B Minor and SU

Cherish here!

How are you all doing on this beautifully drizzly Washington day? Good? Good! I'm really great today, although I've been fighting off a pretty wicked cold all weekend. I went to Seattle University's fall preview day anyway though,  nothing could have kept me away. It was probably my best experience at SU I met with the head of their Humanities for Leadership degree program, as well as one of the heads of the Public Affairs degree programs, and I tell you what, I am so excited I could probably have a heart attack. Talking to them was really reassuring; they had me believing I'd get into college for sure. In another one of SU's quirks, they gave out umbrellas as gifts for coming. Probably I fell in love even more right then. And I don't even like umbrellas.
Unfortunately on my way home in a burst of inspiration I stopped by the library and checked out a bunch of books on college applications that convinced me that I am, in fact, never going to get into any college. Hint: if you're ever applying for colleges, DO NOT CHECK OUT BOOKS ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS!! They'll stomp on your inner collegiate and have you hiding under your blankets while you try to pull yourself together. Not good stuff. Not good at all.

 

 Speaking of school.. I know I wasn't really but now I am. I helped my friend out with her photography project and I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

 We got some really cool photos all though almost none of them are in focus and it took us a long time. Probably it took so long because she wasn't actually sure how to work some of her equipment, but we got it figured out.  The whole experience was fun though, trying to see the camera and make art work with glowsticks at the park in the dark. We made sure to bring strong people with us just in case. 

 

Last weekend I also had a volunteer meeting! The woman who came and spoke at our leadership class was a former clown, apparently a famous clown in the Everett area but I couldn't find any pictures on google, who is now working as an event planner and devotes a lot of time to volunteering in her community. She was both hilarious and inspiring. She couldn't stay with a job that wasn't self-employment for more than six months despite having a degree in advertising. She talked to us about really evaluating what we are looking for out of our education and our lives, and not just doing what other people think we should. She talked about setting goals. We could totally see her as a clown. After her talk and our little class we went to work in the Everett Food Bank. I spent an hour bagging sugar, and I actually had a really good time. I was hesitant because I was separated from my friends within the organization, but I used it as an opportunity to get to know some of the other cool cats involved. We were a wicked efficient sugar bagging assembly line. I also spent a good deal of time papering donation barrels and talking to some other people I'd never met and probably never would have talked to. I had a really good time and we did a lot of good. One group painted the new mural there while another cleaned up outside around the building. It was pretty fantastic.

Today I am being productive. I have a lot of homework to do. I've another piece of music to write for music theory, in B minor. Also some tests and extra credit and research papers. Wish me luck! Also! Districts for diving is this week on Wednesday! I'm nervous and really excited. The coach also put me in a relay swimming! Took me by surprise, honestly. Finals are saturday, wish me luck for that too! Good luck to you all in your pursuits also!

Cherish out!

College Applications and Sylvester Stallone

Cherish here!

It's been awhile, and my last post was pretty down, so I thought I'd finally climb back on the bandwagon and liven things up here. So here we are, dusting off the cyber-cobwebs. How have you all been? I've been much better lately. Although being me, much better still has a whole lot of stress.
I've been filling out college applications and I've run aground on these essays. I am having the worst of times trying to write these stupid things. I don't know why it's so difficult to do. Probably the stress of my future hinging on whether I write about Star Trek or my experiences with community service. Which is stressful! But I digress. I'll get it. Seattle University's early action deadline is November 15th, so I've a few weeks left. I just need to kick it in to gear. I'm also applying to Seattle Pacific University, the University of Maine, and Western Washington University.
I remember when I was a little girl, playing pirate ship on an oversized green hammock. I miss those carefree days. I miss living in Seattle. With luck things will come around soon and I'll be back there. I look forward to the future, but I'm also terrified of it. I lie awake at night with butterflies in my stomach just thinking about the world of possibilities open for me.
At my leadership training/volunteer activity today we had a guest speaker come in who could be making obscene amounts of money doing the job she went to college for. Instead she makes good money as a DJ and event planner, having recently retired from her longtime occupation as Giggles the Clown. She had quite the story and I was inspired by her. She did what she wanted to do, and she was happy doing so. She never stopped giving back to her community. In short she was living the dream, just maybe not the American dream as it's usually interpreted, better I think.
I watched a documentary today on Sylvester Stallone and the making of the Expendables. He's really an incredible person. He's so dedicated. He said something, when they had finished filming and were walking away from set for the last time. The place would not be there tomorrow. The island of Vilena no longer existed. Everything was gone forever. There is no tomorrow, no second chances. It's gone. You only have one chance. He said this as he limped off set with a concussion, injured back, and torn ligament having just filmed the physically intensive final battle scenes. He said that he didn't want to talk to his grandchildren one day and have to tell them he didn't finish it, that he failed. I am so inspired by him.
Now it's back to work fishing for the right words in an ocean of verbiage to get me into the college of my dreams.

