this is for u michael

i'm not making any resolutions. however, a major goal that i plan to work on is getting to know my acquaintances better. I've strongly felt the loss of my closest friends all moving away and spent a good deal of time dwelling on my loneliness. I have Nicholas, but one needs more than just the "significant other" to get along and to feel whole. I need friends, mainly other women, to spend time with. I have friends to talk to on the phone, but what i miss the most is sharing experiences with girl friends and having someone to talk to candidly about everything. I've always had very close friends.... but i've shut out many people over the last year or so as i've allowed my anxieties, my work, and my relationship to consume me.

I want to try to allow myself to be a bit more vulnerable and to give someone new a chance to be a friend.

this feels scary, but i will not let fear stop me this time.

i hope.

This is for 24/7 Seattle Locksmiths-Fremont location

"I locked myself out of my house at 11:30 at night. After calling my boyfriend who was in SF and getting the number for the first 24 hour locksmith I phoned their Fremont location. I asked for an estimate to make sure I could even pay them and the woman I spoke to said it would be 40$ just for the guy to come out and then some unknown amount depending on how long it took him to get the door open. I asked her for a range and told her I wanted to be sure I could pay so she said the tech would call me and I could tell him what kind of lock it was and he would tell me a price. I then verified with her that I could pay by credit card as that was ALL I HAD. She said that was fine. Problem #1: When I talked to the tech he said he couldn't tell me without looking at it so I would just have to chance it or stay locked out. #2: When he got here (surprisingly in exactly 25 min. as he had said) he said he couldn't unlock a deadbolt. I took him to the other door to my house and he said he could do that since it was a doorknob. #3: He couldn't get it unlocked. #4: he almost broke my door trying to pry it open. #5: he ended up having to drill a hole through the doorknob and pound on it with a hammer. (I could have done THAT for FREE!!!) #6: After an hour, he charged me 100$ for the job and when I took out my Visa he said the woman at the shop had gone home for the night so I had to pay cash. Eventually after arguing about it for a few minutes I ended up having to drive to the ATM to pay him the cash.... at ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!! I called the shop when I got home, guess who answered?!! She said he was trying to save me money by requiring I pay cash and tried to convince me that he hadn't lied to me he was just trying to help me. Needless to say, I'll be calling the manager in the morning!! STAY AWAY FROM THESE SCAMMERS!! YOU'RE BETTER OFF LOCKED OUT OF YOUR HOUSE!"

***Assholes!! not to mention, it was so very cold waiting for half an hour outside for them to show and then another hour for him to open the door all i could think about was how miserably cold and in pain people on the streets must be. i want to buy a thousand blankets and other warm things to just give to them. :(

take that! you will now all suffer with me!!

when did the meaning of "asap" change to "Tuesday at noon"?

and why does that count as grounds for failing me?

Stupid Business101! :(

trying to change the world is taking up too much of my free time :(

......... WITH KITTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PICTURES TO COME

so i'm just sitting on my couch winding down before bed and i hear a very loud man's voice say "put your hands out of the window". now i tried to make this make sense as i was watching csi and that logically made sense except that that wasnt what was going on at the time. then i notice flashing lights out of my window. i turn off my lights like a good spy and peek out the window of my living room to see what's going on. we have cop 1 walking up to suspects door with his gun drawn. ps, maybe it was a taser gun cuz i thought they didn't carry guns. i dont know. anyway. pulls guy out of car, puts gun away, cuffs him, searches him.... now here's the fun part: pulls out keys and a long clear thin tube of some kind. weird. guy starts looking wobbly so cop 1, who now has 2 others with him, walks guy over to curb. sits guy down but has to hold him steady. me thinks guy was WASTED!! he starts heaving, looking seizurific and starts puking everywhere. cops start jumping back trying to not get puked on. (psh! pansies! i get puked on ALL the TIME!) anyway, 4 cop cars and 2 ambulances later and some moron pulls up and asks if he can drive down the blocked off street please. the cops all "does it look like you can? thank you" and moron drives away. meanwhile, i'm gathering my camera and watching to make sure when people turn up dead or injured there is a witness. although, to my surprise, the medics and cops were as kind as men in power can be. they didnt coddle him or anything, but they turned him over when he was puking, wiped his face off after he passed out in him puke, held his flailing body still while he puked more, and stayed with him until he could be put in the ambulance. nobody roughed him up or gave him shit. they just searched his car, told him he was going to the hospital for a stomach pumping and towed his car away. whooooo.... drunk driving to the extreme!! i'm amazed that's all that happened and no one is dead, smooshed in a car! he couldn't even sit, i dont know HOW he managed to even turn his car ON!

yey being home alone in belltown.

