all your hopes and dreams they rise and fall secretly, a cacophany.

there's nothing like the oregon coast. the weather was so perfect, it was insane. i broke my second camera while at the beach. the last time was over winter break, when we all decided to go to the beach after mass at jesuit and i skipped around with nancy gathering sand dollars and the boys cooked steak over a fire and pat didn't fly his kite because it was tangled and cynda kept trying to pants me and i can't believe no one told mike. and i got sand in my camera and it took forever to get a new one because best buy was being silly, and then they just ended up giving me a different one that they said was equal or better but really it wasn't, it was much worse. and now i got sand in this camera because i was sliding down sand dunes but really it doesn't matter because my camera was kind of crappy and playing on the sand dunes was a lot of fun. you can miss out on a lot by being too careful.

it's been said over and over again, but you don't really realize what you've got until you don't have it anymore. the suckiest part about working is how much time it takes up. i take my laptop everywhere around the house with me so that i've always got something to listen to, and the other day, i was trying to brush up on spanish while jogging and just now i wrote the majority of this post in the bathtub. a girl's gotta learn to multitask sometimes. i think that's why i've had trouble falling asleep lately, because i try to do too much at night after i get home when i would otherwise be getting to bed and it just gets me all wired up and then i can't get myself out of bed at 5 in the morning because what was i thinking signing up for class that early? every morning this week, i have overslept and missed my first class, which is yoga, so it might not be so bad except that i really like that class. today i slept through my first two classes and then got within sight of the bus stop to see it pulling away so i hung out in the parking lot of jack in the box which was nice because it was warm and sunny but the bus wasn't coming and i was going to be late and really, i was more than a little fed up with myself. anyway, so i sat there and read a good portion of the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, which i liked very much, by the way, and eventually cynda ended up picking me up so it was all good.

i was looking at my pictures online from my pseudo spring break in hawaii which was actually so much better than my actual spring break in hawaii, and they are such cute pictures and that week was so much fun with nancy's crazy friends and ulrich. i told myself i would probably never go back to hawaii because i'd rather go someplace new instead, but i loved it there and i think i'll have to visit again sometime, only i know it would never even be close to the same so maybe i should just stick with the memories i've got. if you ever get the chance to go to hawaii, you should go because it's amazing, but probaby not if you're going to be all touristy about it, i guess. anyway, even though i loved it and i miss it and hawaii is great, i am glad that i'm home because i wouldn't want to be anywhere other than here right now.

i'm not sure whether i'm going to have any luck but i think i'm going to try and get some sleep because i'm sure i need it.

but i would just like you to know that walks on the beach are some of the nicest experiences a person can have, i think. especially when you're with a good friend that will talk and laugh and chase seagulls and jump on dunes and fall on your butt with you. and people can be so strong and beautiful, even if they don't know it, and for many moments you can forget the bad things staring you in the face because everything's like it's always been and you feel like it could stay that way forever and it's wonderful because you can't help but smile.

nightswimming, remembering that night.

remember when, in the dead of winter, we decided to go to the beach, and despite it being quite frigid and windy and foggy and really really really cold, we ran out into the ocean like almost fully clothed and it was amazing even though we were numb and blue and the rain stung like ice and we couldn't feel our toes and the sand hurt to run on as we shivered our way back to the restrooms to sit under the hot-air-blowers for the next half hour? yeah, that was chill. and then, a few days later, there was california, and the ocean's just as cold down there, except of course it's warmer outside and also they have these convenient coin-operated hot showers that are like heavenly... i enjoyed that immensely. and then it was back to hawaii where there's no such thing as cold except for in over-air-conditioned classrooms that are completely unnecessary and the refrigerated sections of grocery stores. you could lie out in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night and look up at the stars and float there, bobbing up and down like a duck in the waves. i don't know where i'm going with this, but it was all pretty chill. (ha, i just realized i made a pun.)

but anyway, it's gotten really cold here, and i notice it most when i'm waiting at bus stops. my nose gets cold first and then my fingers. i am in search of a nice warm hat, but haven't found the perfect one yet. my room is like ten degrees warmer than the rest of the house because the heater is in my closet. it's like a sauna in here, but i don't mind too much.

did you know that when you smile, you actually make yourself happier, if even just the tiniest bit?

life does not suck. and you are not blah. love love love.

if life is really as short as they say, then why is the night so long?

some things are just so pretty.

here.

i missed the rain. it woke me up last night, it was coming down that hard. and despite only getting four hours of sleep, i didn't mind too much, because it sounded really pretty.

as the bus driver dropped everyone off at sylvania, he told us that we had hundreds of muscles in our body but our brain was the strongest one of them all, so "go out there and work it!"

my mother is awfully glad that i'm not still in hawaii.

and, i was wondering, when was it exactly that we outgrew playgrounds?

i'll mark off each day with a cross.

i remembered when we boycotted homecoming and ended up steaming up the car and making "bat-wings" out of the doors, then lying out on the trampoline in our sleeping bags in the middle of the night, the three of us. the next morning, the backyard was littered with gummy bears. it reminded me of the other time we ended up camping out on the trampoline in a tent... in the rain. which reminded me of way back when all of us girls would lie out there under warm fluffy comforters and talk about pretty much everything. and then there were crackers and cream cheese, and lord of the rings marathons, and knitting parties, and trick-or-treating, and fountain-hopping, and just sitting and eating for hours upon hours in the kitchen. that was four years ago already, when it was just five girls with not much else to do but chill together. you never forget moments like those... you know... life.

anyway, it just reminded me that i have some pretty amazing friends.

