Saturday 3/29, I woke up with the objective of getting my oil changed and then heading into work but I decided to put off the car stuff and just head into work in case Chrystol called and wanted to hang out with the boys because I knew she had to work at 5 and if I waited to go to work it would be too late for me to go over in time to catch her. I’m such a planner! So I got to work by 9:15, worked until 12:15, talked to Susan on the way home and made possible plans for the evening and next day as I headed home. Started lunch (steamed carrots and green beans, brie and baguette) and Chrystol called and said I could come in if I wanted or wait until the next day because she thought Eric was staying the night and we would have more time to hang out then. Frankly I didn’t have anything else going on so I was leaning toward going over that afternoon even if it was only for a few hours. I made a comment about him thinking I’m probably crazy and she was like “…Noo…I’d say you’re mutually interested in each other” and I was like “Oh, rEALy?” then she elaborated a bit telling me how he had referred to me as his “lady” earlier when Chrystol told him to guess who had to come over to pick up her cat things and how he asked her if he was supposed to ask me for my number or what. Suddenly all the K and R stuff was out of my head and I was giddy with anticipation. I told her I would call her later and ate my lunch and showered and got ready. I called her back and told her I was going to come into Seattle and she told me to come to Goodwill because they’d just arrived. I found Chrystol perusing the jeans and I helped her carry her finds once she started on the shoes. I told her about Ian and Max and she told me about her and Mara’s sleepover and B’s law school prom. We made it over to the house wares, which is my favorite. I was scouring the glasses and Chrystol found some beautiful plates from Spain then Eric walked by the aisle and my phone rang at the same second and it was Dad so as I was giving Eric an enthusiastic hi and all giddy with that Dad thought I was saying hi to him and was like “Hi KB!” so we chatted for a minute and I told him what I was doing then hung up and checked out what the guys had scored. Chrystol had a tote filled by this point and I offered to get a basket. I found three glasses (one says “Harrah’s” which is so close to my name I had to get it) and cut myself off from the dishes, despite Chrystol’s persistent encouragement. The boys and I were looking at nautically themed mugs, glasses and shot glasses and Eric asked if I had a theme room or something and I told him no but something about seamen. That’s seamen with an “A,” I clarified. He’s like “Well I’m a terrible speller” and we all started making semen jokes. Schuyler was like “I’d like to leave out the “A” if it’s all the same to you” then Eric again “I like to pretend the “A” is silent”. So that was great. I ended up in the travel section and picked up a slightly outdated Rick Steves’ Ireland guidebook. Met up with the others again and we all joked and followed each other around the store and eventually Chrystol and I ended up at the dressing rooms snacking on caramels (because I’d stashed the entire bag in my purse - it’s that huge) so she could try some stuff on. I was keeping watch on the loot and Eric popped up eating a Twix and I offered him a caramel and pulled out the bag and he thought that was hilarious. I told him about my trip to CA and Kassie and he suggested J would get his own hotel room and run up a bunch of room charges from porn and raiding the minibar and would come out the next morning with his bow time akimbo and stuff down the front of his chest. We were both laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe. Then we discussed how I would arrange with the front desk for a gigolo to visit my hotel room and put on my credit card. He’s just so funny it’s an extremely charming and attractive trait. Chrystol emerged and we made our way to the front to check out and she was horrified when her total came up. Checking out, Eric asked if I was going to Ireland and I said yes and he asked if I was going by myself and I said no, I’m taking my cat and he said the cat could wear a top hat. I drove everyone back and Chrystol did a fashion show and Schuyler foraged for a 9-volt battery for Eric’s mystery purchase. He finally assembled it and let er rip. Literally. It was a remote controlled fart machine with like 13 different fart sounds. We were all crying we were laughing so hard. Especially when he put it under Chrystol’s chair and pushed the button just as she was sitting down. It was hilarious and we were laughing even harder because we were laughing so hard in the first place. It was so fun. So pretty soon Chrystol and Schuyler are bustling about the house and had left Eric and me in the living room to talk and we were cracking each other up. The candy conversation with the “fallen soldiers” popping up out of the ash tray made me laugh. He started writing my name on a piece of paper but put “Kara” I was like “Nope” then he put “Cara” and I was like “Nope” then he put a bunch of Russian letters then wrote “John” and looked at me for approval. I laughed and told him it was the same as Harrah’s. C and S decided to go to the store to get something to eat and S asked us if we wanted to go too and I was like “Um, I’m ok” and apparently Eric just looked down at the piece of paper with my name on it. So we kept going on my name and he put an extra “A” on the end and when I told him it was an “H” he was like “I just thought your parents had a thing for vowels” then was like “Um, I was wondering if I could get your number” and I was like “Sure!” so that was cute. Then he got the number wrong so we had to start over. We continued talking and discussed the rental car he was given when the Rover was in the shop and they gave him a sea foam green Taurus and was telling the story like he was the guy “You know, like the dinosaur” and I was like, wait, there was a dinosaur called a Taurus? Are you sure? Then we started cracking up because he meant Stegosaurus and the thought of some rental car guy thinking a car and dinosaur were the same made us laugh even harder. Right at that moment C and S returned and we were dying. The fart machine was brought back out and we discussed all the practical places it could be used to embarrass perfect strangers, or even friends: movie theater, church, board meetings (taped to the underside of a chair), on a first date to embarrass the lady you’re eating with then comment boisterously to the waiter “Well I certainly think she enjoyed the crab cakes!” or something equally ridiculous. There were all sorts. It was time for Chrystol to go baby-sit so I took off too and Eric said he would call me and I said by to Schuyler and C and I walked out and chatted for a minute then I took off. I called Mom to see if she was home to go over there and she was and she’d just finished some chili and told me to come over. Chrystol called as I was squealing and clapping my hands at a red light because I was so excited and was like “I’m sure Schuyler’s gotten the scoop by now, and I want it too!” so I told her and she said that after they’d walked out that Schuyler had commented on how awkward it was with them leaving. I told C that it was fine after they left and that we’d talked the whole time and that it was all good. We discussed the proper amount of time guys are supposed to wait to call and that if he calls at the wrong time to blame her as she’d probably given him incorrect advice. I told her my expectations are fairly low based on the track record I’ve managed to rack up. We hung up and I went over to Mom’s, stomach growling, and walked in declaring “I’m hungry! Feed me!” so she scooped some up and I topped with tortilla chips and cheese for a little crunch and creaminess. I hung there for a few hours talking to Mom and Dad and telling them about Eric and discussing other fun things. I talked to Susan who said she would go to the Tennis Pro show with me so I left around 7:45 for her house and laid in her bed for a while watching “Catch Me if You Can” and laughed when Leonardo swindled Jennifer Garner. We decided against the TP show because it was snowing and freezing and parking would be a bitch and instead decided on Everyday Music so I could get a cd for Kassie. Too bad they didn’t have the one I wanted, so I had to improvise and picked up a couple low priced ones for myself. Joan Jett being one of them. We walked around looking at cds and laughing forever, especially when she was like “I’m entitled” so then I started saying it “I’m Susan, I’m entitled. I.e., delusional!” There was some song that Susan said was my theme song because it said “(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On” and we cackled manically. So true. We thoroughly scoured the cd inventory, made our purchases and headed back to Susan’s listening to “Do You Want to Touch (Oh Yeah!)”. I dropped her off and headed home because I was very tired and watched some of SNL, updated this and went to bed.

Friday 3/28, I stopped at Fred Meyer to pick up my prescription and also some chips, brie and French bread. I also passed the candy aisle and snagged a bag of caramels because I’ve had a hankering lately. In fact, I ate 4 on the trip home alone. I started cleaning a bit when I got home and K called to ask if I wanted her to pick up some Labello, and I did, so she did. I showered, got ready, checked traffic and hit the road a bit before 7. Parking was a cinch and I’d chatted with Chrystol on the way in and she told me I could come by the next day to get J’s collar and stuff and that Eric would be there, ooh la la. Ky was already there and we got right down to eating pizza, pico and chips, bread and cheese then the baked raspberry and brie stuffed phyllo wraps. I called K out on R and she didn’t say much but that she’s happy, which I didn’t believe at all, and I’m not exactly sure how she expects me to believe. I’m really sad about the whole thing because she deserves so much better and is sooo dating down it’s not even funny. I wouldn’t care as much if he didn’t drag her self-esteem down in the process. Topic was changed and we continued to eat a lot and Michelle showed up and more talking and laughing ensued. I showed her the guy I cut out of a magazine and brought over for K for her to remember the kind of guy she deserves. I showed Michelle and she said he kind of looks like an asshole, but then again that’s K’s type, then says to K “So K, how’s Ryan?” Like, speaking of assholes, how’s Ryan? Snap! Again she didn’t say much. I ate a ton and felt sick so we all laid on the floor and let the food digest. I told them about Max and Erik and Ky commented that I made out with his penis and I laughed forever. Especially after he demonstrated. R was brought up again and I was making snarky comments and she asked me if I was always going to be like this and I don’t think I said anything, but I know in my head I’ll always be making comments and being judgemental. I hate him and there’s no real getting around that. Subject was changed again to something not so controversial and we all eventually started getting sleepy so we packed up our things and headed out. I took Michelle home and she said that she’s not happy about Ryan either but she’s just being silent about it so I’m going to try and do the same but am not promising that being bitchy once or twice won’t occur. I festered all the way home and was completely consumed by how awful I find the situation. I went to bed not too long after I returned home.