Cherish out!

Heart Breaks and Hard Times

Cherish here.

I'm having a tough time now if I ever have. Riley and I just broke up after a fantastic two years. We had a good run, we really did. And he's one of the most incredible people I've ever met. Since he moved away though, things haven't been so good between us. We fought a lot and tonight was the straw that broke the camels back, I guess. He wasn't thinking and he hurt me deeply. It was the last thing I could handle.
And so, after a long and so painful talk, our relationship has come to an end. They say you'll always love your first love, and I believe that's true. He was so good to me for so long. And so, my love, if you read this, know that despite everything, I honestly believe that one day we may meet again and the planets will be properly aligned this time. There was just too much against us right now..
And if we don't find our way back to each other, then I hope you find someone who will love you better than I did. Because you deserve it. I know it's hard. But goodbye, my love.

Cherish out.

Tiny Fins and High School

Cherish here!

Today was the first day of school for most of the students in the Marysville area. It was also the day of our first swim meet. It was kind of a fun meet, the events weren't the regular events. Some of them were harder and some of them were just for fun. Also, I had to swim, which was annoying but I love the coach so much that of course I'm going to do it. Almost I won't even complain. Almost.
Anyway, it was a relay meet. So I should have only had to do two, maybe three dives. Unfortunately our team is no bueno and I had to do five. I have an eleven dive list. I'm going to districts. My other divers have one dive. So while Ashley threw a forward dive I had to do a forward, a twist, a reverse, an inward, and a back dive. I was stressed. I was also swimming three events!
One of them was a senior relay with fins. While the rest of the girls in my relay have tiny feet, I have some pretty giant ones. So I had to go first and cram my toes into these tiny flippers. I was so glad it was only a twenty-five. I still had huge red marks where the rubber cut into me.
I don't even know if we won the meet but I do know I had a good time! Anyway, I'm off to bed. Hopefully. It's three in the morning, and I just haven't been able to sleep. I hope you guys are doing better than me!

Cherish out!

The Marine, the Girlscout, and the Trekkie

Cherish here!

I went on a fantastic hike yesterday! So here's the disclaimer, this post will have a whole lot of photos!

It was called the Green Mountain Trail, and it follows these really cool old mining tracks along a river. It was closed less than one and one half miles in due to landslides but we passed the trail closure signs and kept going, we were on a mission.

The whole trip we saw maybe fifteen people, and about half of them were leaving the trail when we got there. I went with Kim and her long time good friend Jacob, whom I'd only met twice.

It was actually fantastic. I hadn't been hiking in about a decade (which makes it sound like so much more than ten years). He told me it wasn't going to be an easy hike, but I didn't expect to have to straight up climb a wall of rock.

At the same time though, it wasn't nearly as daunting as I expected. I actually did better than the other two. Early on in the hike Kim slipped and cut and bruised her leg. Fortunately that didn't really act up until the next day. When Jacob fell it was terrifying. It was like the sort of thing you see in movies, time slows down and you just see your companion grasping for anything to catch themselves on. We were trying to find our way down to the river to go swimming.

There was a group of people in the area we had planned on hiking down to, so we went on for nearly another mile before we found somewhere we thought we could get to. For a fair distance we were cut off by an approximately fifty foot rocky ledge. Jacob though he could slide down it when we hit a section with dirt and plants on top of the rocks. He made it a few feet before we got him to come back. That's when he slipped. He grabbed Kim's hand but she's tiny, not nearly strong enough to keep him up, and I was stuck behind her. When Kim started falling forwards I grabbed her and she let go of his hand. He slid down the ledge, frantic to grab anything that would hold him.

He tried to play it off as though he wasn't shaken up or hurt though we could both tell he was. His arm was all scratched up, his shirt ripped, and he was afraid he broke his toe. He had to hike through the rocks until Kim and I could make it down the ledge to get to him. Kim was so upset, so mad at herself for letting go. I don't know if she really understands that she would have been hit much worse had she fallen headfirst. Anyway, after much more hiking we finally managed to find a nice place to swim.

This is where things got ridiculous. I forgot my swimsuit. But I had no intention of missing out on the swimming. And I'll be honest, I was not wearing the most demure underwear I could have been. I was so glad I was wearing a sports bra at least. I thought it was funny, I met the guy twice and already he was seeing me in my panties. So I kept my tank top on. Not much, but more than Kim's swimsuit covered.

