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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Leaving for Buenos Aires: First and Last Taste of Autumn
At 9 a.m., the day I left for Buenos Aires, John from the furniture shop arrived at my door to pick up some furniture. I was doing all the last minute things and sort of freaking out. He said, “Now I want you to do something. Starting right now as soon as I shut this door I want you to begin writing a journal.” I said, “I’ve been doing that since 1987 actually.” He was very nice and said that if I needed anything at all, he would send it immediately. He listed a bunch of things and even mentioned money. Wow. He barely knows me. I would miss Seattle and the kindhearted people I'd come in contact with.
Leaving Seattle and Kennan, Lauren, Gillian, Adam, and Briana & coworkers was difficult. Fitting the manatee in the suitcase was hard, and so was parting with Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. Oh, and Cafe Vivace! (I don't have a pic of Top Pot Donuts!)
A year review in photos: 2008
To review 2008Pictures are as follows:
1. Canada: Victoria, B.C.
2. Chinese New Year, Seattle
3. Vancouver, B.C. - beach
4. Patrice - keeping order in the court
5. Bird Cage Art - Asian Art Museum
6. Hiking in Seattle
7. Lake Union's houseboats
8. International District
For more from Canada and Oregon go to my travel blog!
A year review in photos: 2007
Thought I'd do a recap of my two wonderful years in Seattle.Here are some photo moments of 2007!
1. Meeting Richard Sherman, Disney composer (Mary Poppins & others)
2. Olympic Sculpture Park talking to Mom on the phone.
3. Tulip Fields at Mt. Vernon, WA
4. Hiking at Mt. Rainier with Diane
5. The Arboretum, Seattle
6. Mt. Rainier from Kerry Park, Seattle
7.Owl: Reminds me of Life, Reminds me of Death, Reminds me of Kennan's kookiness
8. The lawns of Capitol Hill - shaggy dog
9. Winter nights out of focus
10.Rainy Capitol Hill: Colors Duo, no I didn't dress this way everyday
11.Starbucks cures the Damp
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Jenna's visit
Jenna and Luke visited me the last week in August. We had a splendid time. Here are some highlights.
Uwijamaya, Kerry Park, Chief Seattle & Espresso Vivace.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
My collected works
One day I started a list in my planner with stories I’ve ever written because I had no way of keeping track. Things are on floppy disks or filed away somewhere in my parents’ basement. Why not post my list online now so I won’t lose it?
VERY EARLY WORKS
“My Monster Friend.” (first grade) – probably at the pinnacle of my illustrating abilities. Excerpt: “I have a monster friend. His name is Jenna.”
“The Doll.” (second grade) – Excerpt: “My sister got water in her nose and in her mouth. Then Mr. Rogers was able to go to the moon.”
“Raider’s of the Lost Jenna” (third grade) – my first parody. Jenna gets saved from a bat cave by an octopus named Ollie.
“Shag: The Last Buffalo” (fourth grade) – booklet devoted to my first crush on an animal.
"My 4th grade journal" - Short stories included "The Day the Principal got his finger stuck in the loudspeaker and Johnny at the Rug", "Patricia Anne and the Broom Thief", and "Baby Bear and the 3 Goldilockses." Dan didn’t get it. He said he’d heard it before. I said “that’s because it’s a parody of The Three Bears." He asked me when I wrote it, and I said I WAS NINE YEARS OLD. Then he understood.
“Tea for Two” (fifth grade) – my week of eating fast food with popular celebs from 1988. Posted here on Facebook in all its glory!
Nellie and the Counselor (sixth grade, on home video) – first musical. Starred Jenna in her Brownie uniform (the year she lost her ability to sing like Shirley Temple – oh well), Lisa as the little girl with No Lines who Gives the Plot Away in the First Second, and my dad as the monotone narrator who would really rather be drinking a beer.
Nellie and the Terrific Surprise (7th grade, on home video) – next attempt at staging of the musical above. Was filmed in front of a live studio audience (a priest!) and contained songs I stole from Jenna’s 2nd grade music class. (Once Dan watched it on tape and asked me if it was about the Holy Spirit. No, it was about Nellie who is forced to pick pawpaws by a witch who learns an important life lesson from Three Wise Monkeys).
Our Excellent Newspaper (1991-1993) – Newspaper written by Baldwin sisters chronicling their summer adventures, from the “baton class weather report” to quotes of the day (“People who don’t like candy cigarettes are nuts” – Jenna). Bill and Ted (bogus, most triumphant) lingo is used throughout and none of us had seen the movies.
“A New Lincoln School” (8th Grade) – Essay published in the local newspaper on why New London needed a new Lincoln Elementary. Was written in 1992 and in 1993 my sisters were able to enroll at the new school. All because of me and this excerpt here probably: "I went to Lincoln School and I know what is right for all of the future leaders of America." ALL of the future leaders. (How did I know THAT?)
A Christmas Carol (1993, on home video) – Literal reworking of Mickey’s Christmas Carol. I forced Jenna to learn the part of Scrooge (which should’ve come naturally) but the only way she would rehearse was if I let her lay on the floor the whole time.
“Renaissance Poem.” (1994) – This poem has gone down in history as Jenna’s most beloved in which I effortlessly captured the period of rebirth by rhyming Botticelli with Medici, da Vinci, and Brunelleschi. During Jenna’s sophomore year when she was FINALLY given that same assignment for history class, she wrote the exact same poem only way better. Her last line was: “I CAN FLY!” Which had nothing to do with anything else in the poem and did not rhyme with Erasmus or Machiavelli.
My Letter to Tom Petty (1995) – I wrote a very awful fan letter to Tom Petty which I am so glad I never mailed.
"Dear Tom Petty, I just wanted to tell you how much you have inspired me through your music. One time you were on the radio and I went to get the boom box to tape your radio concert but my Mom had stepped on the record button while she was cleaning and it was broken but then at the last second THE RECORD BUTTON WENT DOWN and it changed my life, Mr. Petty."
Stay tuned for the next installment!
VERY EARLY WORKS
“My Monster Friend.” (first grade) – probably at the pinnacle of my illustrating abilities. Excerpt: “I have a monster friend. His name is Jenna.”