Thursday 3/27, I got home a bit early so I put on my walking clothes since it was so nice and went for a walk / run and ran most of it but felt so exhausted. Back at home I tooled around a bit and eventually hopped in the shower and washed my hair. I made a salad with green peppers then steamed some carrots, broccoli and green beans which were soo good. I reheated the last little bit of HH while watching Jeopardy. I watched Dr. Phil then Oprah and have decided that I love Seal and Heidi Klum, but mostly Seal. THAT'S how a man should treat his lady. Take notes stupid R. I had some ice cream and M&Ms too. I finally started getting ready but my hair was awful so I decided to try and straighten it. Susan called and we made plans for meeting up then I finished prepping and headed out the door with a hat on to flatten my hair out and it totally worked (thanks Sean!) and my hair looked way cuter than when I left the house. I beat Susan and she couldn't park there so we circled the block and decided on a spot on Broadway and as we're walking toward the club we see this Audi sitting in the "No Parking" spots and we're both like, "That's not a spot!" and "Nice try, I'd like to see you park there!" then I was like "Give me the keys and I'll take it off your hands, haha!" then I look in and Max is waving at us. I didn't recognize him right away then ran up to the window and said hi and he said he saw us walking down Broadway then said he'd see me inside and sped off. I was like "That is SO hot!" that car is fucking nice. It makes me see Max in a whole new light. He's got his shit together and Mama likes that. Susan just rolled her eyes when I started talking like that. Of course that also meant he was going to be inside and probably asking me about dancing. I stomped on the grate after Susan pointed that out. I was interested to see if Erik would be working and of course he wasn't so now I'm convinced he's avoiding me. But whatever, I've been avoiding him too. I just think it's funny that I've run him out of Neighbours. No wand inappropriateness at the door and the door boy said he liked my hair so that was fun. We went in and straight upstairs where we met Damon and talked about the crowd. We spotted a dramatic girl with all sorts of exotic moves that made me laugh and point. Tye was wearing his leopard velvet pants and I gave him a wave, but other than that there weren't really any regulars besides the "girls". We checked our coats and went back upstairs because it was warm up there but eventually made it down. The lack-of-space-respecting guy was back in full force and I wanted to punch him several times. Susan danced facing Max taking one for the team and luckily that left me with a view of the Kyle-resembling go-go dancing boy in the cage. Alright! Damon joined us off and on and watched from afar when Max migrated over. Susan had warned me that he was wearing a mesh shirt with nipples blazing but I don't think anything she said could have prepared me. I felt like a horny teenage boy and couldn't not look. I tried to be sneaky but I felt like I was being really obvious even though I didn't even get that good of a look. Jeez. He asked me if I'd been in Whistler the other weekend and asked if I'd been to some club then said he liked my hair and that he wants to flat iron his too. I kept catching Damon's eye and he was just sitting there watching and smiling. I'm sure it was all very entertaining. Susan kept dancing closer and closer to me and eventually when Pump Up the Jam or whatever came on he took off. We stood on the sidelines and talked and people watched and I spotted Susan's bf from the Comet show but lost him and couldn't point him out to her. Eventually I went back out by myself but the ridiculous dancing guy was all up in my space and I just stood there and pretended to push him. Susan laughed from afar then some guy in a leather jacket asked me if I needed someone to dance with and I quickly said I didn't and he was like "Ok" and walked away. Nice! Finally a guy who gets it. I moved places because the dancing guy was irritating me too much and Susan's Comet bf went up on the stage and I was just cracking up watching him, and had like, a front row seat. He saw me watching him and laughing and was like "Come up here!" and I was like "I don't think so" then he motioned like if I wanted him to come down there and I shook my head then he told me to go up there again. No way. Ha, it was soo funny. I was dying. Obviously he didn't remember who I was. Susan came back out and eventually Damon too and Von Trapp played Kids in America per Damon's request and told me to pump my fist in the air to the "Wah-oh!" parts, so I did, but super exaggeratedly. The drag show started so we fled and after about 10 minutes of it I saw Max leave. Susan saw Jeff come in with a girl then I saw Teal with two girls. The three of us continued laughing and talking and I asked them if I started booing if they would join in and they said they would but I couldn't muster it. It's so bad, and they're so looooong. If they were 10 minutes I could deal, but 20, 25, 30 minutes? NO, I cannot deal! So after 20 minutes I got my coat, said hi to Teal and Jeff who were in the back (Jeff was missing his lip ring) and talked with them for a minute about the show then said bye to Susan and D and took off. I booked it all the way to my car and was panting by the time I got there. Drove home and it took a while to get to sleep.

Wednesday 3/26, LPC cancelled halfway through the day due to some Vampire Weekend tickets he came into midday. It was ok because I was super super tired. I went home and instead of exercising changed into comfy clothes and laid around. I steamed a ton of vegetables (broccoli, carrots and green beans) and reheated HH for dinner. I showered then fixed a banana split and gorged on animal crackers. Which I'm pretty sure will be the death of me. I watched ANTM and can't stand Dominique. I returned an email to Julien and hopefully I'll get to see him and his little fam soon since they moved to Madison Park. I made it through a few magazines and went to bed a little early because I was tired and had my dr. appt. early in the morning.

Tuesday 3/25, I got off work early and went to the antique shop and picked up a marble sting ray for Kassie’s birthday then over to Looks for a card for Ian and found two good ones and need to ask Kay-See and Ky which one they think I should give him. I talked to Kassie for a while and got an idea or two for her birthday present(s). I went to QFC and got groceries, including a lot of veggies which I was looking forward to consuming over the course of the week. I made a big salad and some Lasagna HH and added some green pepper and a tomato right at the end for a little extra flavor. I decided to head out for present shopping and went to Best Buy first where I got a little something for both Kassie and Ian for their birthdays since I'm going to be seeing them in the next week. I called Ian for some suggestions but he didn't answer so I left a message. Then I popped over to the mall to return a shirt and pick up some more Jack Black lip stuff because it's like smoothing heaven onto my lips. I headed home and watched Biggest Loser and was semi-glad when Dan was sent home. Ian called and asked if everything was ok and that I'd sounded depressed but I told him that I was just in a store and that everything it great, no worries. He said he'd email me some music suggestions and that he's in love with Bon Iver at the moment and that he was amazing in concert. Nothing else really. Went to bed a bit late.

Monday 3/24, Ky texted me at work asking if I wanted to go to DQ around 8 and I enthusiastically said yes. Then I started corresponding back and forth with LPC and we made plans to hang on Wednesday so that should be interesting. He called me a bevy of beauty and rain or shine. He’s such a flatterer. It’s no wonder he’s so good with the ladies. I got off work a little early, did my grocery shopping at QFC and it was really really beautiful and sunny out so when I got home I put on my work out gear and decided to go for another jog / walk. I think I ran more of it than I did Friday but I was so tired when I got back and had sweat dripping everywhere. I did quite a bit of cleaning and tidying and played with the new purse I got in the mail; it’s enormous. Well, for me it is. But it’s cute so I’m going to make it work. I made a huge salad with tomato, green beans and carrots then ate some leftover ham. I showered and texted with Ky to get our plans straightened. He came to my house and we left right away to DQ where he treated and the grumpy guy made a delicious Oreo and cheesecake blizzard. We sat and talked and caught each other up then he told me Erik laugh was dancing with some ugly girl at Neighbs on Saturday and had been working earlier in the night so one of two things is happening here: either he just started up working there again or he’s been working but not Thursdays because he knows I come. I was irritated, for no good reason really, but at least the girl wasn’t pretty. What’s wrong with me? Who cares?! All these high schoolers came and sat right behind us in a totally empty restaurant so we headed out and took our party over to Starbucks where Ky filled me in on the living situation, J, P and our camping plans for the summer. There was a super cute baristo and Ky said he was flirting with me but I think he was mistaken. This did not stop me from checking him out. We sat by the window and talked for a long time and eventually headed back to my house. He took off with Arrested Dev Season 3 and I turned on the end of Dancing with the Stars and talked to Susan but hung up when Bachelor came on. I’m not proud of this, but that Brit is hot! I want that dumb Shaye or whatever to get kicked off. She’s such an idiot. Get over yourself! Hmm, anyway, before going to bed I noticed K’s profile has been changed back to “In a Relationship” and this made me want to cry and throw up all at the same time. I just laid there and stewed forever. I tried to think about other things but it took forever to fall asleep.

Sunday 3/23, I had a really nice dream about Ian and laying with him and kissing him. Sighhh. Jess was up at like 7 to go to church with her dad so I sprawled in bed and fell back asleep. I finally got up at 9:45 and found breakfast being prepped and Jess wearing her new “Princess” hat that her dad brought back from Palm Springs. She started waving a stuffed lamb in my face and “baaaa”-ing, which continued for most the morning. Breakfast was ready around 10:30 so I’d had time to get ready and pack my bag since I planned to leave after breakfast. Linda had soaked slices of bread overnight in an orange juice / brown sugar / cinnamon concoction which was then baked in the oven and covered with an apple and Satsuma orange compote and powdered sugar. I ate three pieces! And some strawberries! We all sat talking and soon it was announced that lunch would be ready in two hours and I thought they were kidding but they weren't. Jess suggested a movie, but because I wasn't planning to stay I discreetly told Jess that I was planning to go because I didn't want to impose on Easter but she told me it wasn't a problem and she wanted me to stay so I did and we picked out Chocolat to watch. We enjoyed the movie, especially Johnny Depp and all the chocolate and Jess kept putting her foot in my face so I ripped off her slipper and threw it. Ken commented on how high def the picture was, which was funny because it was VHS and the picture looked like shit. After the movie was over we sat down to lunch which was some of the best ham I've ever had, potatoes au gratin, green beans and delicious rolls. I ate a ton and was forced to finish off the last of the items. Last of the ham, potatoes and bread. I was very full but that didn't stop Jess and me from sneaking more of the honey drenched pieces of ham afterward and running into her room giggling. We were soon summoned to return to the dining room for dessert: Baked Alaska with rocky road ice cream. It was soooo good. It was 4:30 by now and I needed to leave to get to Mom's by 6 for dinner there. I couldn't even fathom consuming more food but I pushed that thought out of my head. I packed up my stuff, Ken wrapped up some ham and bread (a snack for the car ride) and I said my good byes. Jess said she's going to come home for the reunion so I'm going to buy her ticket. Off I went. The drive went quickly and I got to Mom's a bit before 6 so Alix and I went on a walk around the neighborhood because I felt so disgusting and needed to at least move my legs once since all I did was eat and lay on the floor all day. We looked at all the new houses and the one where some 19 year old Sonics player lives. Back at home dinner was dished up and it was Mom's delicious roasted vegetable and polenta with mozarella dish. There were little shortbread cookies for dessert. We sat talking in the living room for a long time after dinner and Dad invited me to go to Boston with them when they take Alix to college but I've kind of already allocated all my vacation time...so we'll see. Maybe I can pull off a long weekend or something. I drove home and settled in to watching my shows, uploading pics, updating this, showering and eventually talked to Susan. I watched the news and kept updating this until I went to bed after 11.

