• A broad and enjoyable sense of humor
  • If you take everything too seriously and can't laugh at yourself and/or make others laugh, then you're headed for a heart attack at an early age and a very lonely end, in my honest opinion. I love people who are smiling and goofy and have a laugh that's contagious, no matter the circumstances.
• Fairness/balance
  • Strong personal boundaries are important. Especially when your boundaries don't align with someone else's. Also, being able to admit when you are in the wrong and apologize for overstepping someone else's boundary is admirable. Trust me, I know how VERY hard apologizing can be.
• Independence

30 Day Song Challenge

• day 01 – your favorite song: I chose "Stop Whispering" by Radiohead, although true deliberation on this has taken and will continue to take years.
• day 02 – your least favorite song: I chose "Rock Star" by Nickelback, although any Nickelback song would fit into this category.
• day 03 – a song that makes you happy: I chose "You're So Cool" by Hans Zimmer. If you've never seen "True Romance" I suggest that you do. If you have seen that movie, then you might have heard the song playing throughout the course of the movie.
• day 04 – a song that makes you sad: I chose "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. R.I.P. Nate Hoyt - You certainly did do it your way. (Nate is one of the most important people I have ever had in my life. He passed aw...

• Starting on Saturday night...play beer pong or other drinking games with friends until no one can see straight anymore.
• Go to sleep at 5:00 AM.
• Sleep until noon-ish...
• Watch football (starting in September until February, that is.)
• Play video games.
• Maybe wash a dish.
• Become one with the couch or my bed.
• Read a book if there's no football on.
• Sleep some more.
• Nurse my hangover in a lake or on a beach (in the summertime when the weather's nice. There's nothing better than jumping into 50 degree water on those very rare occasions we have when it gets above 90 degrees and then napping on the shore until you can't take the heat anymore, especially when you have a hangover.)
• Take a day trip.

• Drive
  • I like to tell people that I'm driving randomly, but I almost always have a route planned out in my head. I rarely go down the same road twice on the same route and it's almost always in a big circle.
• Play video games
  • If I hung my head in shame when I said that I play World of Warcraft, I'd be pretending. LOL I really don't care what people think of me or the game or of me playing the game. It gives me a break from thinking about all the things that make me crazy and I enjoy playing it.
• Write
  • Usually, I'm writing lists to sort out my thoughts and feelings, but I also like writing stories, poems, and jotting down r...

Sounds

• The hum of a fan on high speed, especially on a warm evening
• The ocean waves crashing onto the shore and rolling back out to sea
• Gently used voices, especially a man's voice when softly spoken
• Wild birds chirping early in the morning
• Music

Smells

• Lavender
• Fabric Softener
• Vanilla
• Freshly-brewed coffee
• Incense
• Pot
  • I haven't smoked pot on any regular basis in several years. However, the smell of it is enough to help me relax.

• London, England
• Portland, OR
• Savannah, GA
• Virginia Beach, VA
• San Francisco, CA
• Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Honolulu, HI
• ..and of course, I love Seattle, WA...home sweet home. I just wish the clouds would burn off once in awhile and give us some sunshine!

• Nickelback
• Good Charlotte

• How neat I was when I ate
• How I broke my arm
• How I thought my sister was a "Living Doll" when she came home from the hospital and I tried to poke her eyes out
  • In case you don't know what a "Living Doll" is, it's one of those dolls that closes its eyes when you lay it on its back. The eyes often break and only one of them will open. They are kind of creepy looking so you might have seen the heads featured in scary movies or the video for "Doll Parts" by Hole.
• How loud I could scream
• How I would fall asleep in the weirdest positions and strangest places
• How I always seemed to pretend I had my own audience when playing alone, but I would clam up when I caught a real person watching me.