...this one's for you. and for the memories we'll look back on four years from now.

wuv.

seize the time, 'cause it's now or never baby.

yay, it's saturday! i went to the portland farmer's market today and enjoyed perfect fall weather. (the pictures don't do it justice, but then they rarely do.)


there were bright orange pumpkins and colorful squash, fall flowers of every color, autumn pears and apples, and the last of the summer's berries and peaches. it smelled of mushrooms and new potatoes, herbs and tomatoes and fresh-cut flowers. and behind all that was the ever-present smell of leaves, which were falling in the wind and blanketing the ground and crunching under your feet.


i bought some delicious lavender plum jam (quite possibly the best jam i have ever tasted), as well as a few peaches, fresh corn (mmm... it was so good for dinner), and some super-sweet italian plums, which are currently in the oven in the form of a plum crisp/crumble that smells so yummy.


i love farmer's markets. and peaches. and autumn. and... well, i love a lot of things. but i really do.

gold in the air of summer.

we still have a little bit of summer left.

on monday, i finally start classes again, so this is my last completely free weekend. as much as i've loved the last couple of weeks of sleeping in and doing whatever i pleased, i figure it's about time i start using my brain again.

yesterday, cynda and i had another one of those spontaneous beach trips. it was the most perfect day, warm and sunny and windy and all the things that make for a good day at the beach. and my mother was very grateful for the cheese curds we brought back from tillamook.

09.22.06 - Beach

Sep 23, 2006 - 19 Photos

i love this place.

untouched by work or duty.

i made a two-foot-long daisy chain today.

i'll make you muffins.

spent the day yesterday at the farm. it was beautiful.


the pond is full of frogs and toads and tadpoles and apparently dead newts as well.


look! baby pigeon! it was cute without actually being all that cute.


this is ally. she looks silly.


there are over a hundred bats that live in the walls and ceiling of the old house that fly out after sunset, it's pretty gosh darn cool.


this bike was bequeathed to me. it's tiny and pink and has one of those horns for honking. so much fun...

one day, i'm going to have a little house out in the country with an orchard out back, a couple of dogs running around, and some honeybees. you'll all get invited over to help harvest the peaches and such, and we will lounge around in hammocks drinking apricot tea.

i love oregon.

woke up at noon yesterday with a proposition for a spur-of-the-moment beach trip. and that's the way these things are supposed to work. it was a bit cold, but absolutely wonderful.

we made it home in time to meet up with everyone else before kidnapping mike, which wasn't very much of a kidnapping, but pretty cool nonetheless, as we went downtown and had an extensive scavenger hunt that ended with dinner at the roxy.

it was great. i really really love portland.

p.s. even if i had wanted to make another daisy chain, i would not have been able to, seeing as they just mowed the grass yesterday and all the daisies are gone. it makes me sad.

the rain's making us go insane.

patrycia: clouds are the bastards of the sky.

today we took a bus trip around the island, woohoo. first stop was the dole pineapple plantation where we ordered what else but the monstrosity that is a pineapple split. the lady looks at us and is like, "it feeds four to five people." and we're like, "yeah, we know." and of course we were gawked at once again. the nice people next to us gave us napkin roses. they were actually very lovely.

then our next stop was the vegetarian cafe at a natural food store in haleiwa (which is up on the north shore). the place is psychedelic. we had some crazy-ass nachos and tea in beer mugs. i also got myself some gluten-free cookies, huzzah.

yeah, and then there were no more stops. for it was raining all day. again. so we sat in the bus and looked at the pretty ocean from the window. patrycia continues to curse the clouds.

and now we are home sweet home and have just come up from sitting in the jacuzzi. in the rain. patrycia was sitting on a plastic bag under an umbrella. i was sitting underwater.

and now we are lying around listening to irish jig-dancing music thinking about fried rice but too lazy to get up and make it.

patrycia: i wish i had a little dwarf running around and making us food.

we are up to much ridiculous nonsensity, stealing palm trees and making forts and jig dancing and cursing clouds and coloring and pushing all the buttons on the elevators and learning how to say ovaries in polish, as well as other such mischievousness.

patrycia: i'm raiding your kitchen! like a pirate!

yar.

update:
patrycia says, "tus ovarios son helicópteros!"

more fun quotes from the poles.

patrycia: jellyfish are the bastards of the sea.