Saturday 3/22, I woke up after having more friend-y type dreams of LPC I think. What is it with hanging with Jess and having boy dreams? I think it’s cause it’s mostly what we talk about. I laid there for a while thinking about our side trip then eventually Jess woke up and we started chatting about it and Billy. Day came out and said it was freezing and turned on the fireplace and started opening the blinds to reveal that it was beautiful outside. She started in on breakfast and asked if I wanted an omelet or just eggs and we put our movie back on to finish it. Billy came over for breakfast and we all enjoyed more humongous blueberry pancakes, lots of bacon and scrambled eggs. I ate so much and it was so good. Billy left right after breakfast and was fishing off the dock and it totally got to Jess which I thought was hilarious. We finished our movie, checked online for flights to Split, Lisbon, Sicily and Dublin then got ready for the day. We went to Kohl’s in Marysville and shopped around for a long time and I walked out with two shirts for under $10 and Jess walked out with much much more and some of it was so effing cute. We took off for Stanwood to pick up Jess’ dry cleaning then decided to take a little trip over to Camano Island for a walk because we both felt so bleh. We were driving for a while and not sure where we were going but eventually figured it out and decided to stop at a little coffee stand and both squealed with delight when we noticed the sign that said “Free pastry with every 16oz drink on Saturdays” so we both got our drink and I picked out the (enormous) coffee cake muffin and Jess got the pink cookie. We got to the park and spotted some guys (the ethnic Jew for Jess, the ginger-looking Irishman for me) then got going on our walk. We walked really far down the beach each talking about languages and bfs and traveling and trips and other things before making it down to the little hut where there were a bunch of people. There were a couple of guys grilling hot dogs and they smelled soooo good we were both drooling but because it was Lent Jess couldn’t even think about eating a hot dog, while I, however, formulated a plan to ask if I could have one. Actually, it was more like “So what are we having?” than asking. That got us talking about the Scotsman and we walked out on the dock and sat out there talking while Jess put her hands in the water. We made our way back and took more pictures and ended up at the car. I told her I should probably get going when we got back and she asked if I wasn’t staying another night and I told her I wasn’t planning to because I didn’t want to impose on Easter and she said of course she wanted me to stay and that she would call her dad to see if they were making dinner and that we could stop by there to eat. I called Mom and she agreed to feed J so we were very excited and started our trip back. We saw a cute little seaside town so we went and drove down there even though it said ‘No Trespassing’ and we ooh-d and ahh-d at the cute houses and the monstrous houses. Back on the road we made it to Ken’s and dinner was in the works. Before long we were sitting down to pot roast, sweet potatoes, carrots and twirly rolls. I ate too much of course but we skipped dessert so that probably helped a little. We sat down and watched ‘Becoming Jane’ and Jess and I drooled over James McAvoy and the long-haired blonde guy (even Weasly a little bit) and Ken’s favorite parts were when you see the guys’ butts and any time there was frolicking. Us girls thought it was decent – Ken not so much. Jess and I headed back to Day’s to get our stuff and ended up there for a long time. I cruised the net and returned a message from LPC since we’ve been corresponding quite a bit these last few weeks and watched Jess and Day try to find bugs in the flour and sugar. The ‘10 Commandments’ or something was on so Jess was super into that and explained certain parts to me, while I, of course, eventually fell asleep on the couch. When I was awoken by Jess there was some show on about insanely huge houses and I hated the guy talking and we critiqued everything. I pretended to kick Jess in the face when she bent down and laughed manically. We packed up our stuff because Day was done with the pies and was playing online poker and kicking ass so we rolled out and I followed her back to her Dad’s. We snuck in quietly and talked about our parents and childhoods and some other stuff before going to sleep. It was like 3 or something. I don’t even know. Late.

Friday 3/21, I got off work early and it was sunny so I decided to go on a walk / run. I ended up running about 80% of it and it felt really good. I didn’t even get that tired from running the first half. 3.5 miles in 40 minutes isn’t too terrible. I showered and scrambled a few eggs and made a salad and watched a little tv. I talked to Jess who told me to come up whenever and to just meet at her Mom’s. I ate a banana split to use up the last banana, finished packing and was on the road at 7. I made it up very quickly despite taking my time and not really speeding. When I arrived Day was going through Gma Marie’s bills and Jack was watching the Coyote Ugly show and gave me the rundown on the premise and all the girls. I asked what they were going to do for the evening and Jack said “You’re looking at it. Maybe I’ll chase Day around later” which made her laugh and roll her eyes. Then we started talking about ‘Parking’ and ‘Sparking’ and what the terminology these days…but didn’t come up with the equivalent, besides, like, making out. Jess eventually showed up and we sat talking in the living room and after some time chatting decided to join Day, Jack and Billy down on the beach for a fire. It was really cold and my feet were frozen. Day left after not too long to make our bed and go to sleep. Jack started getting philosophical and I really admire him and think he’s got great perspective on things and just was really impressed with him. Billy tried to challenge me on the kid thing but I smacked him right back into place. We had a nice time and some laughs and Jess and I exchanged looks a few times and stifled some laughter. I was cold so I told them I was going in to blow my nose but once inside I couldn’t resist taking my shoes off and curling up in front of the fireplace. Eventually Jack and Jess came back in and we started prepping for bed then Jack came out sans shirt and was talking to his vitamins about helping him through a hangover and we both just cracked up. He’s been working out a lot so we knew why he wasn’t wearing his shirt. We decided to put on Miss Congeniality and talked about our little weekend trip when I go to London and discussed the merits of going someplace warm, like Sicily. So we vowed to look into it the next day. We watched about an hour or so before Jess fell asleep so I woke her up and told her to turn off the fire and I turned off the movie and asleep we went.

Thursday 3/20, Sos called me just before I left work and asked if I wanted to come over for dinner with her parents and sister. I was very much on board especially since that meant I could use it as an excuse not to exercise. I showered and got ready since I figured I’d be leaving straight from there to Chrystol’s or to Neighbs. I polished the little bit of Chinese I still had in the fridge then headed over at 6:30. I got hugs from Mzia and Tessa and maybe a grunt out of Michael but that’s ok because he was watching his show and he’s hilarious like that. We all talked and visited for a long time before getting dinner going. Sos, Mzia and Michael were having crab while Jake, Tessa and I were having pizza bread complete with huge thick pieces of bread, delicious meat sauce and lots of cheese. The crab dissection was disgusting and no one really enjoyed it. Too much work, not enough payoff. There was crab juice squirting everywhere and Tessa was totally fascinated with picking the crabs apart, but didn’t want to eat any. After dinner we sat in the living room (sans Jake) and ate lots of M&Ms (both dark chocolate and peanut) and continued our various discussions. Mzia opened the dialog about Ian, then the wedding and Michael confirmed that everyone at the wedding noticed our chemistry and that it was obvious we were totally hitting it off. We also talked about all Sos’ conquests during her teens and her dad’s moaning and groaning was killing me. He just so has the same sense of humor and tells it like it is and gave me such a hard time for not knowing about Leavenworth prison and for Jacques and he’s just absolutely hilarious. He tells it like it is, no sugar coating, even if you don’t even know him at all. I love him. I love her whole family. I told Chrystol earlier that I’d call when I left so we could hang out but it was so late by this point I didn’t even want to call to tell her I wouldn’t be coming over. Susan called and we planned to meet at 11 so I wrapped it up with the fam and took off. We met up and walked over thankfully to no wand inspection. We went upstairs and noticed Susan’s clapping bf and the make-out couple. We headed downstairs to check coats and dance. We took a break and George came over and asked if I’d seen “her” and by “her” he meant Erik. I told him no but I’d texted him earlier and it didn’t sound like he was going to be out so that was kind of a relief. “I Touch Myself” came on like it did a few weeks ago and Susan reenacted the touching herself part and totally cracked me up, so then I did it too. We thought Margo was on something cause she was all over the place and I started imitating her and it was hilarious. There were some blonde semi-cute probably gay guys who I kept my eye on throughout the evening but otherwise there weren’t too many interesting people out. We saw Teal and Darren and waved from across the floor and we said hi to Ty and met his gf who looks like the one he had a long time ago but I’m pretty sure isn’t the same one. Not too much else was going on so when a drag show started at 12:20 we decided to take off. We hurried to our cars and took off for home.

Wednesday 3/19, Traded lots of messages with LPC who invited me to hang out on Friday but I’ll likely be hanging with Jess and if not her then I promised Kay-See, so it’s not looking good for him. We had fun with our messages back and forth though and he called me a hilarious alert. And I have to agree with him. Then I got a message from my little Bowiefriend asking if I was going to go to his show for Round 2. I just might. Plus I think he’ll be 24 by then and we all know how much I like 24. After work I was tired but knew I needed to work out but procrastinated by sweeping the garage and taking the 59 magazines in my garage down to the recycle bins instead. Then I called Jess and tentatively made plans for Friday for Chatzies or the casino or Belltown Billiards or something fun where we can find boys. I got my clothes on and only did the 2nd part of the workout with the warm up and cool down so I only did 20 minutes total (not including stretching and pushups) but it was better than nothing and probably better than the 20 minute cardio. I showered and made dinner and watched my shows then ate a bunch of lemon cheesecake that Peggy begged me to take. You’ve got your girl, look no further! During ANTM Eric called and we talked about HI and that we’re not on the same flights but that someone’s going to take him out to lunch and dinner and drinks and stuff so that made me laugh. We chit chatted for a while then I finished my show and talked to Susan. We firmed up our plans for dancing then I called Chrystol and made tentative plans to hang out depending on how she’s feeling. I got into bed, watched the news, finished some mags, updated this and went to bed.

Tuesday 3/18, I got off work early so I went home and did my long workout and waited for Susan. She arrived a few minutes before I was done and came upstairs and kept me company while I showered and got ready. We went to PCC so I could pick up some supplies then over to the Chinese place where we perused the menu, put in our order, got Susan some water for her pill then headed over to the pet store. I picked up some food and Susan got a toy for D’s feral cats. When we got back our food was ready and we booked it home. I popped Vanity Fair in and we dished up. The beginning was fine but it soon became apparent that we were going to be confused through the entire film. We would sit there and laugh at stuff that wasn’t even supposed to be funny but I was determined to finish it. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was hot, well, except for that fruity haircut. It wasn’t as bad as the facial hair and haircut on the other guy though. Neither of us knew what was going on but we found humor in it all. We both ate a ton (well I ate more, let’s be honest here) then had delicious ice cream sundaes for dessert. After it was over we watched the end of Biggest Loser then she left. I read a little then went to bed.

Monday 3/17, Lunch with Nikki at Serafina which meant I got off work early, yay! Instead of working out like I should have I cleaned and relaxed. For dinner I made blueberry pancakes because clearly I hadn’t gotten enough in the past two days so I made a half batch and ate ALL THE PANCAKES. I felt a bit sick when I was done but now at least I know I can make pancakes. Never tried before. Watched some tv and updated this.

Sunday 3/16, I woke up at 10 and Jess had been up for a little while and was checking emails and wondered where her dad was and I was like “Duh, church!” and she agreed. We were hungry so we cut ourselves big pieces of cake and started chowing down then noticed the car pull into the driveway and were like “Oh shit! Linda’s going to be mad!” so we ran into the bedroom where I shoved it all into my mouth and she hid hers on my side of the bed on the floor. She hopped in to make it look like she was sleeping so then I ran in from the bathroom where I had washed all the pink evidence from my hands and she hissed “Watch out for the cake!” as I almost stepped in it before hopping into bed with her. We laid there and giggled for about 5 minutes and kept saying “Watch out for the cake!” to make each other laugh. After a few minutes we got up and Jess finished her cake and we went out and said hi. Breakfast was already in the works and on the menu were more blueberry pancakes and lots of fresh fruit: blueberries, satsumas, bananas, apples and strawberries. We had all sorts of political convos over breakfast and we were all in agreement with everything. After breakfast Jess and I chatted in the bedroom and got ready and I continued to go through my London guide and we talked about the little weekend trip to Dublin so it feels good to get more of that trip in line. It was about 3 so I packed up and took off for home. I made a sandwich for a late lunch and settled onto the floor to watch SatC. Afterward I grabbed my laptop, Harry Potter, a back issue of Conde Nast and a bag of animal crackers for a nice relaxing late-afternoon veg-fest. I called Chrystol to find out about the show and she told me a funny story about Issac and Nick and how Schuyler learned over the weekend how to sleep upright and how they had talked to neither Eric or me since last weekend. We hung up and I went upstairs to eat my bowl of cereal and watch AFV. Talked to Susan after EHM then showered read and went to bed.

