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12-03-01
Happy Birthday to my Mom, who has a daughter so crappy, she didn't get anything for her birthday but a phone call. At least she wasn't surprised.
Jon continues to heal from his mono, so we skipped the Brad show for a night of dinner and a rental movie.
I would like to say that I officially despise AT&T. Not only did they change my e-mail address, but they yanked my websites, and won't pick up the phone for forty minutes. I am not going to win this one. It looks like we will have to move the server to Jon's and start paying money to have the sites on the air - and now is not a time to spend money on things like an online journal. Another major setback though: the work I did for Johnston Architects will remain unseen as it was all on my site. And this guy was gonna PAY me. Ugh.
12-07-01
Monica is quick in replacing Kristin's event planning skills, as we met at Six Arms and hashed out plans for tomorrow night. Christmas parties are popping up all around us as well - we are double-booked on many weekend nights through the end of this month.
Jon & I had our last Sign Language class tonight and plan to take the next level starting in January.
I got home to an e-mail from Mom, which told me that my Grandpa Bob had a heart attack that morning, and Connie (his wife) performed CPR on him until the paramedics got there. They had to use the paddles twice to get him going again.
I love Sean with everything that I am, and I cannot imagine having the correct state-of-mind to perform CPR on him - especially as successfully as Connie did on Grandpa Bob. She broke his ribs! Could you guys see your love collapse, and do CPR and hear his ribs break, and keep doing it? All while calling 911? That's true love right there, kids. I commend her - just as the doctors at the hospital have.
| 12-08-01 Ocean's 11 rocked! A bunch of us met at The Cedar's - a very popular restaurant that just didn't do it for Sean & I, but it was festive nonetheless. Then we headed to Wallingford to fill three side rows at the theatre to watch Ocean's 11. At this time, Fernanda (who is from Brazil) was introduced to Root Beer. She took a big gulp of it and you should have heard the sound she let out. It tasted like carbonated dirt and sugar to her, and if you think about it, that's pretty much what it tastes like - we just got used to it when we were young. She did not. Julia Roberts should learn how to walk in heels. |
 Introducing Jon's new couch, "Betty" |
12-09-01
 |
 Chandra
and Matt entertained by Fernanda
(no, she's not drinking Root Beer!) |
|
Me
& Bill
|
 Our Saviour |
Sunday
night Truly & I were on the phone for 40 minutes with our matching
copies of "Martha Stewart Cookies" magazines. We came up
with an absolutely STUPID idea to make cookies for Starbucks customers.
Then you gotta add friends, other people's friends, parties, etc.,
and you're looking at 776 cookies. No, that's not a typo. Twenty-two
types of cookies over three nights - plus one whole afternoon of shopping
at a few different stores. We will put them in batches of five and
hand them out the Friday before Christmas. I had to write up some
of the plans in an Excel spreadsheet. While I was consulting with Truly, Jon was making two pies to celebrate his two new pie servers. We had a salmon pie that rocked the house, and a Toll House Cookie pie that was screwed up because I bought the graham cracker crust that you buy on the shelf and not the frozen real-type pie crust. There is a big difference. It kinda made Toll House slop. It wasn't too devastating - I had it for breakfast at 4 a.m. for the next week. |
12-11-01
Sean decided that it's time to call Applebee's and see if he can get back in the company in management. He worked there 1996-1998 as a cook and a server, and became a store opener, and left on good terms, and they are growing so fast they definitely need managers. Since Sean left the company he worked at Tony Roma's as a kitchen manager and then ran the Bellevue location of Kozmo.com. He has an interview with Dan this week. He had a good talk with Dave Johnson and and looks like a good opportunity, if you disregard the fact that restaurant work wasn't exactly his first choice. Now is not the time to wait for the perfect job to come along. Unemployment benefits ended last week.