I didn't think Kim was going to make it into the river. We had to dash across the current in the deep water to get to the calmer part on the other side. There was a trickling waterfall behind us and huge rocks to climb on. And it was cold. So cold I thought I would die. But it was also incredibly beautiful. There's something about swimming in a river completely isolated, so far away from anyone else that all you can hear are the occasional birds and the rushing water that takes your breath away. 

We hiked on a little while further. I'm not sure if there used to be a waterfall there, but it looks like this used to be a dam. Which makes little sense where it is and there's no channel on the other side.

 Either way, I was the only one brave enough to go all the way to the other side. I think we're going to do this hike again, and next time go past this, though the trail looks really tough beyond. Somewhere there's an abandoned mining town that I'm excited to find. The whole thing was so cool. And walking across this was so surreal. I felt like I had to keep moving, like if I stopped I would fall. Then I felt ridiculous, the diving board is much thinner and I've never fallen off of it. It also doesn't have seventy foot drops on either side, but that's unimportant.

It was definitely one of the best times I've had in awhile. A fantastic start to Labor Day weekend! Have a good one, dear readers!

Cherish out!

Call Me Captain!

Cherish here!

Or should I say, Captain Cherish! I've been a busy bee and I'm sure you're quite irate with me for not posting more often. I would be too. Mostly I'll tell you about the cool things. I'm a Youth Action Volunteer Team Captain. It's an offshoot of Volunteers of America, and basically we have leadership training and volunteer activities once a month as a big group, and we're encouraged to go out and do other volunteering in smaller groups. It's pretty cool.
This last Saturday was our first meeting, kind of an orientation and then a big volunteer project. The team is sponsored by a bunch of baseball teams, so we were doing a school supply drive for underprivileged children at an Everett Aquasox game. It was actually a great time and for a great cause. They bought tickets for all of us to stay for the game, but I'm not a baseball fan, so I left pretty early. On the other hand, that's not the only thing I'm captain of now! Wait for it...

I am also captain of my high school's dive team!! I'm sure you're thinking, so what? Well, it's really great. I always wanted to be able to say, yeah I was a team captain, there's only one or two of them every year. It's an honor and a responsibility. And I'm proud of myself. It's been a lot of work, and we're only two weeks into the season. My goal is to make it to state, and that's not going to be easy. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.
The hardest part of diving though, is the mental part. Diving is terrifying. You stand on that board and know that what you're doing could seriously injure you. It's categorized as a high risk sport. If you're like me it's twice as bad. You walk up to the board bravely and then your mind kicks in. You over analyze the situation until you're suddenly terrified of it and all the bad things that could happen are replaying themselves in your head. You see the possible smack, you relive bad experiences, and you remember seeing people hit the board and hurt themselves all at once. Before you know it you're paralyzed with fear. So what I'm working on now is getting past that. And it's hard. But it led me to a great website!
Nerd Fitness is a great fitness website, and definitely left me inspired! I love the guy who writes it so much that probably I could marry him (don't tell Riley)! The way he describes everything and relates it to nerdy things makes me happy and inspired. I'm trying a few of the things I've read about. I'll get back to you on how it goes. I read a great article on getting over fear that I'm trying very hard to relate to diving. You should check it out! Join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion!
Since dive has started I don't have a choice but to keep up with the rigorous core work out we do and the several million lunges. (That's an exaggeration, but I really don't like them!) Anyway, this website inspired me to do more on my own time. Maybe it will help you too! We can level up together! Be well everybody!

Cherish out!

Hedgehogs and Fancy Flips

Cherish here!

Everybody! I got a hedgehog! His name is Ianto (pronounced Yawn-Toe). He's quite the lady killer. I've not seen a woman who could resist his adorable little self yet, or a man for that matter. He's an African Pygmy Hedgehog I got from a breeder in Everett. I was quite lucky, I was last on her waiting list so I didn't expect any choices, but the woman who was first on the list stopped talking to the breeder a few days before the pick up was supposed to happen. (Pick up feels like such a shady term, it wasn't shady at all, guys!) Thanks to the mysterious flaky hedgehog buyer I got to choose between my lovely little Ianto and a grumpy hedgehog whose coloring was a little more attractive. This is a life lession, readers, are you ready? Looks aren't everything.

He warmed up to me right away, I haven't seen him ball up even once since I picked him up monday. He climbs all over me and is just fantastic!

Also, I've rejoined the dive team. I was on it two years ago, we'll see what happens. I'll keep you updated!

Cherish out!

Seattle University and Sweatshirts

Cherish here!

I went to a college planning day at Seattle University today with my mother and my friend Kim. It was pretty great. I learned a lot about the college application process and more about Seattle University. I tell you, I get more fond of that school every time I visit it. It's my number one choice I think. I like the smaller school atmosphere and the campus is beautiful. Anyway I also got an SU sweatshirt which I've been wanting for awhile.