Saturday 3/15, We woke up around 9:30 and laid in bed talking forever. Jess made a really good fruit salad to get our digestive systems running. Day eventually got going and started breakfast around 12:30 and made the most deliciously buttery blueberry pancakes and a ham and mushroom omelet for me. Jess and I both ate one and a half pancakes (they were as big as a plate and at least 3/4 of an inch thick) that were sooo good. I might have to go up there when Jess leaves just to have those bad boys again. Yum! Jess and I were discussing the reunion with Day and Jack and we talked about various classmates then mentioned how at the next one most of these people would have 10 year old kids and how Amy would have a 20 year old kid and will have graduated himself. “Maybe” then we both started laughing so hard and I said how hilarious it was that we’re always thinking the same thing. We started discussing procreation with Jack and he stated that our biological clocks must be ticking then asked "How old are you girls now? You've got to be about 35" and we both laughed a little until we realized he was DEAD SERIOUS. We started laughing so hard then told Day who just rolled her eyes. 35, jeez. So Day and Jack left and I said bye to them and thanked them then Jess and I got ready and sat talking FOREVER about bfs and friends' bfs. Finally we decided to take our discussion on the road and headed out for a walk. We said hi to Billy's Dad and went down to the park talking about culture and specifically Arab culture in Dubai. Then she asked about the boys so I started in about Erik laugh and had her in stitches. She has a theory about totally hot chemistry with someone who's maybe not a great match personality wise. It takes the "work" aspect out of the equation. I agree partly. We packed up our stuff upon returning and headed out the door to go shopping. She wanted to get a Sean John shirt for Jernej (and an Orange County Choppers shirt, but we couldn't find a 7-11) so we went up to the Cascade Mall. We went to Macy's and Jess scored with the shoes and I called Kay-See to tell her about JP then we migrated over to the women's stuff. We collectively tried on probably everything in that section and Jess was very helpful with picking things out for me. It was fun. We both told each other what we liked and didn't and she grabbed some different sizes and styles for me after she was done. Chrystol called to see if I was going to the HR show that evening but I told her where I was and she told me to have fun and I’d talk to her later. Jess got a couple little things and I got 4 shirts. Everything was crazy on sale so I got some good bargains, which I'm a whore for. We had to rush out of there without even checking for Jernej because her Dad was making dinner and we didn't want to be late. When we got there him and Linda were making dinner and everything looked sooo good. We chatted in the kitchen about the reunion and finally it was time to eat. We had salad with avocado, peppers, green beans, tomato and cucumber. Then the main course was all prepared on the grill: sweet potatoes, asparagus and pork chops. Everything was really good and I left not a crumb. After dinner Jess wanted to make her cake so we got all the stuff out and I took care of making it. We put on Batman Begins and settled into the living room. When it was done we frosted it with the strawberry frosting and Linda cut up a bunch of fresh fruit and covered it with that too. It was really good and Jess and I had huge pieces. I fell asleep over half way into the movie in front of the fireplace. Jess fell asleep about a quarter into it and after it was over Ken was like "You two always fall asleep when we watch a movie!" but we've both always seen whatever we watch so it's ok. Jess and I picked at the cake some more then said goodnight (it was about midnight) and got ready for bed. We talked in bed for a little bit then went to sleep. I had effed up dreams about Erik and Kassie.

Friday 3/14, I went home after work and just wanted to lay in bed because I was so tired so I think I watched some SatC and ate a ton of pistachios in bed. I talked on and off with Susan as I prepared dinner and also made plans with Jess to go up to her Mom's. I took off around 8 and arrived about an hour later to find Jack on the couch watching Day's mammoth new tv. We talked about work and watched some guy eat lizards until Jess and Day returned from the store. Jess showed us her pics from Dubai and I drooled over Tim, except for that shirt always being unbuttoned, I could do without that, and laughed at her posing on various objects like a huge vase and an SUV. As a group we watched some Oprah program I'd seen before about cheaters and we discussed that and how the blame lies mostly with the cheating spouse, but how some crazy cheated-on wife had successfully sued a woman, and won, for $50,000. This lady looked crazy. So that was interesting. Soon Day and Jack went to bed and we settled into our bed and talked about the reunion and how Jess is totally going because I already bought my ticket then turned on Don Juan DeMarco. JP texted me saying he's going to be up here in June but probably on the weekend of the reunion then he sent a somewhat motive-questioning "Ur up late..." which I ignored. Jess fell asleep about 15 minutes into the movie and I made it almost an hour. I had vivid friend-y dreams about LPC.

Thursday 3/13, I was awoken a bit after 6am by a text. I wasn't even going to look at it because I figured it was from Erik or Lindsay or Ky or something that I just really didn't need to be looking at when I could be sleeping instead. A few minutes later, however, I looked at it and it was from Eric: "Wish you would come here before work" and I was so confused as to what he meant, as usual; all I wrote back was "What do you mean?" and he replied with "You can have a late start at work and hang out with me beforehand" and I assured him I wished I could and asked if he hadn't even gone to bed yet. He said he had but had woken up and figured I was getting ready for work and apologized for bothering me then sent another one as I was texting back that maybe that was the point. I said it was ok and that he never has to apologize for that and I love hearing from him. Then he writes "This is the best time" and I'm like, huh? For what? So I ask him if it meant what I thought it meant (morning sex) then had to specify what I meant and he called me silly and that he just meant hanging out. I told him the mornings are best for sleeping and that I was returning to it. He apologized again and I told him it was fine and tried to fall back asleep. THEN at work Erik texts: "Hey, how's your week going?" so I write back a very nondescript "Can't complain, how's your week?" and I get back "Busy, but good". So that settles that. It was a busy morning. Then LPC wrote me on myspace so I traded messages with him and more and more want to hang out with him if not just for the stimulating and hilarious conversation. He wants me to buy a Prince Harry ringtone. Whatever it is. After work I hit the store then home and did my long workout and sweated up a storm. I made some dinner then cleaned my shower, took a shower, ate some ice cream and put on SatC. Talked to Susan about some drama then I filled her in on the texts from Eric and Erik then her leaning tower of paperbacks fell so I let her go and went to bed.

Wednesday 3/12, I had planned to work out and clean when I got home but it pretty much just ended up being the cleaning part. I've soo been slacking on the working out but at least I'm still getting quite a bit of walking in. So I cleaned until it was dinner time then reheated my CPK pizza in the oven and made a nice salad. I watched ANTM and talked to Susan afterward then plucked away at my eyebrows for a while and hopped in the shower. I laid in bed watching the news and contemplated calling Eric but decided against it then decided for it and did. He was all chipper and happy to hear from me and the chattiest I've ever seen him. It was actually really nice. We talked about Leavenworth and how him and N had gone and there was a full moon and I was like "Don't talk to me about full moons!" and he asked if I'd ever seen that picture and I was like "Of course I have!" then reminded him he had a copy in his little album. Then he told me to friend request his friend Justin and I just laughed and told him he was crazy or that his friend would think I'M crazy so he said he was sending him a message to friend request me so we'll see what happens there. Apparently he's got lots of tattoos which I like but I can't see cause his profile's private. So then he needed to hang up all quickly because I'm sure N was calling him but he said he was trying to find the picture and needed to concentrate. I wasn't buying it. But he called back about 5 minutes later and we continued our convo and discussed Kauai and Ronny confirmed they're staying in Kilauea which is cool and said that N is going as of now and when I asked him to clarify he said that they hadn't gotten their tix yet so it's not definite yet. He said they're going to have a bbq before the trip so I can meet a bunch of people. He didn't seem gung ho on my suggestion to get together with him and N to get to know her before we go there. But that could just be Eric too, he's a puzzle. Finally we hung up, I read a few more entries on the White People site and went to bed.

Tuesday 3/11, I met Alix at Lincoln Square to do dinner and a movie. We walked down to CA Pizza Kitchen because she had never been there. I got the goat cheese and roasted pepper pizza and it was very good. There were kids everywhere and this did not please me; luckily they were kept on the other side of the restaurant. We walked over to Starbucks and got some treats for the movie then into the theater. We were the first in and had our lay of the land. So of course a couple starts coming up the stairs and I say to Alix "I don't have a very good feeling about this" and sure as shit they came and sat RIGHT BEHIND US. Literally. We both just laughed. OF COURSE. Ugh, what is wrong with people? I really liked the movie and didn't know Natalie Portman had it in her, but she did. We discussed the movie and facts on the way down to the garage, said bye and I headed home to catch the tail end of Biggest Loser which I've now missed two weeks in a row. Cleaned a little, showered and went to bed.

Monday 3/10, At lunch I texted M and he responded with "Sound good" so that was a relief. I drove into Ballard after work for my facial with Meghan that we've both cancelled at least once so I was excited to finally be doing it. I was early so I decided to call Nick and apologize since Sam had tracked down his number for me. He didn't answer so I left a rambly message and said most of the things I wanted to say then walked into the shop. Just as I was closing the door my phone rang and it was him so I stepped back out and we talked for a few minutes and he apologized for making me feel uncomfortable and I told him it wasn't his fault, he was just asking me out, I just felt on the spot and awkward especially since the guy I like was standing right there watching the whole thing. So I tried to make it less about him and more about my issues. I told him no hard feelings and that I took it as a total compliment that he asked me out and that maybe I'd see him at another HR show in the future. So that was that. I went in but Meghan wasn't there yet so I perused until she showed up, we did hugs and onto the table I went. We discussed my treatment and how my face looks so much better and she explained a little more what the meds do and why I may be breaking out a little at the beginning of this cycle so that was really helpful then we got down to the good stuff: boys. I told her about M and the chains and leather and pirate pants and the clear pocket pants, then Nick, then Eric, then Erik laugh, then redhead Eric and Kauai. She got a kick out of it and I told her by the next time I see her again I would have lots of stories. The facial was great and no extractions, yay! I scheduled an appt for a week after I return from my trip so that'll be good. Mom had called so I called back and Alix said there were enchiladas, yum! So I headed over there and Chrystol called when I was on my way and filled me in on the dinner with B and gf and she gave me the details and that the general consensus is that she's nice, but...I won't go into the "but". She told me that B asked why I was throwing daggers in their direction all night and if I was mad and to Chrystol I'm like "OH MY GOD, he soo needs to get over himself. Are you kidding me?!" and she's like no, and I told him that you didn't even say anything about him. Uggh, he's so full of himself it makes me want to scream. I looked at him like 3 times and was in the other room for the rest of it. Dick. Anyway, my phone kept cutting out so we hung up and I went in to have some dinner. I filled Mom in on Nick and Eric and ate like 3 helpings then took off because Alix needed to leave and I was blocking her in. I stopped at the store on the way home, ate a banana split and watched the two hour October Road. I updated this and went to bed.