Large Venues

• Kitsap County Fairgrounds, Bremerton, WA
  • Endfest '97
  • Endfest '98
  • Endfest '00 or '01 (I can't remember which year it was. I remember that the last time I was there, I worked security for the back entrance the night before and we got in for free the next day.)
• Key Arena, Seattle, WA
  • Marylin Manson - January 2000
• White River Amphitheater, Auburn, WA
  • Coldplay - Fall 2005
• The Gorge Amphitheater, George, WA
  • The White Stripes - August 2005

Small Venues/Bars/Clubs

Day 1

• "Love For Tender" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
• "All The Rage" by Elvis Costello
• "Hold My Life" by The Replacements
• "Harborcoat" by R.E.M.
• "Celebrated Summer" by Hüsker Dü
• "Help Save The Youth Of America
  
  " by Billy Bragg
• "I Zimbra" by Talking Heads
• "Thalassocracy" by Frank Black
• "I Feel So Good" by Richard Thompson
• "Moods For Moderns" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
• "Radio Sweetheart" by Elvis Costello
• "Hang Down Your Head" by Tom Waits

• Cats - I can tolerate them, but we are not friends. I am all for domestic house pets, however, I draw the line at pets that are basically untrainable, stick their ass in your face when you least suspect it and can/will jump up on any surface to do so, walk around in their own feces (spreading it all over your house and any surface you allow them on, FYI...that isn't JUST cat litter in your bed...) and carry a disease that sometimes causes pregnant women to miscarry their unborn child.
• Rats
• Raccoons
• Possums
• ..It's a pretty safe bet that I don't like it if it's a rodent of any kind. Bunnies are okay as long as they're fixed and trained. Yes, you can train rabbits.
• Snakes - If they are in a zoo or an aquarium, fine. Don't take them out and make ...

• I believe that everyone -- including myself -- is a little odd in their own way, which is what makes each individual person so awesome...in their own way.
• I believe that the attitude you have is what will define your life. Keeping a positive attitude as much as possible really can make your life easier and more pleasant to live.
• I'm careful about gifts or objects that are handed to me. This one could take awhile to explain and I'm not sure I want to bother explaining it. It does have something to do with the energy that people put into the universe, though.
• If I blow through a yellow light while driving, I have to swipe the visor above my head. It's a compulsive behavior for me. I'm not really sure why or how it started, but I do it anyway.
• I don't kill spiders indoors. It's bad l...

• Surfing - I've always wanted to learn how to surf, even though I'm a little scared to think of what might be in the water.
• Racing cars - I like to drive fast and I tend to stay pretty focused when I'm on the road. However, I can't drive as fast as I'd like to for 3 reasons:
  • The speed I want to go is prohibited by law on the open road; for good reason.
  • My car doesn't go nearly as fast as I'd like to take it. I think the fastest I can go without blowing my engine is about 80-85 mph. It's a rare occasion when I get it to go that fast. However, I do drive a car that was designed for racing, so if I suped it up and put a turbo in it, it would definitely go as fast as I wanted it to. I'm not sure how my 15 year old engine would handle that, though.
  • Driving my car is fun, but not nearly as ...

• Rock
• Punk
• Alt-country
• Indie rock/pop
• Jazz
• Blues

• Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Soup (Yum! One of my favorite lunches EVER!)
• Oven-baked Macaroni & Cheese (Martha Stewart style! Yum!)
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Steak
• Breakfast (Eggs, bacon, toast or hash browns...sometimes I'll switch it up with french toast or pancakes. Also, quick and easy and delicious is an egg and cheese bagel sandwich. I have also tried my hand at some bangers and mash. Although I'm only (partly) British -- by blood, rather than heritage -- so I think I can only call it sausage and potatoes.)
• Stir-fry
• Gumbo (my dad was born and raised in southern Louisiana...I better know how to cook a gumbo!)
• Chicken
• Beer-basted Pork Butt (It takes several h...