“The Doll.” (second grade) – Excerpt: “My sister got water in her nose and in her mouth. Then Mr. Rogers was able to go to the moon.”
“Raider’s of the Lost Jenna” (third grade) – my first parody. Jenna gets saved from a bat cave by an octopus named Ollie.
“Shag: The Last Buffalo” (fourth grade) – booklet devoted to my first crush on an animal.
"My 4th grade journal" - Short stories included "The Day the Principal got his finger stuck in the loudspeaker and Johnny at the Rug", "Patricia Anne and the Broom Thief", and "Baby Bear and the 3 Goldilockses." Dan didn’t get it. He said he’d heard it before. I said “that’s because it’s a parody of The Three Bears." He asked me when I wrote it, and I said I WAS NINE YEARS OLD. Then he understood.
“Tea for Two” (fifth grade) – my week of eating fast food with popular celebs from 1988. Posted here on Facebook in all its glory!
Nellie and the Counselor (sixth grade, on home video) – first musical. Starred Jenna in her Brownie uniform (the year she lost her ability to sing like Shirley Temple – oh well), Lisa as the little girl with No Lines who Gives the Plot Away in the First Second, and my dad as the monotone narrator who would really rather be drinking a beer.
Nellie and the Terrific Surprise (7th grade, on home video) – next attempt at staging of the musical above. Was filmed in front of a live studio audience (a priest!) and contained songs I stole from Jenna’s 2nd grade music class. (Once Dan watched it on tape and asked me if it was about the Holy Spirit. No, it was about Nellie who is forced to pick pawpaws by a witch who learns an important life lesson from Three Wise Monkeys).
Our Excellent Newspaper (1991-1993) – Newspaper written by Baldwin sisters chronicling their summer adventures, from the “baton class weather report” to quotes of the day (“People who don’t like candy cigarettes are nuts” – Jenna). Bill and Ted (bogus, most triumphant) lingo is used throughout and none of us had seen the movies.
“A New Lincoln School” (8th Grade) – Essay published in the local newspaper on why New London needed a new Lincoln Elementary. Was written in 1992 and in 1993 my sisters were able to enroll at the new school. All because of me and this excerpt here probably: "I went to Lincoln School and I know what is right for all of the future leaders of America." ALL of the future leaders. (How did I know THAT?)
A Christmas Carol (1993, on home video) – Literal reworking of Mickey’s Christmas Carol. I forced Jenna to learn the part of Scrooge (which should’ve come naturally) but the only way she would rehearse was if I let her lay on the floor the whole time.
“Renaissance Poem.” (1994) – This poem has gone down in history as Jenna’s most beloved in which I effortlessly captured the period of rebirth by rhyming Botticelli with Medici, da Vinci, and Brunelleschi. During Jenna’s sophomore year when she was FINALLY given that same assignment for history class, she wrote the exact same poem only way better. Her last line was: “I CAN FLY!” Which had nothing to do with anything else in the poem and did not rhyme with Erasmus or Machiavelli.
My Letter to Tom Petty (1995) – I wrote a very awful fan letter to Tom Petty which I am so glad I never mailed.
"Dear Tom Petty, I just wanted to tell you how much you have inspired me through your music. One time you were on the radio and I went to get the boom box to tape your radio concert but my Mom had stepped on the record button while she was cleaning and it was broken but then at the last second THE RECORD BUTTON WENT DOWN and it changed my life, Mr. Petty."
Stay tuned for the next installment!
"My Monster Jenna" drawing (1984) An insect with a top hat and cane.
Beloved Hairy Beast
Picture Jenna as Scrooge and me as Mickey.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Gasworks Park
Gasworks Park - Definitely one the weirdest parks.It's on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford neighborhood. Gas Works park contains remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US.
The park also offers a great view of Lake Union and the Downtown that I rarely get to see. I work right under the space needle and live on the hill to the left.
Flowering asparagus in the moonlight.
Seattle's Summer - green and muddy
Ahh, the summer greenery of the Arboretum's wetlands.
Playing in the mud - The Arboretum has this great marsh and the sign said "Path may be muddy. You may turn around half way through." That's good, but what about when you're almost finished and then you come upon this! Taking your shoe off is good idea but losing your balance and putting your other foot directly into the murk is not!
Victoria, British Columbia
Waterfall in Goldstream Provincial Park, 17 km from Victoria.The Government Buildings lit up in Victoria. Kind of reminds me of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disney World.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Cuban coffee shop computing
El Diablo (above) is Seattle's premiere Cuban coffee shop. It is located on the top of Queen Anne Hill. A nice place for strong coffee with your laptop. The bathrooms are I Love Lucy themed with lots of references to Ricky Ricardo.
Also, it was snowing in North Dakota this weekend so I took this for my friend Allison to show her that Seattle also has snow: Flower Petals!
More Best of 2007s
2007 Best of: Part two
Here's the last of my 2007 musings
From the mouths of Jennas
"Lisa says I can get a drum set if I clean my room." -- Jenna
Sarah has a glass of merlot.
Jenna: I think I'd like some wine too.
Sarah: Ok, I'll get you some.
Jenna: Wait, I'm going to need a … shooter to go with it.
Sarah: A shooter?
Jenna: What is it called? A chaser I mean.
Sarah: What is this chaser/shooter of yours going to be?
Jenna: Um, diet coke.
Sarah: Merlot with diet coke to wash the wine down? If you don't like merlot, I'm sure I could get you a white wine of some sort.
Jenna: No, I need the black kind like yours.
(Lisa is also concerned about this "shooter")
Jenna: I need to go find some cohabitational mollusks…and some Snoopy Come Home videos.
Jenna read my cruise notes at work and was snorting in a room all night because it was so funny.
Dan in Hong Kong moment
Daniel: there are markets where you can find real live MONSTERS
me: WHAT!!!!
Daniel: some with many legs
Daniel: this one guy ate 2 pigeon heads
me: did he get bird flu?
Daniel: i had like, a little bit of brain
but i didn't keep at it
i didn't think about that
me: not like you. What else did you eat?
Daniel: we had chinese fondue
and they gave us monsters to boil
it's just shrimp i guess
me: oh no!!! Were they live monsters that were all crawling around the table?