Coincidentally today is also the day Riley went to Utah. I miss him already. He was my other half and it's hard being apart. We've been inseparable for the past two years. I don't know, it's scary to think that I can't just go over to his house and spend the day together. Don't let me get you down. We'll make it.

I'm winding down into an all nighter with the little sister, we're watching Breakfast at Tiffany's right now, and then we'll play some more Black Ops. What a day.

Cherish out!

Cloudy Minds and Silver Linings

Cherish here!

Hey guys, I've been distant this week, I'm sorry. It's been tough. And wonderful. The past couple of days have been especially rollercoasteresque. I've bounced from really low to really high and back again. Let's start at Thursday.

I convinced Riley to accompany me to Zippy's for our date night. I was really excited to show him something I've found comfort in, he wasn't really feeling it at first, but he warmed to it when some of the poems were phenomenal. I'm constantly impressed by the caliber of work I'm exposed to there, a bunch of almost strangers stripping down to their souls and giving pieces of themselves away. It's beautiful.

Anyway, halfway through the open mic night I got a call from my math teacher, from the class I've been taking this quarter. She told me that the grade I got on the final pulled my grade down to a D, meaning I have to retake the class in order to get into Math141, even though I'm enrolled in it already for next quarter. So I'm behind now, and I'm not taking it well. I offered to try to correct another test I hadn't done so well on, or write an essay on a mathematician, but she just wouldn't work with me. So, stifling tears I went back into the cafe and tried to shrug it off.

I guess I've always been good at that. Something bothers me, so I drown myself in whatever metaphorical river is closest, and really, a bunch of poetry is as good a body of metaphorical water as any. I lost myself in their words and Riley's arms as I tried to forget this crushing blow to my confidence. Understand, I'm not upset because I got a bad grade, I'm upset because I studied really hard and I couldn't get a better grade.

After the poetry night ended around nine, we hopped in his supersized Yukon and went to Lake Ki. It was beautiful in the light of the full moon. We stripped down and inched into the cold water. We splashed and laughed and stood silently, awed by the black water with its own moon shining in the face of the real one. It was a freeing experience I think, just he and I, alone in a lake in the middle of the night. A beautiful one.

But dear readers, that happiness was not to last. Like I said, ups and downs. Ups and downs. Do you remember the Shaggin' Wag'n? Have I mentioned it? My faithful van, a beautiful blue Chevy Astrovan whom I liked more than most people. I woke up to its transmission troubles becoming permanent. My darling, dead. It was horrible. I watched my dad sell it as scrap to a hideously obese mexican man. I was heartbroken. As though the class was not enough, I lost my van and in less than a week my boyfriend was heading off to Utah. I was in hell.

But I put on my strong face once again, I had a play to go to. My dear friend, one of the sweetest people I've ever met is in Village Theater Kidstage's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Opening night was friday, and I had to be there for her. The show itself was incredible. It's showing at the Everett Performing Arts Center and if you get the chance you should go see it. Two of the characters have songs in chinese and the whole plot is hilarious and cheesy and a complete feel good show. And you know what? It made me feel good. Until I got home and remembered everything that was going wrong for me.

It's alright though. I'll get over it. In the mean time, you all be wonderful.

And go for a barefoot run, it's good stuff.

Cherish out!

Sundays and Sunsets

Cherish here!

 Sundays are tough days for me. I feel distinctly at war with myself when the rest of the world makes its peace in churches and mosques and temples. I wonder why I wage a private war with myself and my maker. It leaves me unsatisfied and questioning everything. So today when the walls of the world closed in on me once again I picked up a card that had been given to me by a kindly Russian fellow at a poetry slam days ago.

In large words the card holds the mantra; Nam myoho renge kyo. I said them aloud and they felt good. They rolled off the tongue and I felt calm. Nam myoho renge kyo. The Lotus Sutra, considered by some to contain the Ultimate Truth of Buddhism. That everyone can become a Buddha, the potential rests within each of us to reach enlightenment. Diamoku is the practice of chanting the Lotus Sutra to find the Buddha in one's life.

The words had felt so right, so soothing a balm to my soul, that I looked deeper. And I'm not done looking. I checked out a copy of the Tibetan Book of Death and I've started reading it. I'm not sure so far how I feel about it all, but I keep thinking how good those words were. So I'll keep reading. And the card? I wasn't brave enough to call the man yet, but I think I will. Nam myoho renge kyo.

***

Also today I went on another family outing with Riley and his family. Prepare for another onslaught of photos, dear readers.