SPD though.... I'm impressed.

i just kept thinking about how that man used to be some sweet little preschooler and it made me get all teary. it's sad to me that people let themselves get to such a miserable place.

like this woman on the bus the other day. she gets on and another woman sitting across from her (and me) asks her if she remembers her. the lady that got on says no and the other chick's all "we shared a cell in jail!" like "we used to go to camp together". it was effed up. and the forgetful lady was all "they took my kids away the last time they locked me up and i just dont understand why. i'm pissed at them" all that 'oh woe is me bullshit. wah wah it's someone elses fault that i tried to sell my 3 and 5 year old daughters at the 7-11 for drug money. how dare the state take them away!! ........ sorry. family life crept into that one.

anyway, that was my eventful night. now it's bed time. have to get up at 530a tomorrow so i can open the school. had to do that this morning after 2 1/2 hours of sleep. let's try for a little more this time.

nighty night LJ

stupid computer virus. i lost allllll of my bookmarked pages and it was a lot of saved work! :( i almost cried.

lame

'Ello! :D

yes i do think i'm funny, thanks!

ok. quick update! quick because a) nick will be here any second and i'm sure will want to go off for a wander and b) i'm at an internet cafe and i dont want to pay a bunch of money just to type on lj.

so point one: since we're already talking about the cafe- it's 4x cheaper than using the wireless at the hotel we're at. :p internet rape i tell you!! i found it as i was out exploring the neighborhood around out hotel ON MY OWN!! it was the first time i've gone out without nick. he's was at the embassy renewing his visa for the US.

so yes, i spent the first couple days of our trip staying up way too late working on a 6 paged research paper for my Children with Special Needs class back home. it was on Asperger's in children and adults with 8 references.
got it in on wednesday and just heard back from my teacher today: she LOVED it!! she says it was "A++++" !! i'm awesome!

about to taste my first cold waffle in a package...

yeah. that was odd.

anyway, the coffee's good. just signed up for one of two spring quarter classes. Business 101 online and the other will be Children and Nature at North Seattle. the book for bus101 at the bookstore was 130$ used so i ordered it used for 88$ from Amazon. much better! can't seem to find a listing for a book for my other class, so we'll have to see how that ends up.

well, it's time to head off... TO THE TUBE!!

love love love,
signed - Tiff the Londoner :)

currently being without my cell service is making me a bit anxious. i'm hoping that will quickly subside and maybe i'll even start liking being out of touch. :)

we'll see....

we're staying with nick's friends Becky and Dave for a couple of days.

today's plan doesn't exist yet. i've got a 6 page research paper due wednesday, so i'm doing a bit of work on that before we head out for the bus. we're going to go into downtown Bristol and get some coffee and toodle around a bit. last time we were here it was pouring loads and loads of rain so we didnt wander around so much. i'm excited to check it out this time. then later this evening we're going to becky's parents' house for dinner. i guess they're out of town and becky's sister is having us and some other friends over for food, fun, and maybe movies as well.

it's super super cold right now but it's expected to warm up as the day goes on. we both woke up at 6am here this morning thanks to jet lag. watching some tv while i do my homework... commercials here crack me up! they're wacky!

ok. well, a little more work than i'm off to get dressed and head out.

happy monday guys! ;p

ya'll better cross your fingers that i come back. nick and i are off to england for 2 weeks and i'm telling you now, i'm already plotting to find a way to not come back. although we all know i will..... just be prepared. maybe i'll get bit by a spontaneity bug!


they have those you know

the universe and i are not on very good terms right now i guess. :( it's upset with me, or we're not connecting well... every time an injury or sickness heals a new one begins. just got over a back injury/strain and now i pulled something in my LEFT shoulder and have to have it in a sling. and of COURSE i'm left handed! :(

what did i do??!

what is up with that evil Lipozene commercial? "body fat is unattractive and hard to get rid of" might as well show a picture of anorexic chicks and say "if you don't look like this, you're ugly and cant do anything about it" that's what i hear anyway.

bitches

aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

back at my own place, on my own couch, waiting for the time to go catch the bus for dessert and wine... and ANXIOUSLY awaiting nick's arrival home!

This kitty is crazy!
This is after she came tearing across the apt and scaled the chair:




you THINK she looks sweet and calm up there....

(  see! i told you she wasn't being sweet...  )