Daniel: we had crab
me: did you eat the lungs?
Daniel: yes
me: Do you eat lung monsters for every meal? What about snakes and lizards?
Daniel: we went to this dessert place
and this one girl looked at a picture of something that she thought looked good
and ordered "harsmar"
she didn't know what harsmar was
neither did I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harsmar
me: I would've never guessed! Did you figure it out when they brought it to your table? Was it all froggy-falopy looking?
Daniel: it just look like some sort of jelly
it was served over a papaya
me: oh no.
the article mentions Snow Ear. Is that any good?
Daniel: she said she loved it a little
i didn't have any snow ear
me: good for her! Do they eat Snow Dog Goofy Bear dessert much?
Daniel: no, but i saw a shop that sells stuffed animals called Zoe and Bear
They won't let you in unless you eat 5 monsters though
me: get one. get two!
I see a link from that page that talks about Dragon Beard Candy and Pork and Nut Cookie -- do you eat those everyday?
Daniel: i'm eating some now
Daniel: time to go, later
me: bye bye! HAVE FUN. AND EAT MONSTERS BY THE DOZEN
Best comparisons to "Cartoon Planet" Characters
1. Jenna and Lisa had filet mignon and Jenna went into a "beef trance" which we decided was something Brak might have or... Dan. Jenna said, "They have the same boots."
2. Lisa saw Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello for a journalism assignment and told me, "Elvis was really good but Bob was scary -- I just don't know what to think" and that he sounded like a cross between Zorak and the Tasmanian Devil.
All Hail Brak
Haagen Dasz Moments
I was showing mom Lisa's facebook page and she read Lisa's Top Haagen Dazs moments and Mom said, "Can't people write normal stuff on here? She writes that she wants to Befriend a Swan and Ride on It. Why does she write things like that?" I'm like, Mom, it's LISA. don't you know your daughter?" "But can't people write normal things?" Mom asked again.
I called Lisa and told her how Mom wonders why she can't write normal things and she said she applied to a greenhouse and can hopefully sing to the plants. Later that summer she got a magazine internship at a gardening magazine where she would write an article on watering Geraniums by the moonlight while listening to Billy Holiday.
Top Momisms
There's a picture from the early 90s of Jenna reading a book on Mom's bed and Mom wrote as a caption: "on the bedspread with permission.'"
Mom sent me an e-card from "all your E.T.s and your lion" with rap music in the background.
Mom's been watching "Sopranos." She writes:
I like Carmilla, that is the reason I like the show, also seeing the kids grow up and change. I am in season four. I kept looking for Carmilla and Tony in church Sat. night.
Mom's once a year email where she channels dad somehow and it sounds nothing like her in the email:
>>"I checked in on the E.T.s and they seem confused. They are wondering where you are???? I tried to divert their attention by throwing a pillow at them. Then I told them I saw you downtown Oswego eating a ham sandwich. Well, when they heard the word ham, they knew better than to believe me, so I had to try and think of another excuse so I am thinking they are on to me. So right now I am avoiding them so they don't ask any more questions. Lv The ET dodger"<<
A Very, Very Long Sneezegagement
Midnight Movie: A Very Long Engagement. We go up to the ticket window thing to buy our tickets and there was a kid about 19 or 20 standing in front of the window in the middle of what appeared to be a gigantic sneeze. "Ahhh, ahh, ahh ..." we were waiting for the Choo and it wasn't coming. The man behind the ticket window (who looked
like a teddy bear) told the man to please step aside so people can buy tickets. The kid said, "One second, Ahh ahh ahh..... CHOO!" Good, he sneezed. But he was not moving. He was back at it: Ahh ahh ahh ahhh.... and nothing was coming out. I began giggling at this point because I couldn't help it. Either he was on drugs, or maybe this was some kind of Comedy Improv or Candid Camera type thing. We decided to go toward the concession stand because it looked like the teddy bear man was going to try physically move him out of the way or maybe call the cops. We got coffee and when I looked back, the Crazy Sneeze guy was gone. When we handed the girl our tickets she was laughing and I said, "I also have hay fever."
Favorite emails from afar
Megan:
Lightning snow is radical as shit. You're all like, "WHOA!" The weather has inspired us to watch all of Hobbit Doom X. Did I ever tell you that we got mad props for our dancing on New Years? Paige said that she laughed so hard and thought we were awesome. Thought I'd pass on the love.
Karen:
...I would just sign the only words I know in sign language over and over at a rapid pace. Like "grow, grow , pretty, girl, boy , thank you, blue, cheese, hog, rainbow". Which I'm sure they found annoying.
Lisa's anxiety over a romantic notion
Lisa: And to top it off Jenna finally got the BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO and it came in a huge box and she wants me to ride it Uptown with her.
Sarah: Really? Is this something she has always put on her Christmas list and never gotten along with the pogo stick, trampoline, and stilts?
Lisa: Yes, but there is a problem. I do NOT want to ride this bike, especially not Uptown because I'm not good around pedestrians and cars.
Sarah: This is hilarious because a bicycle built for two sounds like a very enchanting thing. Aren't you the spokeswoman for enchanting moments?
Lisa: I can't break Jenna's heart by telling her I don't want to ride it. Or maybe we can just ride it on the driveway to practice first hopefully.
Sarah: Sounds like a Doom Bike for 2, but I wouldn't stress over it too much. Jenna has her whims.
Lisa: Yes she does.
Briana's Top Three
Her first visit: she brought me a prism, a wine opener, cupcakes, a copy of Moby Dick, and reserved seats with the star of a Seattle Film Festival movie. We watched Pollyanna over the wine & cupcakes.
Bite of Seattle beer tent where we mocked the Reality Dating booth's survey while Briana took sips of her chocolate ice coffee with her beer and mojito in the same straw and was saying it tasted "good" while we discussed our upcoming Orphan and Dudley Moore movie marathons.
"Dying in a dark place with only a light shining on these deliriously happy animals singing Polly Wolly Doodle is far more terrifying than any horror movie." -- Briana
People of 2007
Patrice who introduced me to his two pandas, Fluffle and Rubble. He used to do circus with his half koala half krizzly bear and Heedy the Hextra-derres-dreeal.