We went to Kayak Point and it was a lot more enjoyable than I expected it to be. And I learned yet another interesting fact about myself! Yesterday I learned I speak Komodo Dragon and today I discovered I am a fantastic bolo player! I was undefeated, ladies and gentlemen. I mean sure, I only played two games, but I destroyed those two games. I sent my competitors running away with their thoroughly whipped tails between their legs. And it was great.

It was beautiful out. Not too hot and not too cold. The sun was more photogenic than usual. We even brough the family dog with us. It was so nice. We had a picnic table under an awning and a blanket in the grass right on the edge of the beach. A perfect set up for reading deep religious texts. Well, except for the children and dogs. I didn't read for long. 

As the sun slowly descended, Riley's family and I played frisbee and bolo in our somewhat secluded field. I didn't expect to have nearly as good a time as I did. He has three younger siblings, and alternatingly strict and laidback parents. Usually I've a headache pretty quickly into our excursions, but this was fun, much more so than any other family trip I've been on with them.

After a wonderful summery barbeque, with delicious garden burgers and root beers out of the cooler, Riley and I took a walk along the beach, just the two of us. It was really nice. The sunset was the perfect back drop as we walked hand in hand down the rocky beach. 

Romantic and beautiful. In otherwords, perfect. It was a fantastic way to finish off the day. I'm so fortunate.

***

That leads us here, sitting with Riley on his couch, he's playing Pokemon Stadium on his Nintendo64, I'm next in the lineup. I've a mug of terrible flowery tea next to me and an english muffin with my name on it. I am content with things. I hope you are too. I'll head home soon and end the night with some more scriptures and a bedtime story from my wonderful boyfriend. Sleep well, readers.

Cherish out!

Dinosaurs and Komodo Dragons

Cherish here!

Everybody! I went to the Woodland Park Zoo today and some dinosaurs invaded and it was pretty crazy!

Ok. Just kidding. They were animatronic and didn't attack so much, but they were still pretty cool. Just a warning, this is going to have more photos than words I think. Anyway the dinosaurs were pretty cool but the exhibit was kind of small. Also, there was this sneaky half put together stegasaurus hidden in another section of the zoo with these controls and a sign saying you could test it out, but nothing worked. It just about broke my heart! And if that weren't enough, they had a dinosaur that looked very much like an ankylosaurus, which happens to be my favorite dinosaur. But it wasn't an ankylosaurus. It was a wannabe. A fake. A douche!

So that was pretty sad. I guess looking at it now it's obviously not an ankylosaurus, those are pretty clearly spikes instead of little balls of death and those colors are pretty ridiculous. It looks like a little kid put make up on its face. An ankylosaurus would never put up with that sort of behavior. 

As you can clearly see the ankylosaurus is much more intimidating. And rad. And adorable too. Without silly little kid make up. Clearly. But the dinosaurs weren't the only cool thing there. I also learned a pretty cool little secret about myself. And I'm not talking parseltongue!

Not parseltongue, but close. So there was a komodo dragon hanging out on one side of the enclosure and I got in and it looked straight at me. I'm pretty sure we had some kind of telepathic connection because he never took his eyes off of me as he walked right over to the glass and stared at me. It was kind of creepy. He kept staring at me until I turned and he walked into his little pool. I'd never ever seen the komodo dragons move so much. 

Elephants have always been my favorite animals to visit when I go to the zoo. I could spend hours just watching them, they're such beautiful animals. When we went there was one having a bath and it was adorable pressing itself against the fence so the handler scrubbed harder and picking up bits of food off the ground. Elephants are just fantastic animals. 

We wandered the whole zoo of course and we saw a bunch of cool animals. They just got a new pack of wolves for their northern exhibit and they were really cute and social, they were chasing each other around, digging, and jumping into their water. I've hardly ever been able to catch a glimpse at them before. All the animals were much more active than usual.

I saw the lioness prowling, and the tigers napping. I saw porcupines climbing trees, penguins sharing an enclosure with a heron, and I pet snakes and hissing cockroaches. And guys, I think cockroaches are really cute, there's one named after me at the Pacific Science Center. It was pretty great.

Afterwards I was dragged to a soccer game for one of Riley's younger brothers and had to cower from the sun. I really wonder about soccer fans. How do any of the children playing the game know what to do with all of the parents on the sides shouting all these different orders? It's so loud!

Anyway. Now I'm watching tv and playing Call of Duty with Riley before we have some delicious Gardenburgers for dinner! A nice relaxing night after a long day. Have a nice night, readers. I will!

Cherish out!

Poetry Cafes and Motorcycles

Cherish here!