Sunday 3/9, Luckily I had remembered to set my clock forward before going to sleep so I got up right on time and got ready for brunch. I was out of the house a bit before 10, found parking and headed to Kay-See's. When she came down she asked where Ky was and I told her I didn't know and she said he was supposed to call me for a ride. He wasn't answering his phone so she left a message and we took off hoping he'd show up at the restaurant. We went to El Greco because of the famous french toast and got a table with no wait. K spotted the coffee cake the second we walked in and announced we'd be getting a piece to share. There were two kinds and we got the cinnamon, walnut chocolate something one. It was very very good. I ordered the french toast after the server said that morning it was served with crème fraiche and blueberries compote. K got a chicken sausage and something scramble that was delicious and savory. I told her about the night before and M and all the boy stuff that'd happened in the last week or so. She told me about her schedule and friends being upset with her because of her lack of free time for social activities. I told her I understand and while I'm not crazy about not getting to see her regularly because of her marathon training, I understand that it's a goal for her and it's something that's healthy and I support her. Then we talked about Plain and camping and how June and July will be all freed up by then for plenty of adventures. We stayed for a while after finishing breakfast and K insisted on picking up the tab so that was nice then we set off back to the car and back to her place. We chit chatted there while she changed and got ready to go to the dog show and I called Chrystol to see what that crew was up to. She said they were heading out to get food and I felt like the invite didn't stand anymore but then she said they wanted to go on a hike later and that I was welcome to come so I verified that I wouldn't be crashing. K and I talked a while longer about boys and whatnot then I made my way into Ballard, parked in front of the library and found them in the market buying gluten and wheat free goodies. Schuyler was eating a day old olive breadstick thing and totally got his money's worth because he could chew one bite for like 5 minutes! Eric and I joked that it was like jerky and had been cured. I updated everyone on the Nick thing and they were all surprised that it had been a girl on the phone and Eric exclaimed that while it looked totally awkward it was hilarious to watch. Yeah, I can only imagine. So we walk by the little toy store and Chrystol says how much she likes it so we all went in. I've been in a few times before with various people who like babies so I know it's more of a toy store for adults than a toy store for kids. Don't get me wrong, lots of cool stuff, imaginative stuff, just not a Magic Mouse kind of setup. So Eric and I start cracking each other up and laughing at all these toys then Schuyler asks us what the "rosettes" look like and tells us balls before we can even answer and that if you cut open a nut that's what it would look like inside. So then we made a lot of ball jokes. Schuyler left and Eric picked up this pan flute and said he thought he could make $50 down at the market that day if he bought it and that he'd get a couple of Mexican guys for authenticity, but they'd have to pretend to be Bolivian. We made our way to the front and he handed me some mushroom playing cards and we both wondered how those were even remotely appropriate for children then discussed the paddle with wooden dancer toy. I handled the shell pill holders (probably not what they're really for, but I can't imagine what else you'd put in them) and Eric laughed when I said I could put my pills in them, or that I'd say it's for "Mama's vitamins" and he said I was young and I'm talking about all the pills I take, so I clarified that there's only one I take and that I could really use a handy little holder. Schuyler came up and we continued to make jokes and look at stuff but eventually headed out onto the sidewalk. Eric didn't like it because there were too many moving parts to the toys then pointed to a tea set in the window as an example. We made it to the end of the market and a girl ran up to me and asked me where I got my ear muffs and I told her and she was disappointed then Eric and I joked about just walking away or staring at the person the next time they ask a question like that. C wanted to stop into a little shop so the three of us stayed outside and discussed the De
Lorean and B's gf's story and lack of appreciation for the poop humor. We decided to head back to their house so we walked to my car and the magazine fell right between the seat and the console and Eric was like "Nice aim" and I told him that's just where I keep it, even though it isn't. We drove back joking about David Beckham and bending and how Schuyler looks just like him, especially on the field. Some Scarlett Johansson comparisons were made and I made everyone agree I look like her and how Eric looks like George Clooney. Back at their place we hung for a little bit while Chrystol got ready and burned the National cd I was playing in the car then she told me my shoes wouldn't do on our hike so on our way out I grabbed my big ugly running shoes and cringed that I was going to have to wear them in public and in front of Eric. So we climb into the Benz (my first time in) and Eric and I were cozy in the backseat and laughing and talking the whole way to Carkeek. We set out on our "loop" and it was really pretty, especially the orchard. We all talked and paired off a couple times as to not block the whole path and when we came out of the woods Eric and I were talking and laughing again and wondering what was up with the girls who blew past us. We decided to hike up to the bluff and felt the burn. We sat on the bench up there for a while resting and enjoying the view and talking about living on a boat, one that floats, and how Chrystol could see Eric living on one then Schuyler pointed to a kayaker and said he could live on one of those. We headed back down with Chrystol and me discussing B and their dinner / AFV event later that evening and how more research needs to be done. We decided to go down to the beach so I rolled up my pants and groaned over my shoes but Chrystol says they make me more "real" and not so intimidating so then I was ok with them. The boys were turning over rocks and finding crabs and skipping rocks and I took lots of pictures...and got quite a few of Eric, heh heh. C and S were up ahead again so we're laughing and joking and pretending to push kids out of the way and show them how to really find crabs. Big ones, not those puny ones. I found this thing in the water that Schuyler said Eric should put on the dash of the Rover, like his very own ecosystem riding around with him. Then we were going to head up to the little stream and Eric said "the water's awesome" but Schuyler heard "water sausage" so we all laughed for about 5 minutes talking about the elusive "water sausage" and how you have to coax it out. Ahh, so funny. The train was coming so Schuyler and Chrystol ran to get on the footbridge while Eric and I made it up there at a quickened pace, not running though. I got some pictures and the air was rushing all around us. We walked back on the trail with Eric telling us about his tv show idea "My Retarded Boyfriend". Back at the car we were all exhausted and zoned out on the drive back. We all discussed our Monday plans and Eric asked "What about you Karrah?" and my stomach flipped. Back at their house I said my goodbyes and took off for home. I relaxed and didn't do anything for the rest of the evening really. Watched my shows, talked to Susan and went to sleep.

Saturday 3/8, I got up a little before 8 and started getting ready for the day and rolled out right on time. Susan met me downstairs because D was still sleeping and we set out immediately. We walked all the way downtown and it only took us like 15 or 20 minutes and we were way ahead of schedule so we decided to walk down to the market for fresh warm donuts. The bfs weren’t there but we got a dozen anyway. There was a guy Susan had her eye on and she was trying to pawn off the oaf-y friend on me. No thanks. We walked back up toward the theater eating donuts the whole way. Well, I ate donuts the whole way. 7 to be exact. We got tickets for our 10:15 showing of Penelope and snagged some good seats. I was really excited about James McAvoy and was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the movie was pretty good too. After the movie we headed back down to the market to 3 Sisters for lunch. I got the special (Santa Barbara) and Susan got her eggy breakfast sandwich. Mine came with pasta salad that I ate almost all of and I took down the entire sandwich. We people-watched and counted how many people were wearing North Face. We walked down the alley and I flirted with the apple sample guy and he even offered me a bigger slice then the fish guy was flirting so it was all very stimulating and ego-boosting. We decided to do another walk by of the donut stand and Susan’s bf still wasn’t working. We started walking back but decided to stop in Ross where we tried on shoes and I got some yellowy-orange Asics that were hella cheap. Susan got some Diesels. We both wished they’d had the red in our size. Next we walked to Specialties but before we got there a 206 number came in and I knew it would be M so I didn’t answer and sure as shit he left a message and Susan was impressed I knew it was him. I think he wanted to get together that night but I wasn’t prepared for that. We finished walking up to the bakery and each got a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and started the walk back up the Hill. It took us a while but we had plenty to talk about and the sun was out. We were so exhausted by the time we got back (around 2:30) we decided to lay down for a little bit and enjoy our little bit of sunshiny vacation. I checked myspace before that and Eric had written me a short message saying what’s up so I wrote him back and told him we should hang soon. We laid on Susan’s bed for a while talking and closing our eyes and enjoying the breeze and it felt sooo good to be off my feet. A little while later we decided to go to Goodwill and I really scored with the stoneware with two green and two yellow bowls, 3 mugs and two other little cute bowls. Plus a workout video to mix things up. Chrystol called to see if we were going to the Harborrats and to inquire about Jacques the Ripper’s walking accessories. We decided to try our luck at the Salvation Army where I scored two more stoneware bowls (blue). We went back up to Susan’s and I left to try and nap and to get ready for the evening. I didn’t actually fall asleep but I rested a bit then did some laundry and got ready for the evening. Schuyler confirmed the address and that Brandon would be there with his new gf. I just laughed at this because I wasn’t surprised at all, but really? Really Brandon? Less than two months after you were trying to woo me back? I guess so. At least he didn’t meet her on the net. I left my house and made it to Susan’s and we took off from there with Damon in tow to drop him off at home, then made our way over to the U-District for the house party. We found parking but had no idea if the house we were at was the house with the party, despite the telltale signs of Christmas lights and tons of people inside. We saw Mulally down the street a bit but didn’t want to ask them so I called Chrystol and Schuyler to see where they were at and as I was hanging up the band was going back in and Chris stopped to ask if we were going in and said we looked beautiful, well, he clarified, we always look beautiful but especially tonight and touched Susan on the arm. There was no eye-fucking, but a compliment and arm-touch ranks pretty high. We told him to keep the compliments coming throughout the evening. When inside we spotted Sam right away and he was talking to some guy who introduced himself as Nick. We all talked for a while then moved into the kitchen so I could get some water. Sam and Nick eventually followed suit and we talked intermittently with both of them. Nick was being a little flirty but I didn’t think much of it because it was just talking and soon Brandon appeared through the kitchen door and I just laughed and was like “Hey!” really sarcastically and he introduced himself to Sam then introduced his gf to all of us and I was nice to her but it was just funny. She looked old so I was shocked to learn she was only 28. He asked where Schuyler and Chrystol were so I told him they were on their way and Sam was still mad he hadn’t been invited to the benefit. Mulally left and right before walking out the door he was like “Bye pretty girls” so we waved and off they went. A little while longer C & S walked through the door and I squealed but B intercepted and hogged them. Chrystol and Eric made their way past us to sit at the little booth and before I could even THINK of sitting down to join them B and gf filed past and sat down. I looked at Schuyler with my jaw on the floor and said “He totally just salted my game!” Eventually we moved into the living room and watched the boys set up but made a trip to the bathroom after not too long and it was surprisingly clean. Nick came and talked to me again in the living room and was asking me all kinds of questions but eventually moved on and the Harborrats went on. Earlier Sam had alluded to bringing back one of the Bowie covers and I was really excited and also told him they should cover Joan Jett’s “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah!)” and he told me that he’s still working on Queen’s “Somebody to Love” which I was shocked he remembered. So back to the show, they started playing and I really like Blue Eye Shadow and Artificial Chocolate is pretty good too but I was really happy they played “Young Americans” and sang along with all of it. I expected Chrystol and Eric to come out when they started but they didn’t which really shocked me and I was thinking “This is so not like Chrystol to miss Schuyler playing” but after the second song out they came so I was relieved. There was so much stomping and dancing that the piano was rocking back and forth and the drinks were sloshing all over the place so Eric, Chrystol and I held it in place. C and E were playing with the cat harness and leash and Eric held up the harness and looked at me suggestively and I laughed and looked back at him coyly. Nick played on a couple songs and it was kind of hot but I was having more fun throwing side glances at Eric. I’d figured Brandon had snuck out the back door but I was wrong and during the last song they emerged, didn’t even wave to Schuyler, gave me a head nod and walked out. I thought it was really rude, but hey, that’s Brandon! Why the hell did he come, to sit in the kitchen and talk to his gf and not watch his friend who he hasn’t seen in forever? Who knows. After the show the four of us (C, E, S and me) were standing around talking about Nick’s friend who had been taking pictures of girls’ cleavage during the show, so that was weird. So we’re all talking and Nick hands me his phone and says to talk to whoever is on the other end and after quite a bit of hemming and hawing I do it, with everyone staring at me. It’s some girl from CO, his friend, and she tells me he thinks I’m pretty and wants to ask me out but wanted to do it differently. I exclaimed “Well, this is different!” and mouthed to Susan “Oh my god” because I felt so put on the spot and mortified. I couldn’t even see Nick’s face because he was next to me plus I didn’t want to see him. Ugghh. She also said something else very shocking but I’m not writing it. It will be permanently etched in my brain. So I hand the phone back and he’s like “I don’t know what she wanted to talk to you about” and I go “I think ya do” and gave him a look, so then he looked all sheepish and walked away with his phone a few seconds later. I probably would have said yes if Eric hadn’t been standing there, but I like him more than this guy so I wasn’t about to say yes in front of him. So then the friend stands there watching me freak out to the group and me and Chrystol asking Eric if it’s ok for me to pretend he’s my bf. He didn’t seem thrilled but I decided against it anyway because if him and Sam are friends then he’d probably know anyway if he asked Sam and then I’d be a liar. Chrystol finished a story but I still felt really bad and awkward so I asked if I should flee and C said yes so Susan and I booked it out of there and back to the car. I could tell she was ready to go anyway so we called it a night. We discussed my options on the way back to her house then I took off right away. Susan called me on my way home to tell me it wasn’t Damon’s window that we’d seen the light on in and I told her my plans to track down Nick’s number to apologize because I felt really bad. Then Chrystol beeped in to fill me in on what had transpired after I left involving her telling Sam the story and Sam defending our honor. I told C I didn’t want to say yes to Nick in front of Eric then quickly asked if it was on speakerphone because that would have been awkward. It wasn’t and she asked what I was doing the next day and to call her after brunch to possibly hang out. Yes! Her and Eric were putting the harness on the cat and cracking up because it totally didn’t phase her. At home I wrote to Sam because I was embarrassed that I’d run instead of just giving him a straight answer. The guy went out on a limb and I totally blew him off, so I wrote to Sam, caught the tail end of SNL and went to sleep.