Tonight, I met with Kris Hawley at Barça Lounge, who works with Applebee's Corporate office, of all places. We worked together there in 1999. It was SO awesome to see him. He's been doing stand-up comedy and some TV show and even a movie. I can say "I knew him when...." My sloe gin fizz tasted like tonic water (unlike the one Sara got me at Beppo's, which was perfect - I didn't think you could get those things wrong). By the time I left Kris, I was psyched about Sean going back to work for Applebee's again. The company is doing really well, and I miss everyone who worked there. Okay, almost everyone....
|
12-12-01
 Shin, Jon, Sean, Tree, and Scott (you can really see the old pink paint under the black) |
Shin
& Scott & Jon helped Sean & I put up the black Christmas
tree. Mom sent her yearly box of awesome ornaments and it took minimal
time with all of us assembling. I told Shin & Scott of our plans
to make 776 cookies and they went through my worn and scribbled-on
Martha Stewart Cookies magazine and basically thought I was crazy. Grandpa Bob was diagnosed with a strange virus that affects the midwest each fall, or something. Anyway, it's called Sudden Death. I've done tons of research online, and nothing really matches up. There's a bunch of stuff regarding heart attacks and sudden death, but not much about a virus. I know that he's having surgery to replace veins/arteries which we be removed from his legs and chest cavity (five bypasses in all). |
12-14-01
Sean had an interview with Dan at Applebee's earlier this week that went very well, and then met with Ed Barker and Ron Schmidt today which was a slap in the face. They treated him like a dog. Ed, who still refuses to wear his bloody hearing aid, just looked off into space as Sean was talking, as he always did since he can't hear anything, and Ron acted like Sean never did anything for him. So I guess working 70 hours a week with a smile on his face for Applebee's Wenatchee and Silverdale store openings doesn't apply since they never saw it. And the 50 hours a week at Kozmo.com getting promoted 4 times and managing 70 people didn't count either, since it doesn't apply to Applebee's skills. Arrgh they just kill me.
Friday afternoon Sean & I headed to Johnston Architects for their Christmas party, and I got keys to the office! (I'm official!) I'll just be working a few hours a week in January to start, but it's a start! Before we left, we successfully talked Matt & Fernanda into coming to Scott & Shin's White Elephant party.
The party was great - Scott has an old house near Green Lake which he's been fixing up for over a year now, so it's always fun to see the latest work. A ton of people were there and the White Elephant exchange was fun. I HAD my grubby little hands on the book Naked by David Sedaris and I was so excited (I got that book for Scott Sheppard of World Wrapps two years ago for Christmas, and if he really loved me, he'd at least let me borrow it!) but it was quickly stolen. I ended up with Play-Doh and Sean got some yummy Candy Cane chocolate from Williams-Sonoma. Better yet, we got rid of the photo albums I was stuck with last week at Emily & Josh's party, and we amazingly got rid of a set of Christmas dishes we've had for about 5+ years. I don't even remember who they came from, but Sean vaguely thinks it was Uncle Steve. I'm so sorry Uncle Steve, but the Christmas Dishes have gone to a special Christmas Dish Farm where they can run around and play, and they'll have a pond, and other Christmas dishes to play with....
12-15-01
 Merry Christmas to us |
Sean is getting kinda screwed by Applebee's. They said he can start as an hourly and work his way up again. It's as if none of his experience since he left the company counts. So he figured, okay, full-time as a server so I can pay bills, then Ron calls and says okay we'll start you as a cook and maybe move you to the front-of-the-house in a few months (like this is a gift or something). A few months. He planned on being in management training by a few months. Just last week, he planned on being in management training right now. He was a cook for Applebee's over five years ago, so.... this is definitely not what we expected. And you'd think he left on bad terms or something - nobody's being too helpful. I told Sean to avoid Ed (the District Manager who's holding him back from management) at all costs and go work for another store if he insists on going back to Applebee's. Better yet, he should go to Friday's or Cucina Cucina's and start from the bottom there - he's probably get promoted faster than these guys who are purposely holding him back for whatever reason. And who knows - maybe they're hiring management now (they weren't a couple months ago). So now Sean is going to talk to Dave Johnson again to get his opinion. It just really seems like Sean is crawling back and there's no reason for that. |
12-16-01
Tonight I got this e-mail from Jon (who is serving Jury Duty this coming week):
So a (not so) funny story just happened to me.
I was doing my laundry and put all of my dark clothes into the dryer and went back up to my apt to finish studying. I came back down and all that was left were three mismatched socks, one pair of pants and one shirt. Someone stole all of my khaki pants and a couple of white dress shirts right out of the dryer while it was still running. We found some of the stuff thrown into the recycling room and the rest is gone
F*cktacular!!!
Looks like I get to go shopping or will be wearing a prom dress to jury duty.
j.
[He writes the best e-mails!]
