I'm horrible at the friends that are girls thing.

As in having female friends. Especially in large groups.

I was complaining to my (male) friend that I have no girl friends and he told me I should hang out with his fiancee because he thought we'd really get along and she's always complaining about the exact same issue. Great, I thought. New friend!

I adore his fiancee. She's amazing, we have a lot of the same interests (read: shopping), and she's just a fun person. So when she asked me over for a girl's night with some of her friends, I jumped at the chance. I made cupcakes (I was making them anyway for dinner at my sister's) and got there on time. Turns out, her friends aren't quite what I pictured. Her cousin is ghet-to. She was wearing more eye make-up than necessary and is 20 or something so she loved talking about how she's so cool because she drinks but she's underage. Her best friend is dating her brother and is my age but acts like she's also under 21 and invented the act of getting hamboned. Her other friends were just different for lack of a better word to describe them.

Normally, I have no problem fitting in and am able to hold a conversation with people I don't know about pretty much anything. I guess I just wasn't in the mood to try to be involved in a conversation about something I have absolutely no interest in. And then the board games came out and I don't feel comfortable when my extreme competitive side comes out around people I don't know. And if there's a game involved...it will. To the max. Also, I'm not into drinking large amounts of alcohol and then driving myself home. So I made up some excuse about how I had to meet some friends at a bar and left. It wasn't a complete lie...I was getting texts from some friends asking me to come to the bar. But for some reason I find myself in bed, snuggled up with Carolyn Cassady's adventures with Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac. I'm lame.

Counting down the days until I can move back to Seattle....

Book Worm Galore

I'm pretty excited that soon my life is going to go from 0 to 100 MPH. I start my new job on Monday and in 2 weeks I'll have a second, part-time job as well. I have the LSAT to study for and boyfriend is coming in three weeks.

So why did I go to the library and check out more books than I can read?

I just finished Hunter S. Thompson's "Hell's Angels" - I enjoyed it.

This is what I have left:

• Maritta Wolf - "Sudden Rain"
• Norman Miler "The Castle in the Forest"
• Carolyn Cassady "Off the Road"
• Sue Monk Kidd "The Secret Life of Bees"
• Alison Weir "Innocent Traitor"
  

Although I have all these books to knock off and enter into my GoodReads (I'm obsessed with that website), my free time has been spent watching Torchwood. What can I say, Captain Jack Harkness is pretty hot.

Even so, I'm also looking for more good books to read. I really want to read "The Inheritance" by David E. Sanger about what challenges Obama faces, as well as "Snark" by David Denby, why the New York Times reviewed today. Any other suggestions?

(Why did my Blog Roll disappear?)

Ummmm I'm in love.

With a statue made up of Lego's.









I'm a complete Egyptology freak and if I had known how to do more than simple addition and subtraction, as well as majored in archeology, I totally would have applied to the University of Chicago's Ph.D. program in Egyptology.

I often kick myself over that and have to settle for all the pretty Egyptian statues/artwork I have in my room, as well as the shelves of books that line my walls dedicated to the topic .

Jon Hamm Mad Men vs. Jon Hamm 30 Rock

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men":
















Jon Hamm as he appears in "30 Rock":












Insanely hotter as an advertising executive in the 1960's, opposed to a pediatrician dating Liz Lemon in 2009.

Why can't men still dress in that fashion?

Employment At Last!

Someone was actually crazy enough to think it's a good idea to offer me a job.

A job at a non-profit organization, which is paying me hardly anything, but still a really incredibly cool job - one that I'm pretty sure I'm going to love.

I start Monday. I'm extremely nervous and excited.

Brash and Hopeful.

I love when asked the question "what is your dream job?" in an interview.

After law school, I'd like to become an international human rights lawyer based in London for a NGO, such as Amnesty International, where they need U.S. trained attorneys in foreign countries. After working with such a NGO fighting for human rights (mostly women's) in third world countries, I'd like to weasel my way into UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) and spends months at a time attending UN conferences in Geneva. While doing so, I'd like to be a correspondent for such news outlets as Women's eNews.

Does this have anything to do with the position I'm applying for currently? No. What is my typical response?

Something along the lines of, I'd love to work in such and such industry (shoot me) and earn my M.B.A. (never going to happen) while growing professionally and helping a corporation to grow at the same time (corporation? no thanks).

So there are two underlying questions here. If I know so specifically what I ultimately want to do with my life...why do I feel so "lost"? And because all of these goals require law school, why am I not studying with every free moment (which is currently 24/7) for the LSAT?

Annddd I'm back!

Very unwillingly, but I'm back on the East Coast. I must admit I never, ever had a problem flying before but with the plane crash in the city I called home for five years, I was a little weary. What can you say about such a tragedy, when you know people who lost friends and family?