Friday 3/7, Finally got a text from Erik saying his phone’s been dead and he’ll be gone over the weekend. I got off work early and Ian called me not too long after I’d started lounging. I was so tired and he sensed it in my voice. We talked for a while and I asked him my two questions (shirt and April visit) and he thanked me for the cd and it was just really nice to talk to him. It feels like it’s been forever. I talked to Susan and we made our plans for the next day then made dinner. Relaxed all evening and went to bed by 10:30 because I was exhausted.

Thursday 3/6, I got home a little early and tried to nap but didn’t, though I did manage to get some resting time in before another long night out. Michael sent me a message earlier in the day, as well as Kyle, saying he’d be out and wanting to know what I was doing beforehand. Chrystol and I were planning to attend the art walk, but more specifically the first gallery show of my favorite artist. I got ready, talked to Chrystol, ate some vegetables and toast, texted Erik to see if he would be there and headed out at right about 7. When I got to their house Schuyler scared the crap out of me and chuckled when I shrieked. We started talking about the night before and I told C that my bf wanted a copy of the picture so we got down to uploading, looking at and sending pictures. We were all howling looking at all the ones of Paul and I couldn’t stop pointing out my bf in the background of all the pictures. I told her how he was at the Sunset show and she realized she’d actually talked to him at that show and never would have guessed it was the same person. Cuh-razy! It was a lot of fun and we talked about stalking tactics and eventually looked through a TON of my, Susan’s and Kay-See’s flickr pictures. Eventually we ended up in the living room (clearly having missed our opportunity to attend the gallery showing) and started talking about my and Erik’s date on Sunday and how C almost called me to go to the SAM with her, S and Eric and I was so bummed she didn’t. It’s ok though, I probably wouldn’t have been on top of my game and I was still exhausted from the day before. That was fun but I could tell they were tired so I said bye and headed up toward CH and was talking to Susan when Michael called and asked if I’d gone to the art walk and when I told him no and that I’d been uploading pictures onto the internet he was like “Porn huh?” so I laughed and said sure. He was already there with a friend and wanted to know when we’d be there so I called Susan back and asked if she wanted to go earlier. We met up at the spots a few minutes later and were met with a security wand rub down that had us both rolling our eyes. We headed straight upstairs and found Michael and chatted there for a few then back downstairs to check coats and we practiced some dance moves, met his friend and laughed when Michael looked very confused before attempting a crass joke. Susan and I headed out to dance and Michael joined us eventually so we danced and danced until some bad songs were played and we went to stand by the pillar. Some guy asked us to come over and join him and his lesbian friend but we politely declined. We made it back to the floor and saw Kyle come in so I waved and eventually him, Richie, Ersi and Rachel joined us for dancing. Richie told me about some model he’s seeing and I told him about Erik. I saw Andrew so I went to get the bottom line on Brian. He’s got a gf and A wouldn’t stop saying that I’m out of his league then asked me about his cellist who I said was too vanilla for me then told him my Queen idea. Back on the floor we danced a little more then decided it was time to go home. Said bye to Michael who said the real reason I was going home was to watch porn. I said bye to Max who asked if I still wanted to go out sometime so I told him sure, not really meaning it, so he asks how to get a hold of me and I’m like “Fuuuck” so I give him my phone number and extremely regret it. I should have asked for his number but I just don’t think very quickly on my feet. On the way out we said bye to Ky and booked it to the cars. We stayed longer than we thought we would but left earlier than usual.

Wednesday 3/5, I talked to Susan and made plans for the evening’s events. I believe I showered and ate dinner then headed over to her house. We hung there and watched ANTM and ate delicious (bright green for me!) ice cream then headed over to the Comet. We parked a few blocks away, walked over, saw Chrystol and walked to her car with her and reheard the story about A and his state at the Sunset the week prior. Apparently Susan’s seen the dribble before. Inside the club it was packed and no one had gone on yet so we migrated toward Schuyler and Dre and parked ourselves by the pool table and avoided being in the way. There was a crazy line up and I liked just about every band. There were all these guys wearing tight spandex and makeup and no shirts and sparkly shirts and boots with wedge heels. It was magical. Going into the night I didn’t know how many T-Rex songs I would know but surprisingly more than I expected. Due mostly to the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. There was one group of guys that both Susan and I had our eye on ALL night. The one without a shirt with the suspenders and leather pants I was totally enamored of and kept taking pictures of without his knowledge. There was one guy creeping both Susan and I out who just kept staring at us then went over to his gf and we were both baffled. Weeeeird. Plus he had a wicked bald spot. I took a picture of Schuyler wearing his new shades and I commented that he looked like a white Kanye West. Some guy was enamored with Susan and swept her off her feet and outside to get to know her a little better. During this time my suspenders-wearing bf walked by and I eyed him up and down (not discreetly) then said “Hel-LO!” and he totally stopped and was like “Hey!” and I told him he was the hottest guy there then he said he wasn’t a guy and was breaking the law then Chrystol asked if she could take a picture of us and he was all over it so that was fun. We introduced ourselves and he’s Brian and offered to buy us drinks but we said we were ok, he left and we giggled and looked at the picture. Andrew walked by so I asked to see the line up and he said the hot boys were going on next and that one of them was his drummer and after telling me the one without a shirt, it didn’t even register that he was talking about Brian. Next Sam threw something from above so I took a picture with him and a girl and the lead singer from the first Bowie band, whose makeup and furry boots I loved. He came down and I got a picture with him but he looks super depressed in it; I just look super crazy. Us girls were cracking up at the band on stage’s drummer, who had the craziest beard I’ve ever seen. We all thought it was a scarf, but no, just facial hair wrapping around his chin and neck. Thank god Chrystol got a picture. I liked the bassist because before they went on he said hi to me and was very friendly. I got a fantastic picture of Susan’s spandex clad bf’s ass that I knew she would thank me abundantly for. She came back in from her rendezvous and informed us her suitor was 24, alright Susan! Pretty soon our bfs’ band went on and they were very good and I also got a lot of pictures to try and capture their magnificence. After them Susan took off with her bf again and my bf came and talked to me again after some coaxing from Schuyler. He gave me a pin and we talked quite a bit more and he told me they didn’t have any shows coming up because they’re trying to finish their album and chatted about other things I’m sure then I told him it was nice to meet him again and he left. I went to get some water and this guy almost high-kicked me and this other guy was like “That was so close!” and he was cute so I smiled and was like “I know!” then made it over to the water jug. Some guy over there got me a glass of it and I headed back to the girls and we continued giggling about boys and I ended up talking to Andrew again, though I don’t remember what about. The Hammers were really good and I loved the “Bang the Gong” song and the sax player. Earlier I also loved the band with the guy who played the guitar behind his head. Andrew told me their name (twice) but I forget. I found another bf playing pool and nicknamed him my Unabomber bf because he was wearing sunglasses and his hood up. His friend kept asking me to move because I was in the way of him taking shot after shot. I got some more water and noticed a hot tall bearded redhead come in though Susan hated him because of his North Face jacket. DP was up and they were ok, just really hectic and people falling all over the place. Susan and I were standing next to Brian and hot red spandex guy and were talking about the HR show the week before and how he was there and he thought they were good and that he used to take drum lessons from Isaac. Before the HR he was showing us stripper moves and told me I should send him the picture of me and him on myspace and how we’re both pretty good net stalkers, but not the scary kind. For the HR set we went and stood next to Chrystol and Dre and I sang along with 3 of the 4 Bowie songs and they definitely did them justice. Especially Young Americans complete with bomb-ass sax. There was dancing and singing and lots of fog. It was really fun. Plus I had a nice view of my Bowiefriend from there. After the set we were all trying to coordinate and saying bye and I wanted to talk to my bf one more time before leaving so we said bye to all the boys and Susan blew off her bf who wanted her number and I gave one final goodbye and told my bf that I’d find him on the net. We said bye to the girls and took off for the car. I left from her house and by the time I got home it was like, um, 1:30? Maybe later?