magda: i hope the window falls out.

patrycia (to the elevator door): open up, my ovaries are getting old!

magda: did you say something retarded today?

so yesterday we went to the mall, then the movies, then to outback steakhouse, where i have a sneaking suspicion that the brownie they served us was a "special" brownie, because we didn't even make it home before collapsing from laughter in the hallway outside my room.

today we had some more enjoyable movie madness, then spotted some sun outside and headed to the beach for a bit. and now we are heading up to the jacuzzi for our nightly feet-dipping.

if i see another movie, i think i might kill myself.

normally i like rain.

blonde moment #2:

patrycia: what's that?
me: that would be my hip.
patrycia: oh. (lifts up shirt) i have one too.

yesterday we had some swap meet madness, then went to the palace to take pictures and to the library to rent a movie. we then proceeded to do nothing.

so patrycia's staying until wednesday and it's going to be raining the whole time. i really have no idea what we're going to do... someone help me out here.

yay spring break.

patrycia's blonde moment:

patrycia: oh my god, i thought there were people over there who looked just like us!
me: yeah, that's definitely a mirror.

my roommate has two friends over as well, so it's an estrogen-fest in here this week.

yesterday, we went all the way to hanauma bay, only to find it closed because of jellyfish. so we went to waikiki instead. it was surprisingly sunny. i have a sunburn. we also watched some movies, ate junk food, and did some major chillaxin'. twas glorious.

and now we have been waken up way too early by some guy across the street chopping at trees. yeah, i don't know.

jackie: if i had a bb gun, i would probably shoot him.

day 8: in which ulrich goes to the zoo, magda eats ice cream with chopsticks, and nancy goes back to college.

ulrich chillin with his gnomies.


magda wants a monkey.


flamingos are obscenely pink.


ulrich loves elephants.


the orangutan contemplates life.


ulrich bonds with a tortoise.


magda bonds with the hippos.


ulrich wants to fly.


ulrich lures pidgeons with his smokin' good looks.


yan snatches up a pidgeon with her mad chinese ninja skills and ulrich gets his wish.

nancy and company fly back to philadelphia and magda is left by her lonesome. the living room is no longer a disaster zone and seems very empty and forlorn. magda's pseudo-spring break is over and now it's back to school. no more blog posts consisting entirely of pictures and no more inarticulate captions. however, you can view all the many amazing photographs taken by yan and nancy on my yahoo photos if you so desire.

this week was pretty much amazing times infinity.

day 7: mosquitos suck.

nancy and i went to the palace with a ridiculous amount of tea.


this is where we began our tea connoisseuring before the mosquitos started snacking on us and we ran away.


we then went to the beach in waikiki, for it was a gloriously sunny day.


nancy wuvs hawaii.


and how could we forget the shave ice? we made a horrible mess with these things.


then we met up with kevin who had been "bronzing" on the beach all morning. he ended up tomato red instead of bronze, poor guy.


we then proceeded to chillax on the beach and played an intense game of hearts.


nancy went around taking what she dubbed "artsy fartsy" photographs, including this one. little kids are cute.


meanwhile, i got kevin to spin around in circles with me for no reason.


he looks like he's doing ballet.


i look drunk.


...and we definitely missed the high five.


a surfer and a hippie.


nancy is swinging on a gigantic old banyan tree.


the flower girl with a pink hibiscus!


ulrich.

last night in hawaii for the philadelphians: we caught a hula show and me and nancypants hula'd right along with them, then ate dinner at a thai restaurant and proceeded home to finish our puzz3d. we also ate a crapload of ice cream.


our finished golden hall of edoras! hoorah!

day 6: cards with buddha

While Magda was still in class and while my company were still getting dressed, I stole across the street to a 32 floor office building to ride their glass elevator to the top floor. I thought I would meet some resistance, but fortunately I ninja kicked no one and was able to stroll right into the elevator.

The view is pretty from the top.



After Magda got back, we took bus 65 all the way to the cemetary (insert Architecture in Helsinki here) where there also happened to be a Japanese temple. We played hearts with the gold plated Buddha. It was good for him because he needed a break from all the Japanese people gawking at him. Those darn tourists, they're as bad as the cockroaches. (I killed my first one today by the way!)

See Ulrich bang the gong.


See Ulrich with the fat coi.


See Ulrich with Mr. Buddha.


See Ulrich with the ugly Japanese duck.


See the wimpy boy trying to look tough.


There was also this really chill autograph tree where people could sign their names on the leaves. I'm sure the tree felt very violated, but I personally thought scratching chlorophyll out with a toxic pen was fantastic.


Here is us looking retarded:


We got back to Magda's apartment and finally made those pineapple cookies (with Ulrich of course). They came out kind of crumbly and tasted like salted butter, but the pineapples were good. I think another go at it would produce prize-winning cookies fo sho.







And later, Yan killed like 15 cockroaches with a pair of chopsticks while I ran away screaming.