John Vanderslice -Winner of Sarah's Official If you Google "Nicest Man in Indie Rock" his Name Comes Up Award (since 2003)
Dwight Schrute - "Yes! Funtivities! I knew it wasn't just a trip to the beach." [Now I just want to quote season 3: Angela: Sometimes the clothes at GAP Kids are just too flashy so I'm forced to go to the American Girl Store and order clothes for large, colonial dolls. (I feel her pain). Pam: Phyllis – yogurt containers! (was this from the outtakes?)]
My Grandma Wahleithner - Creator of the Pooka Bear
Little Adelle - of course
Tom Petty - 30 Years of Running Down a Dream. My terrible 1996 letter: "Dear Tom Petty, I just wanted to tell you how much you have inspired me through your music. One time you were on the radio and I went to get the boom box to tape your radio concert but my Mom had stepped on the record button while she was cleaning and it was broken but then at the last second THE RECORD BUTTON WENT DOWN and it changed my life, Mr. Petty."
I spent Easter with Patrice's French friends.
This was our lovely meal.
Raclette is also a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland, Wallonia and France. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, dried meats (such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons), sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper.
There were lots of cute French babies at the house and some nice wine. Maybe that's why Patrice has this pink hat on.
Here's the last of my 2007 musings
From the mouths of Jennas
"Lisa says I can get a drum set if I clean my room." -- Jenna
Sarah has a glass of merlot.
Jenna: I think I'd like some wine too.
Sarah: Ok, I'll get you some.
Jenna: Wait, I'm going to need a … shooter to go with it.
Sarah: A shooter?
Jenna: What is it called? A chaser I mean.
Sarah: What is this chaser/shooter of yours going to be?
Jenna: Um, diet coke.
Sarah: Merlot with diet coke to wash the wine down? If you don't like merlot, I'm sure I could get you a white wine of some sort.
Jenna: No, I need the black kind like yours.
(Lisa is also concerned about this "shooter")
Jenna: I need to go find some cohabitational mollusks…and some Snoopy Come Home videos.
Jenna read my cruise notes at work and was snorting in a room all night because it was so funny.
Dan in Hong Kong moment
Daniel: there are markets where you can find real live MONSTERS
me: WHAT!!!!
Daniel: some with many legs
Daniel: this one guy ate 2 pigeon heads
me: did he get bird flu?
Daniel: i had like, a little bit of brain
but i didn't keep at it
i didn't think about that
me: not like you. What else did you eat?
Daniel: we had chinese fondue
and they gave us monsters to boil
it's just shrimp i guess
me: oh no!!! Were they live monsters that were all crawling around the table?
Daniel: we had crab
me: did you eat the lungs?
Daniel: yes
me: Do you eat lung monsters for every meal? What about snakes and lizards?
Daniel: we went to this dessert place
and this one girl looked at a picture of something that she thought looked good
and ordered "harsmar"
she didn't know what harsmar was
neither did I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harsmar
me: I would've never guessed! Did you figure it out when they brought it to your table? Was it all froggy-falopy looking?
Daniel: it just look like some sort of jelly
it was served over a papaya
me: oh no.
the article mentions Snow Ear. Is that any good?
Daniel: she said she loved it a little
i didn't have any snow ear
me: good for her! Do they eat Snow Dog Goofy Bear dessert much?
Daniel: no, but i saw a shop that sells stuffed animals called Zoe and Bear
They won't let you in unless you eat 5 monsters though
me: get one. get two!
I see a link from that page that talks about Dragon Beard Candy and Pork and Nut Cookie -- do you eat those everyday?
Daniel: i'm eating some now
Daniel: time to go, later
me: bye bye! HAVE FUN. AND EAT MONSTERS BY THE DOZEN
Best comparisons to "Cartoon Planet" Characters
1. Jenna and Lisa had filet mignon and Jenna went into a "beef trance" which we decided was something Brak might have or... Dan. Jenna said, "They have the same boots."
2. Lisa saw Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello for a journalism assignment and told me, "Elvis was really good but Bob was scary -- I just don't know what to think" and that he sounded like a cross between Zorak and the Tasmanian Devil.
All Hail Brak
Haagen Dasz Moments
I was showing mom Lisa's facebook page and she read Lisa's Top Haagen Dazs moments and Mom said, "Can't people write normal stuff on here? She writes that she wants to Befriend a Swan and Ride on It. Why does she write things like that?" I'm like, Mom, it's LISA. don't you know your daughter?" "But can't people write normal things?" Mom asked again.
I called Lisa and told her how Mom wonders why she can't write normal things and she said she applied to a greenhouse and can hopefully sing to the plants. Later that summer she got a magazine internship at a gardening magazine where she would write an article on watering Geraniums by the moonlight while listening to Billy Holiday.
Top Momisms
There's a picture from the early 90s of Jenna reading a book on Mom's bed and Mom wrote as a caption: "on the bedspread with permission.'"
Mom sent me an e-card from "all your E.T.s and your lion" with rap music in the background.
Mom's been watching "Sopranos." She writes:
I like Carmilla, that is the reason I like the show, also seeing the kids grow up and change. I am in season four. I kept looking for Carmilla and Tony in church Sat. night.
Mom's once a year email where she channels dad somehow and it sounds nothing like her in the email:
>>"I checked in on the E.T.s and they seem confused. They are wondering where you are???? I tried to divert their attention by throwing a pillow at them. Then I told them I saw you downtown Oswego eating a ham sandwich. Well, when they heard the word ham, they knew better than to believe me, so I had to try and think of another excuse so I am thinking they are on to me. So right now I am avoiding them so they don't ask any more questions. Lv The ET dodger"<<
A Very, Very Long Sneezegagement
Midnight Movie: A Very Long Engagement. We go up to the ticket window thing to buy our tickets and there was a kid about 19 or 20 standing in front of the window in the middle of what appeared to be a gigantic sneeze. "Ahhh, ahh, ahh ..." we were waiting for the Choo and it wasn't coming. The man behind the ticket window (who looked
like a teddy bear) told the man to please step aside so people can buy tickets. The kid said, "One second, Ahh ahh ahh..... CHOO!" Good, he sneezed. But he was not moving. He was back at it: Ahh ahh ahh ahhh.... and nothing was coming out. I began giggling at this point because I couldn't help it. Either he was on drugs, or maybe this was some kind of Comedy Improv or Candid Camera type thing. We decided to go toward the concession stand because it looked like the teddy bear man was going to try physically move him out of the way or maybe call the cops. We got coffee and when I looked back, the Crazy Sneeze guy was gone. When we handed the girl our tickets she was laughing and I said, "I also have hay fever."