• love
• hugs
• money
• clothes
• music
• pictures
• handmade gifts
• chocolate
• free stuff

• P.S. I Love You
  • Oooohmigod! I thought I could be strong through this but I cried like a baby with a wet diaper.
• Legends Of The Fall
  • It's been years since I've seen it, but the part where Tristan finds Sam in the battlefield gets me EVERY time!
• The Hangover
  • When I watch this movie, I am laughing so hard that I'm crying. I'm also trying not to vomit or pee my pants at the same time. Seriously, I never get tired of how funny this movie is. :) It's probably one of my favorite movies ever.
• Hereafter
  • The opening sequence gave me another thin...

This may seem a little morbid to some, but really, it is healthy to think of our own mortality. Planning ahead for our lives to be extinguished is only planning ahead to make things a little easier for our loved ones in such a difficult time. As someone who has had to plan a funeral for someone else while completely enveloped in the whirlwind of grief and mourning, it was easier to put it all together when I knew exactly what the departed wanted. I'd also like to add that when thinking about my own mortality, I have found it helpful to think of death as my deadline. I have so much to do before that day comes and tomorrow is not guaranteed. So, just as I would at work, I'll do my best to accomplish as much as I can until I can't do anything but accept what I have done when the deadline comes. So, for the sake of making it easy on others...

Overall, I am an enthusiastic receiver of all things relating to fashion, food, alcohol, entertainment, handmade gifts, and/or love and affection. However, I still like to get my gadgets. I'm a nerd. This is the way it should be.

• Hiking boots
• New tenny-runners (My old Chuck's are getting so worn out and over-loved...I suppose I could take them to the cobbler, but a new pair wouldn't hurt.)
• Tickets to see Chris Cornell perform live in Seattle ON my birthday. :( Unfortunately, it's sold out! Boo!
• A week long trip to my happy place with a few of my closest friends...a week might be a little long, but it's close enough to home that I could probably leave early if I wanted to.
• A new camera - Either a Canon Rebel or a Nikon Coolpix; I've always had the crappy...

Let me just start this one off by mentioning that I have never had money, but I've always done alright. There has always been a roof over my head, food in my belly, and clothes on my back. I have my health and I have love and acceptance from my friends and family. I have never needed anything more than that, so money really means very, very little to me. I am grateful for the life I have had and the life I will continue to lead. That being said, a girl can still dream and dream I do. :)

♫"If I had a

• I'd buy myself a house.
• I'd buy a new car.

I rarely read articles of any kind, but when I do, I usually have an opinion about them.

• "What Is A Musician Without Fans?"
  • This article is about how to connect with fans in order to excel in your musical career.

As a fan of various types of entertainment, this article holds a lot of truth and can be applied to any profession. If you are becoming an actor, a musician, a politician or a medical surgeon, you can really benefit from creating your own celebrity status via social networking. Ashton Kutcher had the right idea. Put yourself out there and make that personal connection with your fans. Take the feedback they give you as constructive criticism. A lot of people gain a false sense of support from people they love when they're f...

• The view from one of my favorite places to hike
• Orcas swimming in the wild
• The ocean/beauty and power of nature
• Fuchsias
• Sunsets and sunrises
• Babies/toddlers, especially when they're sleeping or learning to perform a basic skill for the first time.
• My dog
• Colors
• Friends
• Family

It's hard for me to list 10, but I'll try...

• Coconut!!!!! GROSS! (Unless we're talking Girl Scout Samoa Cookies)
• Turkey - It's a love/hate situation, actually. I love how it tastes, but I hate that I'm allergic to it. Thanksgiving dinner now gives me one less thing to be thankful for. :/
• Anything with banana flavoring
• German Chocolate cake
• Cake frosting...usually. I'm not much of a cake person, though. I'll take the ice cream, you eat the cake.
• Marinara sauce (However, I love tomatoes. I eat enough tomatoes that I'm surprised I don't turn into one!)
• Cottage cheese
• Scrambled eggs - It's a texture thing. I will get physically sick.
• Raw oysters/oyster shooters (It's like sw...

• Australia
• UK
• Spain
• Italy
• Greece
• France
• Germany
• Belgium