12-21-01 Hot Hot Heat (....hotties) |
Hot Hot Heat played at the Crocodile Wednesday night and they were so good I just had to walk up and congratulate them .... it all started when I saw them last year at the Brickyard in Vancouver, and I insisted that Jon & I go up there for their next Vancouver gig on Halloween night (this was in 2000). So we drove up, and we spent an hour looking for the "club" and finally arrived mere seconds after the show ended. I was SO bummed! The next HHH show I attended was at the Graceland just a few months ago and it was terrible. The only other audience members were the other band and Eric Judy of Modest Mouse (who was, you guessed it, with the other band). The vibes were just gone. |
So we made about 1000 cookies by 6 pm last night.... and burned about 200 beyond repair; another 200 or so we just called extra crispy, so they remained. It was a stupid idea. Even looking back at it, now that the horror of three days of baking and bonding are over.... it was still a stupid idea. Thankfully Jen joined us tonight to help with the finishing touches and some cookie-packing, and she ended up attending Thursday night Six Arms with me which was great! It was our last 6rms group hug before Christmas and everyone parts ways. [Matt and Fernanda are going to London so Matt can meet Fernanda's family!]
Jon was chosen as the jury foreman! The case is over so he can talk about it now. It was a case of crack cocaine possession and gun possession. Jen was really excited that Jon got to say "crack cocaine" to a courtroom full of people, but alas, the judge read their decision (guilty on the gun, not guilty on the crack because they can't prove who threw it out the window). They deliberated for three hours.
Friday morning as we were handing out cookies to our Starbucks customers, many were bringing some in for us that they had made - and we ate them as if we hadn't been eating cookies for the last three days straight.
I don't want to see any cookie for a very, very long time.
12-22-01
|
Last night was
the Death Cab for Cutie show at the Graceland and it was a great
show. It's always fun to watch them perform because they are always
laughing and enjoying themselves instead of being rock stars full
of angst. |
 Santa's had too much Nog |
Christmas Eve
Opened at 4:15 a.m. Business was pretty slow but it was still nice to see some of our customers. Copied CD for Amy at work for her long drive to Portland tonight. Took nap. Paid rent in person, so we visited Dan & Maureen in their cheery, Christmasy house and pet Piss-Pot (Dan's 9,472 year-old cat). Shopped at Central Market to stock up on food since everything is closed tomorrow. Sent e-mail to Jon for about the 7th time to tell him how much I hate him for going to Yakima for Christmas. Sean made awesome dinner. Played Mah-Jongg on my computer until my brain hard-locked. Made the startling discovery that Sean actually likes the song "Broken Wings" (?) by Mr. Mister. Concluded that I despise that song almost as much as Celebration by Kool in the Gang. Decided that Stone Temple Pilots should re-make the song "Sugarless" by Caviar. Plugged in the Christmas lights on the tree for maybe the third time since it's been up. Sent e-mail to Jason to invite him to dinner next week, and a silly e-mail to Truly. It's 11:06 p.m. and it feels like a long, long day. Tomorrow will probably be even longer.
I want a t-shirt that reads "I Survived the Christmas of 2001".
I miss my family.
12-25-01
Christmas Day
Wake up call from cousin Scott in San Diego - also spoke with my Dad, Kay and Todd, my Mom, and Sean's Dad Randy. Oh, and Jon - who is home now. Yes, the three of us have plans for tomorrow.
Sean and I both work tomorrow morning so tonight is pretty laid back. We were going to see the Royal Tanenbaums but decided to stay home and do laundry instead. Also, I got a Sign Language CD-Rom from my Mom that I wanted to play with. I need a good book. I'm glad today is almost over.
12-30-01
 Jeff Tatum and his catch, Emma |
A whole lotta nothing going on this week. Football and more cookies.
Last night we made rum balls and bourbon balls for the New Years Eve party tomorrow night and they are certainly loaded. Grandpa Bob seems to be doing better. Did you hear? Turns out the hospital screwed up - just after his surgery he was given a blood thinner which was the opposite of what he needed and he got way worse for a while. It took a few days for them to figure out what caused it (since he seemed okay after the surgery) and then the hospital totally admitted it was their fault and took him off all meds and machinery and waited it out to see if he would make a comeback. Which he did. So my Mom spent all day in the hospital with him. Then we heard from Randy (Sean's Dad) and we found out that Annette's Mom lost her leg to leukemia on December 23rd so they had been at the hospital too. What a strange ending to this year. |