Favorite emails from afar
Megan:
Lightning snow is radical as shit. You're all like, "WHOA!" The weather has inspired us to watch all of Hobbit Doom X. Did I ever tell you that we got mad props for our dancing on New Years? Paige said that she laughed so hard and thought we were awesome. Thought I'd pass on the love.
Karen:
...I would just sign the only words I know in sign language over and over at a rapid pace. Like "grow, grow , pretty, girl, boy , thank you, blue, cheese, hog, rainbow". Which I'm sure they found annoying.
Lisa's anxiety over a romantic notion
Lisa: And to top it off Jenna finally got the BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO and it came in a huge box and she wants me to ride it Uptown with her.
Sarah: Really? Is this something she has always put on her Christmas list and never gotten along with the pogo stick, trampoline, and stilts?
Lisa: Yes, but there is a problem. I do NOT want to ride this bike, especially not Uptown because I'm not good around pedestrians and cars.
Sarah: This is hilarious because a bicycle built for two sounds like a very enchanting thing. Aren't you the spokeswoman for enchanting moments?
Lisa: I can't break Jenna's heart by telling her I don't want to ride it. Or maybe we can just ride it on the driveway to practice first hopefully.
Sarah: Sounds like a Doom Bike for 2, but I wouldn't stress over it too much. Jenna has her whims.
Lisa: Yes she does.
Briana's Top Three
Her first visit: she brought me a prism, a wine opener, cupcakes, a copy of Moby Dick, and reserved seats with the star of a Seattle Film Festival movie. We watched Pollyanna over the wine & cupcakes.
Bite of Seattle beer tent where we mocked the Reality Dating booth's survey while Briana took sips of her chocolate ice coffee with her beer and mojito in the same straw and was saying it tasted "good" while we discussed our upcoming Orphan and Dudley Moore movie marathons.
"Dying in a dark place with only a light shining on these deliriously happy animals singing Polly Wolly Doodle is far more terrifying than any horror movie." -- Briana
People of 2007
Patrice who introduced me to his two pandas, Fluffle and Rubble. He used to do circus with his half koala half krizzly bear and Heedy the Hextra-derres-dreeal.
John Vanderslice -Winner of Sarah's Official If you Google "Nicest Man in Indie Rock" his Name Comes Up Award (since 2003)
Dwight Schrute - "Yes! Funtivities! I knew it wasn't just a trip to the beach." [Now I just want to quote season 3: Angela: Sometimes the clothes at GAP Kids are just too flashy so I'm forced to go to the American Girl Store and order clothes for large, colonial dolls. (I feel her pain). Pam: Phyllis – yogurt containers! (was this from the outtakes?)]
My Grandma Wahleithner - Creator of the Pooka Bear
Little Adelle - of course
Tom Petty - 30 Years of Running Down a Dream. My terrible 1996 letter: "Dear Tom Petty, I just wanted to tell you how much you have inspired me through your music. One time you were on the radio and I went to get the boom box to tape your radio concert but my Mom had stepped on the record button while she was cleaning and it was broken but then at the last second THE RECORD BUTTON WENT DOWN and it changed my life, Mr. Petty."
I spent Easter with Patrice's French friends.
This was our lovely meal.
Raclette is also a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland, Wallonia and France. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, dried meats (such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons), sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper.
There were lots of cute French babies at the house and some nice wine. Maybe that's why Patrice has this pink hat on.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Roof sunset samples
Favorite memories of 2007
Four things I ate that were okay at the time but now sound terrible
1. Eggplant & fake bacon along with edamame, brussel sprouts, and garlic bread
2. Hot dog stir fry
3. Soup I made with the broth all evaporated on top of a very old eggo waffle
4. I scarfed down an attack monster shrimp in order to save the lives of the wait staff at a sushi restaurant.
Top advice of 2007
1. "Follow Tom to 94, Follow Tom to I-43. Follow Tom to 88. Don't follow Tom to De Kalb." (Charlie's written directions eventually got me to my parents' house. I'm glad I don't have a car here in Seattle)
2. There is a sign in the knife drawer "the knives are sharp" that Dad wrote to caution people. He said he needs to take it out because after he sharpened the knives they only stayed sharp for one day.
Lisa in Taiwan for Children's Theater troupe
Mom: Lisa called from Taiwan and said she had to get up really to eat breakfast of spinach and rice with the monks.
Sarah: Monkeys
Mom: yes, monks
Sarah: Monkeys.
Lisa: There were these two really cool boys that really liked me that went with us to the night market. They were named Harrison and Johnson, one was the president of his class. They were all drama students so you can imagine what they were like. Drama students are the same everywhere in the world.
Mom: Was it like the flea market in Cincinnati?
Lisa: Maybe it's my hair or maybe it's because I look slightly Asian. But this kid says, "You so beautiful, I make you a balloon animal" and everyone gathered around but he couldn't make the balloon animal in my presence.
Sarah: We need to sell everything and take Lisa to Taiwan and make a million billion dollars! Can I help you with dinner in any way, Mom?
Mom: I know what you can do. Go in the basement and turn that light off before your dad gets home.
Top most overwrought reactions to the TV
For some reason there was this part in Babe 2: Pig in the City where the chimp has every animal line up and thank Babe; he instructs them: "Thank the pig" and then the animal replies with, "thank you, Pig." And the monkey does that for every single animal: "Thank the pig" in a funny voice, so funny that I completely lost it and could NOT stop laughing. It was almost uncomfortable because no one else laughed and Kennan just brought me water and they tried to ignore me.