I got a new motorcycle!! It's a Honda Saber 750 and I'm pretty excited about it. I hurt my leg pretty badly starting my old KL600 yesterday and so I'm extra happy to have an electric start. The locking gas cap is another plus, we couldn't find one for my KLR, and I just don't trust those Everett people to not steal my gas while I'm in class.
It's pretty great but when I took it for a spin I stalled it at a stop sign and then it tipped over. It was pretty embarassing but I've noticed that whenever I tip a bike there's always at least one fellow motorcyclist who rushes over to help me, and inevitably it's a man. I'm not saying that's not a good thing, because generally dropping my bike leaves me incredibly flustered and stressed. It's a stressful thing. Anyway, I made it home, and now I have a new bike and brilliant plans for some more great custom stuff!

Yesterday my wonderful boyfriend and I went kayaking (and swimming in his case) at Lake Ki! Coincedentally we also decided to keep our kayaking excursions to rivers and the slough. It turns out that lakes are really boring because there's not really that much to explore. It was fun though. As you can see by the photo, we were having a hot and sunny day and there was no way I was going outdoors without as much skin covered as possible. You'll see me fashionably sporting a thin button up shirt and a wonderfully outdoorsy hat, minimally worrying about potential damage from the sun.
Before all our adventuring we started out the morning with a trip to our local Henry's Donuts. We took our usual seats in the corner and I had my usual chocolate cream filled and his donut of the day was an apple fritter. We sat and talked and drank our milks to the tune of the cars passing by. When we were done we played some pinball on the old carnival pinball machine which is one of my favorite parts of the little shop.
Then we went to value village and did some shopping. I got a fantastic jacket for ten dollars and a bag of loose fabrics for three dollars, I'm quite excited to see what I can make out of it. We spent a little while trying on silly clothes and buying maybe more than we needed to. I have a great mug now just for my tea. I've always wanted my own unique mug. And it's the sort of ugly mug that I don't have to worry about anyone else in my house using. It was a lot of fun.

Soon enough though, Riley had work and I had other plans. I headed down to Cafe Zippy's LLC to check out the local poetry scene which apparently is pretty good. They had a featured poet, Priya Keefe, whose name sounded familiar to me, though I don't know why. She's from Seattle I guess, her poems were local and talked about things I know which made me happy. It was really cool to hear all of the poetry there, things people had written themselves and had nowhere else to share it. It was really intimate. And it was all sorts of people and they all seemed to be regulars and know each other. I was so happy to be a part of it even for a little while.
Now Zippy's is a cool little music/poetry cafe with all sorts of organic snacks and healthy drinks. It's cozy. The seating is a hodgepodge of mismatched wooden chairs and tables with the occasional couch or cushy chair and the walls are decorated with giant prints of underwater photographs and abstract flower paintings. Usually, when the owner is there, a black and white dalmatian roams the cafe like he owns it. And I guess he does. After all, the whole establishment is named after him. 
Two poets really stuck out in my head. The first was a tall young man with thick rimmed glasses. He did two metaphors and an english sonnet. Each one ended with him kissing someone. In the first one, which I liked best, he compared "you" to a saxaphone, with a waist of keys and ended it with his lips on "your" mouthpiece. It was pretty hilarious. The second guy was an old biker whose poem was entitled, The Revolution Will Be Televised. With his well chosen words he painted a world where Revolution is the ultimate brand and everything was Revolution TM. I can't really portray what he did, I can't do it justice.
The worst part of open mic night is knowing I'll never hear the poems again.

Cherish out.

Hedgiebags and Sewing Machines

Cherish here!

I was on a mission yesterday! And it was a busy day for sure! I found a bunch of advertisements for hedgiebags online and I decided that I would make my own! So I went to the store with my dad and we got some bright green fleece and some black corduroy and then exploded over the table. So guys, if you're being crafty with a sewing machine and your table doesn't look like this you're doing something wrong. Also, I haven't used a sewing machine in several years now. It's been hiding under my bed. So this was a first.

Anyway we managed to turn a whole mess of fabric into a beautiful bag fit for a hedgehog! It's not quite done yet. The pocket still has to be sewn on and we're going to embroider it a little bit. But overall I'm pleased. The inside is lined with the fleece and the shoulder strap has a side of each material. What's really impressive though is the flower.

I found this really great tutorial to make these fabric flowers and after only one try and several faulty petals we had this beauty! I'm impressed! And it was actually really easy and you don't even need a sewing machine to do it really. The bead was the sneaky part. My stepmother hoards things she'll never use and has a collection of beautiful beads gathering dust. So I set my dad on distraction and took matters into my own hands. Unfortunately on my way back I slipped on something and went flying. The beads were alright but I'm all scraped up. Anyway, it looks great! I'm really proud of it.Perhaps I got cocky. After the hedgiebag was done I decided I would make myself an actual purse out of old clothes. I gathered together a whole bunch of materials and got started. It was going really well until somehow the needle got bent. I got some pliers to straighten it out and the tip snapped right off! I was heartbroken. It was like the sewing gods knew that this would happen to me and I found extra needles stashed with the extra things. I was so excited! I put it into the machine and started sewing, but three stitches later it snapped again.
Right about there I lost hope. So here I am. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.


