional info AND by dollar amount. That's pretty sweet. A favorite recent post of theirs analyzes the favorite foods of the presidential candidates.

Culinate.

I just found this blog, and I can't believe I didn't find it before. It's awesome for a number of reasons--the actual experience and knowledge of the contributors, the emphasis on how food shouldn't be fancy, just good, and most of all, The Vegetable Challenge, which I just joined. Now I have to eat five servings of veggies every DAY. But hey, I could win a cookbook!

My progress so far today: I ate 1/3 of a cup of frozen, mixed vegetables with my lunch. Only another two cups to go. Humph.