Jenna told me the story of her and Lisa watching "Veronica Mars." Jenna said, "Remember the episode where Veronica and Logan kiss? Well we were SCREAMING hysterically for five minutes straight. So then during the last episode Lisa is crying and it was just so intense and then at the part when Veronica opens the door and says "Oh I'm glad you came" we SCREAMED AGAIN so long and so hard that throw up shot out of my mouth. I can't imagine the look on my face. There was complete silence and then screaming again! And laughing. I think the makers would want to hear about that." I asked her where the projectile vomit went exactly and she said that it went on that old afghan and just sort of dissolved.
Voicemail from Lisa, sounding utterly exhausted: "Hi Sarah, I just got out of class and we watched that Children of Men movie… I don't know if you've seen it but I just don't know what to do anymore. Uh. Awful. I'm just calling because you should probably get your flu shot because of that pandemic going around. I didn't know about it until today but I'm going to get a flu shot and you should too. Tell everyone you love. I love you and have fun in Seattle. Ughhh ,boy." Jenna told me that Lisa was so worked up during Children of Men she had a bloody nose in class.
Dad quotes
A commercial for "Beauty and Geek" came on with Aston Kutcher and Dad said, "Ugly people like that show. BIG Ugly people... Like Gastoon." Jenna said, "Did you just say Gaston?" Dad said, "I can spit like Gaston." (He likes to talk about Gaston all the time, and no one knows why).
At the zoo, Dad said he wanted to buy an animal mask and wear it as he was driving down the highway to scare other motorists. He wanted to find the most unique animal mask that would really scare the shit out of people driving down the road. "What is that animal with the black nose? That's the one I need. Did we see one of those today?" I said, "No, we didn't and that's a koala." I asked him what the best stuffed animal was in the zoo shop and he said, "I know, I saw it" and he led me to a stuffed woodchuck and said, "Wouldn't you love to hide that one in a closet to scare your mother? We went to eat at Old Country Buffet for some reason. I asked Kennan to guess where we ate tonight and he said, "OCB?"
Mom told me how they went to a Greek family restaurant and Lisa ordered soup and they brought out 2 bowls of soup and set one by Dad. He hadn't ordered it, but started eating it anyway and it was chilled. He said, "It's cold and vinegary; it must be borscht." Well, then they brought the salads and it dawned on everyone that Dad's soup was actually the honey mustard salad dressing for the salad. They had put it in a soup-sized bowl.
Dad writes:
Your Mom and Lisa set me up. I left to warsh-up.
When I came back a soup bowl and spoon were in my place.
Your Mom indicated she did not order it, I said neither did I.
So not wanting to waste anything I consumed 2 small tastes.
Once I proved it was not poison, then Mom wanted it back to use for salad, and I became the blind Borscht consumer of all time.
I sent him a Wikipedia article on Polish Borscht. He wrote:
This was sort of an orange borscht with a tint of green borscht, more like banana borscht.
Borscht is not for the boring, but rather consumed by geniuses to further promote their genes.
The basic Polish Borscht recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or parsley roots; often pureed to be used as salad dressing by the really genius types to clean their genes.
Dad said, "If Jenna and Lisa get lost on the way back and need to call me while I'm in church, I'll just put my hand over my mouth like I'm going to throw up, then I can leave and go answer their call."
Dad: And laying a finger aside of his nose and giving a nod, up his nostril it rose.
Sarah: Dad, what inspired you to say that?
Dad: I was reading my pig magazine. Reading about Slaughter. I was pushing my external boundaries.
Seattle Glee
Floating bookshelves
The children's books at the library have no due date and don't even need to be checked out
Pizza with pears, apples, gorgonzola cheese, mandarin oranges and pecans (still haven't had it though)
One of the founders of Starbucks sent me his old books
Being forced to sit in on a TV station taping of a Donny Osmond interview with fanatics in the audience holding these creepy Donny Osmond dolls.
Free Vaudeville show in a church that starred the "Real Boop" who sang Comedy Tonight clown songs and then did some Copeland songs like the Cat Goes Fiddle Eye Fee and Ching-a-Ring-Chaw and then some Jimmy Durante songs like Inka Dinka Doo and Deedlee Doo.
Red panda at the zoo, myriad harbor seals and sea lions
2 people (out of 5) in the office have seen Jethro Tull live. 2 have owned parrots. 4 have been to Freiburg, Germany.
Meeting Richard Sherman - Mary Poppins Composer
Best Overheard Conversations
I heard a kid behind us say, "Did you know that parents can kill girls in China? Not boys though. It's because of War." The mother (with a Chinese accent) said, "That's not the only reason. I could kill your father." Kid: Why? Woman: Because he took my energy drink.
When I got on the bus this there was this 6 year old kid who was being led through the aisle by his dad and the kid said, "Dad, stop pretending I'm blind!" One lady in particular couldn't stop laughing at this and I thought how funny it really was because what if it means that this dad usually DOES pretend his son is blind in order to get money? But what if he never does and the kid just said that, knowing full well the humor of the situation? At any rate, I like that kid.
Shows
The National at Neumos
John Vanderslice at Neumos
In-store El Perro Del Mar
Baldwin Sister Dance Troupe/Dad dancing like Frankenstein, Carnival Cruise, 2007 "We Are Family"
Fashion almost upstaging nature moment
Sarah: That waterfall was pretty awesome.
Charlie: Well, it was interesting.
Sarah: Semi interesting. It was an interesting waterfall but not as interesting as my outfit.
I suddenly realized a woman was listening to us and she totally glared at me.
New-found loves: Mt. Rainier, New York Times Crosswords, pumpkin ale, Degrassi, Flaubert, Oregon coast, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, marmots, Battlestar Galactica, Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (finally) and also with the N-Mare with the French soundtrack -- "Que vois-je!" What's This in French
Weddings
Cousin Heather's: Dr. Jeckyll's in Appleton with Megan and Adam - glass neon beer garden?
Jenna and Lisa danced wildly and Dad said something to Jenna like "Well we might as well go dance, we're the only ones in the world who can dance anyway."
Sean and Maggie's wedding: Talking to Senor about his goats, the Hometown Sweethearts conga line, Shawn Williams abruptly going off the subject of E.T. to talk about his love for Grover, and then Adam's parents waking up at 4 a.m. to play trivial pursuit with everyone.