Cherish out.

Tea and Health

Cherish here!

How are you all today? I'm starting off the morning with a mug of tea so strong it will put hair on your chest and some Les Mis. How are you starting off yours? Tea or coffee? Les Mis or the newspaper? I've always admired people who sit and read newspapers, there's too much awkwardly folded paper and navigating through it to find the second half of a story turns me off. But I love books. Preferably with paper. There's something about having to turn the cyber page every minute that annoys me, but I don't notice I do it with books.
Here's the big topic for the day. I had a physical on saturday and I found out some interesting things. First off, I'm allergic to something in most sodas and sweetened drinks, I don't know what it is, probably some sweeteners (my dad is allergic to them too). It makes a lot of sense though because I drink soda too often and I get stomach aches all the time. Now I know! But it'll be tough to avoid. I'll be relying on tea that I don't actually like. Also she confirmed that I have at the very least a sensitivity to the sun and it could be an allergy. I know what you're thinking, oh great, why would anyone tell her that. But the doctor told me!

Cherish out!

Scrapbooks and Summer Reads

Cherish here!

Guys, you're not going to believe this, but I've turned into a scrapbooking master! Truly! I was up until four last night (or perhaps this morning, I'm never sure how to word that) working on a scrapbook that is both a birthday present and going away present for my wonderful boyfriend of two years. He's heading off to Utah State University in a few weeks. Anyway, we can be sad talking about that or really excited about how much he is going to love the scrapbook! Which is a lot!
Anyway, I've stayed up until four in the morning for the past two days and it feels like my brain is running on dial-up (ha ha that's a computer joke for you nerds out there!) I figured something out though. Late at night is when you can really get clever and creative. Provided you've had half an energy drink and some company. But oh boy. It's hard work though, this scrapbooking. I don't understand how people can do this as a hobby, it's so much work and so stressful. My buddy Kimmy was helping keep me awake and focused (between Just
Dance breaks) said that most people who scrapbook make a page a week, or at least every couple of days. But guys! You're not getting anything accomplished! I whipped up thirty something pages in two days! That's love, my dear, if you read this. That's love.
Anyway, it looks amazing which is saying something because I'm not a fantastically crafty person. I can make a mean friendship bracelet but that's about it. Yes sir. Actually, I make a damn good friendship bracelet. I've decided to add the phrase "hot damn!" to my vernacular. With an exclamation point. Riley doesn't think I pull it off, but he's wrong. I pull it off quite well. I'm getting off topic.
So! I picked up a copy of Les Miserables from the library and I'm trying to read it, I really am, but I just hate the way Victor Hugo writes. I feel always like he's writing down on his readers. Like the tone of his writing is condescending. And it pisses me off. Nonetheless I'm pretty determined. But I've read some good books in the past couple months. There's an author I'd probably be in love with if I didn't think he was disturbed, Yann Martel. If you haven't read Life of Pi I suggest you pick it up from your local library immediately. It's a fantastic story and you get sucked in and believe it even though it's crazy. I recently read his book, Beatrice and Virgil. It's an incredible story that really got to me. It puts the holocaust in a new light. It left me terrified to sleep without a baseball bat. It's beautiful though, the way he describes things is fantastic. I strongly recommend it.
In other news, I've realized I'm a terrible blogger everybody. Maybe I'm not so good at being trendy. It's tough finding the time to write this! Have no fear though, I'm working on it!

Cherish out!

Norway and Tragedy

Cherish here.

Keep your thoughts/prayers with Norway. They need it.

As always after some sort of tragedy I have to wonder if it's alright to write about fun and frivolous adventures in the wake. I have to wonder why the world doesn't care a little more, why time doesn't stop and we keep going and doing exactly the same thing we were doing before, why the events fade immediately in our minds until they're forgotten and happen again. A tendency that is both a saving grace and fatal flaw of the human race; we go on.

Cherish out!

Weather Wimps.

Cherish here!