Tuesday 3/4, I talked to Kassie about meeting for dinner and after a few back and forths dinner was set for 8:00 at Sitka and Spruce. I did my long workout and was so exhausted and sweaty by the end but felt good. I jumped in the shower, got ready and headed out the door to Susan's. I wanted to get the FF cds and visit before going to dinner. We found a review in one of the Seattle magazines and I was like "I don't want to eat octopus!" and stated I wanted Hamburger Helper instead or to get sandwiches. I was kidding. Mostly. Kass called me to tell me to head down because her and Kate were on their way so I made it down, parked and went in to find them going over the options on the big chalkboard. Kassie was worried about most of the dishes but soon the server came over and thoroughly explained to us the menu. We decided on the savoy cabbage and sheep's milk cheese with raisins to start, the baby chicken cooked with a brick on top (or something?), the rabbit ravioli and lastly the hanger steak. Small portion for the cheese and big on the chicken and steak. The cabbage and cheese was really good so we ordered another big version. Matthew showed up and joined our little table and right then the rabbit came out so we all dished up and started gabbing. Kassie and I couldn't figure out what the rabbit tasted like but eventually figured out Mom Kristen used to make this pasta with canned chicken and it tasted exactly like it. Delicious, but very surreal. Matthew told us Seattle Mag wants to do another story on him because the last one sold a record amount of copies (not really) and that they want him to be in some fund-raiser auction but he doesn't know how his gf will feel but that he's still going to do it. Next the chicken came out and it was very good and I dug into the squash and other veggies. Matthew ordered the turnips, duck eggs, hanger steak (that never came) and a bottle of wine but left the choice up to the server. Apparently they all know him there and he usually lets the chef prepare whatever he wants so I just laughed and kept looking at Kassie like "Really? Is he for real?" but he's really hilarious so it's endlessly entertaining. Next Jeff showed up, whom I'd never met, and he was VERY cute. Mama like. We all got a little cozier at that point. Next came the turnips and duck eggs. K and I had never tried turnips and found we LOVED them. Like potatoes or something, and she left one of the strings between her teeth and I almost died. We let Jeff take down the remains of the chicken and sheep's cheese since we'd finished everything else off by then. Except the rustic baguette, which Kassie requested by name and made everyone laugh. Apparently Jeff is dating some girl that Kassie likes and she referred to her as "a down ass bitch" and to ignore the boys because that girl can hang. Finally Jason showed up (after spending most of the evening looking at himself in the mirror) and we now had six people crammed around this tiny table but we totally made it work. It's a good thing the plates are tiny! The steak came out and was sooo good and the accoutrements were as well. More wine was ordered then the chef sent out the sweetbreads which the boys all ate, but us girls passed on, then the pork belly was sent out, which again they went for but we declined. Matthew was on a roll so he ordered the octopus and the beets and white carrots with crème fraiche. I passed on all but the carrots and Kassie and I got into those. Very creamy, in a good way. He ordered the big plate but no one even likes beets so those went to waste. Some more wine was ordered but I think that's it for the food. We all picked at the remaining bits and pieces and ate some more bread. Kassie ordered the crepe for dessert and that was sooo good, I could have eaten like 3. So that was the food portion of the dinner. The conversation is an entirely different thing. Probably some of the most graphic conversations I've had in public. Hilarious. All aspects of anal, oral and plain ole sex were discussed at length. And volume. I swear the people at the communal table kept looking over in horror. We were laughing and talking over each other and challenging each other and giving tips. It was really fun. Matthew demonstrated one of his "techniques" (not the fireplace one) and we could see Jason practicing discreetly. It was very funny. Kassie brought up my Erik dilemma and all the guys were baffled I hadn't slept with him after 4 makeouts and were encouraging me to, while Kassie is opposed. They were all so curious as to why he's the best kisser and how other guys have stacked up and when I mentioned prior Eric and all his talents, Jeff was very curious as to what "everything" meant and I clarified chemistry-wise and just EVERYTHING. So yeah, they're all convinced he'd be really good in bed, but I'm just not like that. At the end Matthew said I shouldn't. I'm not even going to go into the other sex stuff that was discussed because the internet will probably explode. Eventually the bill came and I had to keep my jaw from dropping on the floor. $430. No one even flinched and Jason quickly did the math that everyone owed $72. Kassie paid for me which was very nice and generous. The boys wanted to go out afterward (it was 11:30) but I told them I had to go to bed so Kassie reminded Jeff where he could find me on Thursdays and he gave me a hug and said it was nice to meet me, then hugs from Jason and Matthew and Kassie and Kate and I walked back to my car, drove home and went to bed. It was a fabulously fun evening.

Monday 3/3, I called Kassie while at work to see what she was doing for the evening and she suggested I join her and the Lo-Fi boys for dinner. I accepted the invitation and tried to motivate myself to work out. Alas, I failed. Instead I showered and got into my comfy clothes and the more I thought about it the less I wanted to go out. I talked to Kay-See for a long time on the phone then Susan and finally Kassie to see if we could have dinner the next night instead. Plus I really wanted to make the generic Hamburger Helper I got at the Grocery Outlet. She said it was fine so I started on dinner and I swear to everything holy that that knock off HH was better than the real thing. I'm going to have to wrangle Susan into another trip down there to stock up with, like, 15 boxes. Perhaps an entire case. I watched the ABC Royal Family special and was severely disappointed to see only about 3 minutes TOTAL screen time of Harry. V. disappointing. Lish called and we had a mostly nice conversation until exercise and wasteful spending came up. I lectured her for a long time about cable, Netflix and her personal trainer and over spending in general. I'm not going to go into it but she called my stance "radical" and I told her she doesn't know from radical. She didn't have Alan as a step-dad while in college. Now that's radical. So anyway, it did not end on a good note and I drafted a message to send to her the next day clarifying some of my points and that Mom and Dad (and me) would be a lot more sympathetic to her when she needs to borrow money if she was making some sacrifices. Those days are gone until she cuts some of that shit out. And she can forget about buying a house or securing a loan with that credit score. Hmm. I'll get off my high horse now. I read a little of my Kauai book and went to bed.

Sunday 3/2, I don't know when I woke up but I know I lounged for a while even though I had a number of errands I wanted to run before meeting up with Erik for lunch. I talked to Kassie for a while and she was asking some bizarre questions which made me think she was on her way to Seattle or already in the city, but then her phone cut out (twice) so I knew she had to still be down in her neck of the woods. I got out of bed, dressed and out the door to run some errands after talking to Susan and filling her in on Erik and hearing about her adventures with D. First I went to Office Depot and got some stuff there for organizing then to Big 5 where they told me they don't wrap tennis racquets but recommended a place. I went to Home Depot and returned a thermostat and picked out a different one and some plants while talking to Sos. She told me her and Brad had talked about Ian and Sasha and me and Brad confirmed Ian and Sasha aren't seeing each other but also that "everyone" had thought I was going to break Ian's heart and didn't expect that it would be the other way around. Very interesting. I'm Karrah, come break my heart! Julie was coming up from PDX so Sos said she would call me for a walk around 3. I called Erik on my way home and we agreed to meet up an hour later at Bella Botega for lunch. I planted my new plants and organized some mags then took off. When I got there I hopped in his car and we went to some little Taqueria. I got a chicken enchilada (of course!) and he picked up the tab which made me feel bad but as I reached for my wallet he put his hand over mine and was like "Please. I've got it" so I let him and got the waters. The conversation wasn't as stimulating as Friday's but lunch was fantastic! He took me back to my car and we sat in his talking for a little while and we kissed a little then I got out and into my car. I feel very conflicted. It was only about 2 so I was a bit surprised he didn't suggest doing something else, but maybe he's sick of me. I went home and fell asleep after reading a little in my Kauai book waiting for Sos to call. She never did and I wasn't heartbroken over it because my foot still hurt and I was tired. I relaxed then ran to the store to do my shopping and to Mom's after putting the groceries away. I called Dad on the way over and sat in the driveway talking to him and Mom then a black truck pulled into the driveway and I didn't think anything of it until I saw Kassie get out in my rearview mirror. I yelled "What the hell?!" into the phone and Dad just laughed because he was in on it. I got off the phone with him and ran up where everyone was in a tither except Jake who claimed he knew all along. I expressed my suspicions as well. We all sat talking and laughing and having lots of fun then ate dinner (lamb and couscous) which was sooo good. Who knew I liked lamb so much? It was wonderful. After dinner there were brownies and we looked at Kassie's yard and deck plans and Mom drew a picture of a little girl in the garden because she wants her first grandchild to be a girl. There was more talking on the couch about Chels and Murph's visit with the dog and how Kassie "Dog Whispered her ass" which I found hilarious. At a quarter to 8 I took off for home and watched Extreme Home Makeover and I'm not sure what else. Updated this thing I think.