Harry Potter (has to have its own category in 2007)
Kennan said that if Harry Potter dies in the book that he is going to kill himself.
Kennan said he finished Harry Potter and he said, "it gets a B. It wasn't very rewarding." Maybe because he already KNEW the ending? Because he downloaded jpegs of the book before it was released and read the last page? Not much of a reward there, eh?
Questionable
Ricky Gervais' Laugh
I realized the Extras outtakes could go on forever because Ricky Gervais just laughs hysterically at every line any one says (especially Patrick Stewart talking about a film he wants to make where women's clothes fly off or have rotted off and he can see them naked) and it must take forever to film one episode because Gervais laughs himself into loud, mad hysterics each time and "corpses" the scene. And why does he tape his editor up all the time?
My Microsoft Word instructor
"If you want to know if someone is mentally disturbed, have a field heading called that."
"How about creating a Word document with a lot of indents on it? That was my grandfather's dying words besides 'please kill me.'"
HUH?
Reality TV Warm Up
(Lisa listening to her iPod singing a Regina Spektor song and deliberately singing quite awful like she was warming up for an opera).
Lisa: And it brrrreaks my heart. All of this MEEEYYUUUSIC.." And it breaks my ha ha ha ho ho ha ha heart.
Sarah: You sound like Santa Claus.
Jenna: We should record and sell a CD that shows young voice students How to Warm Up with Pop Hits. Also, did we tell you how Lisa and I are practicing for American Idol by singing the worst sounding song ever with a completely straight face?
Funny, how Lisa went on to be in the choir version of American Idol the same year on NBC. Clash of the Choirs
Stay tuned for: 2007's senseless sneezer, Jenna's quotes, and more
Various sunsets from my roof. The bottom was taken through the window of a car. With the window rolled UP. It still worked, I guess.
You can see Mt. Rainier faintly in the first one. An added bonus.
Four things I ate that were okay at the time but now sound terrible
1. Eggplant & fake bacon along with edamame, brussel sprouts, and garlic bread
2. Hot dog stir fry
3. Soup I made with the broth all evaporated on top of a very old eggo waffle
4. I scarfed down an attack monster shrimp in order to save the lives of the wait staff at a sushi restaurant.
Top advice of 2007
1. "Follow Tom to 94, Follow Tom to I-43. Follow Tom to 88. Don't follow Tom to De Kalb." (Charlie's written directions eventually got me to my parents' house. I'm glad I don't have a car here in Seattle)
2. There is a sign in the knife drawer "the knives are sharp" that Dad wrote to caution people. He said he needs to take it out because after he sharpened the knives they only stayed sharp for one day.
Lisa in Taiwan for Children's Theater troupe
Mom: Lisa called from Taiwan and said she had to get up really to eat breakfast of spinach and rice with the monks.
Sarah: Monkeys
Mom: yes, monks
Sarah: Monkeys.
Lisa: There were these two really cool boys that really liked me that went with us to the night market. They were named Harrison and Johnson, one was the president of his class. They were all drama students so you can imagine what they were like. Drama students are the same everywhere in the world.
Mom: Was it like the flea market in Cincinnati?
Lisa: Maybe it's my hair or maybe it's because I look slightly Asian. But this kid says, "You so beautiful, I make you a balloon animal" and everyone gathered around but he couldn't make the balloon animal in my presence.
Sarah: We need to sell everything and take Lisa to Taiwan and make a million billion dollars! Can I help you with dinner in any way, Mom?
Mom: I know what you can do. Go in the basement and turn that light off before your dad gets home.
Top most overwrought reactions to the TV
For some reason there was this part in Babe 2: Pig in the City where the chimp has every animal line up and thank Babe; he instructs them: "Thank the pig" and then the animal replies with, "thank you, Pig." And the monkey does that for every single animal: "Thank the pig" in a funny voice, so funny that I completely lost it and could NOT stop laughing. It was almost uncomfortable because no one else laughed and Kennan just brought me water and they tried to ignore me.
Jenna told me the story of her and Lisa watching "Veronica Mars." Jenna said, "Remember the episode where Veronica and Logan kiss? Well we were SCREAMING hysterically for five minutes straight. So then during the last episode Lisa is crying and it was just so intense and then at the part when Veronica opens the door and says "Oh I'm glad you came" we SCREAMED AGAIN so long and so hard that throw up shot out of my mouth. I can't imagine the look on my face. There was complete silence and then screaming again! And laughing. I think the makers would want to hear about that." I asked her where the projectile vomit went exactly and she said that it went on that old afghan and just sort of dissolved.
Voicemail from Lisa, sounding utterly exhausted: "Hi Sarah, I just got out of class and we watched that Children of Men movie… I don't know if you've seen it but I just don't know what to do anymore. Uh. Awful. I'm just calling because you should probably get your flu shot because of that pandemic going around. I didn't know about it until today but I'm going to get a flu shot and you should too. Tell everyone you love. I love you and have fun in Seattle. Ughhh ,boy." Jenna told me that Lisa was so worked up during Children of Men she had a bloody nose in class.
Dad quotes
A commercial for "Beauty and Geek" came on with Aston Kutcher and Dad said, "Ugly people like that show. BIG Ugly people... Like Gastoon." Jenna said, "Did you just say Gaston?" Dad said, "I can spit like Gaston." (He likes to talk about Gaston all the time, and no one knows why).
At the zoo, Dad said he wanted to buy an animal mask and wear it as he was driving down the highway to scare other motorists. He wanted to find the most unique animal mask that would really scare the shit out of people driving down the road. "What is that animal with the black nose? That's the one I need. Did we see one of those today?" I said, "No, we didn't and that's a koala." I asked him what the best stuffed animal was in the zoo shop and he said, "I know, I saw it" and he led me to a stuffed woodchuck and said, "Wouldn't you love to hide that one in a closet to scare your mother? We went to eat at Old Country Buffet for some reason. I asked Kennan to guess where we ate tonight and he said, "OCB?"
Mom told me how they went to a Greek family restaurant and Lisa ordered soup and they brought out 2 bowls of soup and set one by Dad. He hadn't ordered it, but started eating it anyway and it was chilled. He said, "It's cold and vinegary; it must be borscht." Well, then they brought the salads and it dawned on everyone that Dad's soup was actually the honey mustard salad dressing for the salad. They had put it in a soup-sized bowl.