Seattle was amazing, it was as if I had never left. We drove about 5 hours south to Eugene, Oregon to surprise my best friend who attends law school at the University of Oregon. We ran around Volunteer Park, had the best Pho ever from Pho Cyclo, checked out a condo for the boyfriend, took some pictures of the outside of apartment buildings so I can remember where I want to look when I move back there this summer.

I recieved this wonderful coat as a Valentine's gift:













(he has fabulous taste!)

Mt. St. Helen's from the airplane.









Skyline from a place in the Queen Anne neighborhood

I could not recall a more perfect fall

In Seattle until Monday...

...have a wonderful Valentine's day!

Free Rice!

I love the website FreeRice.Com! I've always had an unhealthy obsession with it but I recently discovered that you can change subjects! I have been playing the country and French language ones incessantly. Go play!

"And ladies if you follow these instructions exactly you might bear to pull you a rapper"

I wasn't planning on going to the gym today. I was planning on lying on the couch, feeding my coffee addiction and continuing to relish in my depression induced by being an unemployed twenty-three year old with the most useless degree in the world since I never went into it with the notion of teaching rug rats. If I have to be that unemployeed girl with knowledge of the technical terms for all things politically correct in the world (because what else did I learn in Feminist Theory besides how to charm the lesbian professor with my witty writing), I might as well look good.

Did I ever mention that it is the tiniest gym ever? At first I thought I might have accidentally walked into an assisted living facility. I was the youngest person there by fifty years. I felt very left out of the cool kids club, thanks to their icy stares.

I think the cardio machines are hand-me-downs from the 80's. I don't think. I know. In true Amanda fashion, I had to try every cardio machine, just because I was so amazed that this technology still exists. The most stable would probably be the treadmill but I find that to be so dull so I hopped back onto the elliptical, but the one with buttons. Not the one where you have to crank the knob to select your desired resistance. It groaned and creaked under all 108 pounds of me and at any moment I was ready to jump and roll to avoid any flying parts that might come my way. As my iPod battery decided it wanted to torture me by dying, I only spent 12:18 on the animated, volatile machine.

I headed over to the weights, which seemed a little more promising and up to date. Unfortunately, they didn't have my favorite machine in the whole wide world - the twisty abdominal one. The abdominal one they did have was another left over, this one dating probably to about mid 1990's but I'm not sure because my form of exercise back then included kick ball and not weight training.

To sum up my experience - thank goodness it's only $20 a month.

[did I mention that it's 10:26 P.M. on a Saturday night...and I'm doing LSAT logic games? Love life.]

Teamwork? No thanks, I'd rather work alone.

When I graduated from university on May 13, 2007, I forgot about many things.

Particularity how much I despise teamwork. As an executive legal assistant for a year, there was no teamwork involved. I was the sole assistant to three (demanding) attorneys. Everything that happened was done because I made it happen. I had all of the responsibility and I liked it that way.

By taking this paralegal certification class, this dislike for effort made by multiple people has been re-awakened in me. It's not because I'm bitchy and don't like people (I swear). I think it's the competitiveness in me. For class, she splits us into groups and often the task at hand is to find some obscure case. It's really not that hard and generally takes me about two minutes. I'm always the first one in the class to find the case (this is where my competitiveness comes into play) and this means that because of me, everyone in my group gets to leave early when in reality, they didn't actually do anything. I did. There was no actual teamwork involved. The first few classes, they seemed to hate me for this. Until they realized that the other group was staying much longer than we were.

Today was no different. After finding the case super quickly for everyone, I stayed behind in the law library to work on a take home test. A few hours went by and the other group still had not found a case that matched the criteria. There were six people in their group, not one of them could find it? So the instructor asked me to show them where I had found my case and how it applied to the criteria she named. So I did and it still took them another hour to find a case. Not to mention, that group really does not like me.

When we have to brief the case that I found as a team, they always insist that I write since I have the neatest handwriting. Of course I'm going to, my grade relies on it as well. This also means that when they bring up something that is obviously wrong, I will argue with them until I'm blue in the face because a) I'm insanely stubborn and b) again, it's my grade too!

All being a "team player" in a classroom setting gets me are glares and better grades for everyone on my team. Well, the nice, older man did buy me coffee since this was the third week in a row I saved the day. It's the fact that I'm doing everyone's work for them that I hate. What are they getting out of the class?

Dear Tegan & Sara,

Up until three weeks ago, I lived super close to Vancouver, B.C. Now I'm 3,000 miles away and that's when you decide to do a show with Broken Social Scene in Vancouver. Which happens to be today, meaning this is an unhappy day for me. I already plan on spending it with "One Second" on repeat - in my car, my house, my iPod.