People around here complain an awful lot about the weather. Things like, "Never thought I'd be wearing sweats and a sweatshirt in July," or "I. Hate. Washington. Weather." And guys, this makes me angry! If they don't like it they can go live somewhere else. They have 49 other options if they want to stay in the country, and from the sound of it, they're all fighting one of the hottest summers on record. Because if it's summer you want you're in the wrong place.
Why? Seattle has had a whopping 78 minutes of summer this year. In a recent article in the Seattle PI, a meteorologist looked at temperatures minute by minute from the UW and found how much summer we have had, basing it on an 80-degrees-or-above scale. 12 minutes on one day and 66 on another. All of our summer in two days. And then people were like, "This is unrealistic, a 75-degrees-or-above scale would be more accurate." Alright, so he measured it off of that leaving us with 18 hours and 48 minutes of summer. Less than a full day when the rest of the country can't get below 75 degrees, day or night.
What have we learned? I am in the perfect place. Oh yes.

Cherish out!

Birthday Parties and Little Blue Boats

Cherish here!

So everyone, my birthday party was saturday! Even better, it was only awkward at first! I've been to a whole lot of birthday parties and usually when you get a bunch of people from different circles you get a lot of awkward conversation and a scarce host/hostess. But not mine! It was great! I got a few cool things even, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was that everyone who came had a brilliant time.
We played Just Dance 2 and we ate food and we acted very much like little kids. Little kids with seventeen years of experience acting like little kids. We played games like Duck, Duck, Goose and Red Rover which has always been a favorite party game of mine. I've never had so much fun at a party I think. And a few friends stayed the night and we watched Osmosis Jones until we fell asleep. Doubtless a wonderful night.

Today was really good too though! I went out on a little blue aluminum boat with my dad for about five hours. It was a blustery day and rain sprinkled off and on, I definitely wore the wrong sweats for the occasion, it was much too cold for thin knee-length cotton. Despite being cold and misty and muddy (we left at low tide) it was really peaceful and nice.
And the birds! Oh my goodness! Everywhere you looked there were herons and bald eagles and osprey. They had built nests all around the slough and were watching for fish and diving all around us. At one point we got so distracted bird watching that we ended up with less than a foot of water beneath us and dragging our propeller! It was pretty unlikely and hilarious. Around five we finally reached the shipwrecked barrier that had been our goal. After I had to get out and tow the boat through biting shallow water barefoot and using the oars to push off the mud to keep going. It was great.

The shipwrecks are really cool. They're used as a water barrier now and if you go out to them you can tie your boat off and climb on them, though it isn't really recommended. They're covered in seaweed and barnacles and have all these holes in them, I was a little worried I was going to fall through, but I survived. And got some really cool photos but even during the short time we were there the water level was rising noticeably. I was definitely wearing the wrong shoes, my old granny shoes have been with me through a lot (I even wore them to prom, but that's a different story) but they're certainly not up to climbing over sharp, slippery boat carcasses. So we'll be heading back pretty soon. There were at least a dozen of them. So much to explore!
I'll leave you with a quote from a favorite movie of mine. "Adventure is out there!" And readers, it's so true. You only have to look a little ways to find an adventure of some sort or another. So grab your sonic screwdriver, hop into your metaphorical TARDIS, and go find it. It'll be worth it.

Cherish out!

Giant Hogweed and the 5th Ave

Cherish here!

I've had a tab open on my computer for a week now and I haven't gotten around to telling you all about it just yet. I apologize because it could save you! Especially if you live in Washington! There's this weed. It's called giant hogweed ( or heracleum mantegzzaianum if you feel up to the task of saying it) and it's on the Washington State Noxious Weed lists as a Class A, meaning you are legally required to destroy it on sight. Scary right?
Right! And it's on that list for a very good reason. If you get the plant's sap on your skin it sensitizes it to UV rays so the next time you're out in the sun the skin can no longer protect itself and is likely to get third degree burns and blisters easily. Especially if you already are more susceptible to sunburn. Does it end there? Oh no, this plant from hell also causes blindness if the sap gets in your eyes.
It has been documented in King County, among other Washington counties, if you're curious all the information is listed at the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board website. There are also reports of it spreading through New York, as well as several other states. Terrible.
    In other news, the 5th Avenue Awards were in early June and once upon a time they sent out their notes before the school year ended, but not this year. I'm quite curious. You see, I was the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz at my school this year. I know, I was adorable. And I'd like to see what they were thinking with their nomination. A certain cast member received an honorable mention. And well, I will keep my thoughts on him to myself, but I want to know what they have to say. Although at this rate I worry that we will never find out.
Regardless of what they say, the show went much better than our all out destruction of the Sound of Music the year before. We're getting better. One of these days we may even win an award. But I doubt it. If you get the chance to see the 5th Ave Awards you'll understand why. They have much bigger budgets I think than we do. And bigger stages. And talented people auditioning. Not that we don't have talent. We just don't have enough to win. Really though. Aren't I an adorable lion?
Cherish out!