Dad writes:
Your Mom and Lisa set me up. I left to warsh-up.
When I came back a soup bowl and spoon were in my place.
Your Mom indicated she did not order it, I said neither did I.
So not wanting to waste anything I consumed 2 small tastes.
Once I proved it was not poison, then Mom wanted it back to use for salad, and I became the blind Borscht consumer of all time.
I sent him a Wikipedia article on Polish Borscht. He wrote:
This was sort of an orange borscht with a tint of green borscht, more like banana borscht.
Borscht is not for the boring, but rather consumed by geniuses to further promote their genes.
The basic Polish Borscht recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or parsley roots; often pureed to be used as salad dressing by the really genius types to clean their genes.
Dad said, "If Jenna and Lisa get lost on the way back and need to call me while I'm in church, I'll just put my hand over my mouth like I'm going to throw up, then I can leave and go answer their call."
Dad: And laying a finger aside of his nose and giving a nod, up his nostril it rose.
Sarah: Dad, what inspired you to say that?
Dad: I was reading my pig magazine. Reading about Slaughter. I was pushing my external boundaries.
Seattle Glee
Floating bookshelves
The children's books at the library have no due date and don't even need to be checked out
Pizza with pears, apples, gorgonzola cheese, mandarin oranges and pecans (still haven't had it though)
One of the founders of Starbucks sent me his old books
Being forced to sit in on a TV station taping of a Donny Osmond interview with fanatics in the audience holding these creepy Donny Osmond dolls.
Free Vaudeville show in a church that starred the "Real Boop" who sang Comedy Tonight clown songs and then did some Copeland songs like the Cat Goes Fiddle Eye Fee and Ching-a-Ring-Chaw and then some Jimmy Durante songs like Inka Dinka Doo and Deedlee Doo.
Red panda at the zoo, myriad harbor seals and sea lions
2 people (out of 5) in the office have seen Jethro Tull live. 2 have owned parrots. 4 have been to Freiburg, Germany.
Meeting Richard Sherman - Mary Poppins Composer
Best Overheard Conversations
I heard a kid behind us say, "Did you know that parents can kill girls in China? Not boys though. It's because of War." The mother (with a Chinese accent) said, "That's not the only reason. I could kill your father." Kid: Why? Woman: Because he took my energy drink.
When I got on the bus this there was this 6 year old kid who was being led through the aisle by his dad and the kid said, "Dad, stop pretending I'm blind!" One lady in particular couldn't stop laughing at this and I thought how funny it really was because what if it means that this dad usually DOES pretend his son is blind in order to get money? But what if he never does and the kid just said that, knowing full well the humor of the situation? At any rate, I like that kid.
Shows
The National at Neumos
John Vanderslice at Neumos
In-store El Perro Del Mar
Baldwin Sister Dance Troupe/Dad dancing like Frankenstein, Carnival Cruise, 2007 "We Are Family"
Fashion almost upstaging nature moment
Sarah: That waterfall was pretty awesome.
Charlie: Well, it was interesting.
Sarah: Semi interesting. It was an interesting waterfall but not as interesting as my outfit.
I suddenly realized a woman was listening to us and she totally glared at me.
New-found loves: Mt. Rainier, New York Times Crosswords, pumpkin ale, Degrassi, Flaubert, Oregon coast, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, marmots, Battlestar Galactica, Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (finally) and also with the N-Mare with the French soundtrack -- "Que vois-je!" What's This in French
Weddings
Cousin Heather's: Dr. Jeckyll's in Appleton with Megan and Adam - glass neon beer garden?
Jenna and Lisa danced wildly and Dad said something to Jenna like "Well we might as well go dance, we're the only ones in the world who can dance anyway."
Sean and Maggie's wedding: Talking to Senor about his goats, the Hometown Sweethearts conga line, Shawn Williams abruptly going off the subject of E.T. to talk about his love for Grover, and then Adam's parents waking up at 4 a.m. to play trivial pursuit with everyone.
Harry Potter (has to have its own category in 2007)
Kennan said that if Harry Potter dies in the book that he is going to kill himself.
Kennan said he finished Harry Potter and he said, "it gets a B. It wasn't very rewarding." Maybe because he already KNEW the ending? Because he downloaded jpegs of the book before it was released and read the last page? Not much of a reward there, eh?
Questionable
Ricky Gervais' Laugh
I realized the Extras outtakes could go on forever because Ricky Gervais just laughs hysterically at every line any one says (especially Patrick Stewart talking about a film he wants to make where women's clothes fly off or have rotted off and he can see them naked) and it must take forever to film one episode because Gervais laughs himself into loud, mad hysterics each time and "corpses" the scene. And why does he tape his editor up all the time?
My Microsoft Word instructor
"If you want to know if someone is mentally disturbed, have a field heading called that."
"How about creating a Word document with a lot of indents on it? That was my grandfather's dying words besides 'please kill me.'"
HUH?
Reality TV Warm Up
(Lisa listening to her iPod singing a Regina Spektor song and deliberately singing quite awful like she was warming up for an opera).
Lisa: And it brrrreaks my heart. All of this MEEEYYUUUSIC.." And it breaks my ha ha ha ho ho ha ha heart.
Sarah: You sound like Santa Claus.
Jenna: We should record and sell a CD that shows young voice students How to Warm Up with Pop Hits. Also, did we tell you how Lisa and I are practicing for American Idol by singing the worst sounding song ever with a completely straight face?
Funny, how Lisa went on to be in the choir version of American Idol the same year on NBC. Clash of the Choirs
Stay tuned for: 2007's senseless sneezer, Jenna's quotes, and more
Various sunsets from my roof. The bottom was taken through the window of a car. With the window rolled UP. It still worked, I guess.
You can see Mt. Rainier faintly in the first one. An added bonus.
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About Me
- Big Arms
- The blog documenting my time on the west coast, 2007-8 is named after the first time I wore a short sleeved shirt when I was little and upon seeing my arms I freaked out and yelled "Big Arms, Big Arms!" I would like to befriend a swan with Mom and we would ride it into the sunset.