I've been checking tour dates for over the past four years and you never come to Toronto when I'm available. Yes, yes. You came October 8, 2007 and for some reason I missed it. Why? I'm not sure but I'm just going to blame the douche bag ex-boyfriend for the fun of it. That should not mean that I should be punished for the rest of my life. When this new album that you're creating with Chris Walla is released, please make it a point to come to whatever city I may be living in or near, whether it is Seattle, NYC, Buffalo or Toronto. I promise it will be worth it, since I'll be there. I'm one of your most faithful fans. Well, one of your favorite fans that has no interest in you sexually. Sorry (I don't like your haircuts). If it makes you feel better, your appearance on Season 3 of "The L Word" was the best episode ever.

XoXo,
Amanda

P.S. In addition to visiting a city near me, please send me an autographed copy of the album, on vinyl. Message me for the address of where to send it.

Twist your head around - it's all around you.

I've always been the girl who likes a challenge, in every aspect of my life. Men are not, by any means, excluded in this. If a guy shows too much interest, I'm not interested. In fact, I was initially attracted to my boyfriend because he seemed to be a promising challenge. Observe:

• Bouncer
• Ex-Cop
• Air Force Veteran
• Divorced
• Six years older
  
• Tattoo Sleeve
• Owns two motorcycles
  
• Had a girlfriend when I met him
  

It turns out he's the most extraordinary environmental chemist you'll ever meet and in the end, not much of a challenge in my original definition of the word. I've learned that my definition of the word has highly evolved and I'm very okay with that. He's a challenge in many other ways, in fabulous ways. He's as stubborn as I am, which can be enlightening but also time consuming. He pushes me to do better, to study for the LSAT, to want more out of every day life. He's incredibly intelligent but very modest about it.


He also showers me with attention and gifts, which is something I've never truly experienced before. I'm usually the showerer, not the showeree (yes, I'm aware...not actual words). Gifts range from beautiful shoes and scarves, to a gorgeous globe that lights up because I'm absolutely obsessed with maps, geography and traveling (I despise Oxford Commas and usually avoid them).

The latest gift?

A trip to Seattle to visit him for Valentine's day, February 12-16th.



I cannot wait to attack him in the airport, Panda Style.

<- Simulated image of the Panda attack. Only he doesn't have long hair (thank goodness, that would look weird on him). I do enjoy her striped bag though.

I'm off to Boston!

Hanging out with a high school friend and meeting up with a best friend from college. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share upon my return.
Enjoy your week!

Was it all wasted?

I'm extremely frustrated by temp agencies. It's very much the same thing over and over again.

I walk in. The Receptionist is one of two types of girls.

Type #1 - The Bitchy kind. She will roll her eyes at me at least 3 times in the time frame of approximately five minutes. Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your time on Facebook? Most often, she will have a nose ring, dried out hair from being over-colored, more make-up than a circus clown and clothes that don't fit right. She will act like she is doing me the BIGGEST favor ever by letting the Account Executive know I'm here.

or there is

Type #2 - My Automatic BFF. I prefer this type because they seem generally happy to be there. They cheerfully greet me and offer me coffee or water, ask me if I've found the building alright (I'm here, 10 minutes early, but thanks for inquiring). After I'm polite back, they decide this is the time to really get to know each other. I'll have to hear about their boyfriend problems, the car accident they got into that morning or just about what they want to do with their life. Typically, this type will also have a nose ring (what is it with receptionists at temp agencies and nose rings?), crazy colored hair and will be slightly overweight. 

Often my thoughts on the first type of temp agency receptionists are - I could do your job so much better than you. On the second type, I usually give them tons of points of smiling and not making weird noises with their nose. 

Both types of receptionists will set me up with the testing programs on the computer. One will snort, while the other one will just smile. One will go over how to go through the testing system so fast it just sounds like they're gargling mouth wash. You know, the mouth wash with alochol that hurts to swish around in your mouth for a full sixty seconds. The other will take the time to show me every single step.

Word, Excel, Typing Test. Then I get to meet the Account Executive where I hear the exact same thing every time, almost verbatim. 

"Omigosh!  First off, let's start out with your test scores. Phenomenal! You scored 95% on both Word and Excel, which is 30-40% above the average! Your words per minute score is 85! The average in this office is 33, so you're clearly ahead of everyone else! You have incredible work experiences! And a Bachelor of Arts degree! In English AND Women's Studies! Wow! I am just so impressed with you!" 

Great, I get it. I know we're in a recession and there aren't as many companies looking for temps right now, but you promised me I'm the first person you'll call because you always claim I'm the best candidate that your office has to offer. Yet my phone continues to stay silent. 

Have another drink and drive yourself home

happybirthday.
I won't wish ill of you, even if it is on the tip of my tongue.
Don't expect a text or a call or an e-mail.

Enjoy. I hope there is ice on all the roads.