Saturday 3/1, I got up before 8 to go to the bank so I could pay Leif. I ate some breakfast and laid in bed because I was so exhausted. He showed up with gf and kids in tow so I attempted to entertain them until 10:30. They're moving back to S. Carolina so that makes me sad, but I guess they've gotta do what they've gotta do. I kind of don't blame them. After they left I showered and called Chrystol and made plans for lunch and a walk. I suggested walking to the Salmon House for fish and chips and she thought I was crazy but slowly came around and agreed it was a good plan. I talked to Susan who picked up a copy of the Fleet Foxes cd for me and one for Ian. I left my house at noon and wore my shades because the sun was out and beautiful. We hung at her place for about a half hour while she got ready and I played with Lulu and hit her in the head a lot. We took off down Market so Chrystol could go to the bank then back toward Sunset Bowl and on our way into Fremont via the Burke Gilman Trail. We made pretty good time and talked about all the Eric(k)s and Zeph and house boats and all sorts of other fun things. As we descended upon SH my feet started hurting and my butt too and we talked about how Kay-See has really turned her lifestyle around and how she's much healthier and looks fantastic. We decided to eat at the fish bar and sat outside and enjoyed people watching and seeing how much water would come out of my fish when I opened each piece up. After we finished our meal we went inside and I asked the manager if Eric was working and if I could say hi but I prefaced that we'd just eaten outside and Chrystol could tell I was nervous. So Eric comes over and gives me a hug and I told him what we were doing and he asked if we'd put our feet in the water and that they throw people in on their last day. He'd been in but it was voluntary which made us laugh. Jason came out and I gave him an enthusiastic hi but he kind of ignored me. Whatevs. I guess it's payback for having ignored him twice at Neighbours. We wrapped it up and took back off. As we started back up toward the trail I was contemplating how to propose stopping at Grand Central for a treat when Chrystol was like "Just so you know we're stopping at PCC on the way back so I can get a brownie" and I was like "I was JUST trying to figure out broach stopping for pastries!" and she reminded me that I don't need to tiptoe around such topics because I was with the other Chrystol and stopping for sweets is nothing to shy away from. Then I told her I can always put something sweet in my mouth no matter how full I am and she stopped and just laughed as I smiled slyly. On our way back into Fremont we discussed what it would be like to make out with a certain someone and that it would either be really good or really bad and that Chrystol has an insane curiosity. Then we discussed a t-shirt idea for the Harborrats, and more specifically Sam and I'm going to talk to Ian about getting it printed up. Then it was onto talking about Eric and how he's very tidy and motivated and how much of a turn-on that is and that it also reminds me of my dad. But not in a weird way. Into PCC we went and I decided on a 6 layer bar with all sorts of delicious ingredients and Chrystol made good on getting that brownie. We continued walking and snacking and talked about friends' relationships and skateboarders after a pair passed us and I did my obligatory "Hel-LO!" to the cute one in the black hat. We talked about our skateboarding exes and that Chrystol is partial to Eric's being a skateboarder. She said she also finally saw the allure after he said the swimming thing and we talked about how much better he looked this time than the last time we saw him in January. We stopped at this little furniture shop that used to be on Ballard Ave and tried out all the sofas and chairs. Chrystol sat down on one and was like "Lulu would LOVE this one!" and almost knocked a whole table top full of chairs over when it rocked backward. Cue both of us laughing hysterically. We moved around the store admiring the overpriced goods and Chrystol tried to get me to buy the pink chair, whose brown sibling I've been eyeing for YEARS. I didn't though. Even after she promised she could get 15% taken off for me. Then she wanted me to buy an $80 nightgown. She's an enabler and I love it. I looked down at my pant leg and asked her "What is that on my pants?" and she goes "Looks like bird poop" and I laughed because, really, how would bird poop have gotten on my pants? Riddle me that. Well, upon closer inspection it WAS bird poop and I was thoroughly grossed out. Chrystol thought this was hilarious and told me to just flick it off. Um, no. We continued talking and walking and made it back to her place where we gulped down some water then took off for Goodwill where she was determined to persuade me to buy some furniture. It was totally packed there so we had to park around the block and talked about Ian on the way in. Well, actually, we talked about Ian until we were distracted by the solitary boot lying in the parking lot. We migrated to the wedding dresses first and I tried to get Chrystol to try on a sparkly pants suit onesie. Eventually we ended up in the house wares where I cleaned house. I think I ended up with 5 glasses, an Oregon mug for Ian (which, I may end up keeping because it's fun), two plates and a bowl (a yellow and orange Mikasa trio). I really wanted the "Chemical Bank" tree glasses but I was afraid the gold rim would come off. C had to baby-sit and the parents checked her status and neither of us realized what time it was so we wrapped it up and hoofed back to the car. We drove back to Chrystol's and I dropped her then called Susan to see where she was at but she was at D's so I told her I would just get the cds from her later and headed home. I was so exhausted and it was very hard to stay awake on my drive home plus my foot hurt so badly keeping it on the accelerator. At home I climbed onto my bed and stacked up three pillows and propped my foot up and turned on the tv. I turned the sound way down, turned off my light and fell asleep for at least an hour. Sitting up. I can NEVER sleep sitting up. I woke at 8 and wasn't hungry but thought I should eat a little something so I fixed a piece of leftover pizza. Back in bed I watched Cops then I Heart Huckabees and managed to stay awake until the end. I wanted to watch SNL but was too tired and turned the tv off at 11:15 and went to sleep.

Friday 2/29, I was tired after work and just wanted to relax and was hoping Erik wouldn’t call to hang out. I put on Life Aquatic and fell asleep a little over halfway through because I was so exhausted. I woke up and started to clean the kitchen and get my dinner prepped when Erik called. He wanted to hang so I told him to come over after he got out of the shower. I called Susan and told her my plans for the night, popped in a pizza, hopped into the shower and hurriedly got ready. He called to ask about movies then I called Chrystol to tell her about it and we made plans for the next day to hang out. Erik snuck in undetected because he was driving an Xtera and called me from my front door as I was talking to Chrystol around 8:00. We chatted in the kitchen for a little bit then headed upstairs to put the movie on. We talked on my bed for a while and kissed a little then popped in Batman Begins. We watched a good portion of it before the making out started. It was very good making out but there was one thing I didn’t like but I’m not publishing. I made my disapproval known though, and he responded appropriately. The goods are more than adequate and that’s all I’m saying on that front. Before long I put some music on and we just talked. Forever. Some of it I had no idea what he was talking about but most of it was about relationships and sex and I told him that I wasn’t over Ian and that the main reason we’re not together is the distance but that I’m also trying to move on and kind of motioned to him, and thankfully he was like “Well, I’m ok with being Mr. Right Now” so that was a relief. The subject was changed fairly quickly after that but I was really impressed with his attitude. And relieved. We talked about sex and vibrators and expectations and not getting off during sex so I think I opened his eyes about some things and he also had some interesting things to add. He knows my stance. Overall it was fun and he asked if he could take me to lunch on Sunday. We laid there for a long long time and at 2:30 he asked if he should let me go to sleep. I said yes and hoped he wasn’t angling for a sleepover invite. I walked him down and told him I would see him Sunday and went to bed.

Thursday 2/28, I picked up my prescription and suffered through my short workout then made some dinner and showered. Turned on Little Children and texted Erik about hanging out Friday but he didn’t know if he was going to be feeling better so I told him to let me know. Received a message on myspace from Michael asking if I was going out, I responded yes but knew he probably wouldn't read it before logging off, and I was right so I texted him that I was and asked if he was and he replied back in the positive. My movie ended right at 10:45 so I packed up, was clawed and bit by my cat on my arm for attempting to remove him from my room, grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw his ass out into the hallway and took off. I put in Cat Power and started crying in the car thinking about Ian then told myself to take a deep breath and settle down and got some tissue out of my purse and dabbed trying to avoid ruining my makeup. Susan beat me to our spot and climbed in. We talked for a few minutes while I prepped and in we went. The new procedure requires unbuttoning / unzipping your coat so they car verify you don't have any knives around your middle. It was weird and we were like "Really? Really guys?" but apparently the answer is yes, really, unzip that hoodie. We checked our coats then upstairs to watch the crowd. It was pretty full for how early it was and Susan quickly noticed Green Shirt then I noticed Raver Guy standing next to us (who proceeded to try and make eye contact with me for the rest of the night), Lurker and lastly Awkward, who was pulling off some rather daring heels. We headed down to dance but there was some incredibly slippery substance on the floor so we slowly migrated to the other side of the pillar. I noticed when Kyle came in and got all excited because we haven't seen him in months, but alas, I never even talked to him. Max came over and danced with us and Susan had mentioned earlier how much she liked his striped pirate pants. He told me he wants to take us to the Mercury and that it’s a private club but that he can get us in, though Susan and I joked that they’d try to hang us from chains once we were inside. After Max left I saw Susan’s SP bf and he waved at me from the stage and I was shocked that he recognized me from up there and took the initiative to wave to me first. Susan spotted Teal and Darren and we took turns squealing Darren’s name like the time she did it when Craig was standing right next to us. We saw Craig come in though he looked too short and had a friend in tow. They came out onto the dance floor and I pretended I didn’t see them until he came over and gave us enthusiastic hugs. An awful drag show started and went on and on for like 20 minutes and we just stood on the side and scowled. George came over and was clearing glasses by us and I told him just how awful I found the show and he proceeded to ask if I knew what was worse, I asked what and he said “genital herpes” which I obviously had to agree with. Susan went to say hi to Kyle and I went and stood over by the pillar and Max came over and we discussed how much we hate the drag show and that if it was 5 minutes it would be fine, but the length of these things is over the top. The show finally ended and we went back out there and danced to like two songs then decided we’d had enough and to take off. We passed Craig on the way to get our coats and he’s like “You’re leaving?!” like he was really excited to come down and dance with us, but I told him yes and gave him a hug and we went and got our coats. On the way out we saw Michael coming in and I was like “Awww, damn!” and told him the songs were sucking so we were leaving. We ended up standing out there talking to him for a few minutes about Erik and metallic shoes (Susan made me feel bad about myself for not being in the silver shoe club) and Jesse and going on a double date. Teal and Darren came out and distracted Michael so we said bye to the boys and took off.

Wednesday 2/27, I was going to work out but felt tired and still a little sick so I made excuses and didn’t do it. I cleaned instead and eventually ate dinner and turned on Mr. and Mrs. Smith and watched that until I needed to leave for the meeting. I was one of the first there but more trickled in and Janna sat next to me and helped me decide who to vote for and said hilarious things under her breath. It was a decent meeting and luckily didn’t go over 2 hours. Janna asked who the guy I’ve been having over is and I was like “Which one?!” and she was like “You slut!” then I clarified that I was kidding and asked if she was talking about the guy with the motorcycle and she said she didn’t know, but that she’d seen a guy with dark hair which I confirmed was Erik. Then she commented on how I never close my blinds and that she’d seen him in my living room and I made a mental note that I needed to start shutting those blinds. I walked home and finished watching my movie and talked to Susan and eventually went to bed.

Tuesday 2/26, I woke up miraculously cured! I felt sooo much better. Got home and did a little tidying then started on dinner and Erik called though I missed it and he left a message calling me beautiful. I have my theories as to why, but I won't go into it. I called him back and made plans to hang out Wednesday night and hung out in my room. I watched my shows and talked to Susan during Biggest Loser. After it was over I was playing on my computer and my phone rang and it said “Eric Cell” and I was like “Ohhhh rEALly!” and answered somewhat excitedly. We talked for a while about his new phone and work and getting in trouble at work and eventually he asked me about HI. My ticket’s booked and he’s going to do his this weekend and told me I HAVE to go to Ronny and Michelle’s wedding though I said I didn’t think that was a good idea. He thinks Nicole is going but didn’t say for sure so that should be interesting. We talked a bit longer then hung up and I realized I had a homeowner’s meeting the next night so I had to cancel on Erik, called him and left a voicemail telling him it was me and that I was sorry then went to bed.

Monday 2/25, I felt like shit so I climbed into bed immediately and stayed there for the rest of the night. Well, except to make some dinner. I watched Arrested Development and finished Season 3 then Paradise Hotel which I am semi-ashamed to be hooked on, but not entirely. Erik texted asking how I was then asked if he could bring me anything which is incredibly sweet but I told him it was ok and that I would be fine. I went to bed at 10 after gargling salt water and mouthwash to hopefully cure my sore throat.