say good night, kevin. good night, kevin.

hello. ...i'll give you a moment to get over the shock that this blog still exists. when i last wrote it was the cusp of spring in seattle. which is to say, rainy and cold with nary a hint of sunshine. and now it is winter. so...basically the same thing. the difference is this time i've got the holiday spirit.

i don't know how it happened but somewhere along the way, i developed a mad crush on christmas. not the whole relig-y bit of course, which may seem blasphemous, i know and i apologize. (to be fair, 12 years of catholic school will take it outta you.) but as "silver bells" states, it is in fact, christmastime in the city. and that, my friends, is a party i can't resist. seattle is beautiful all of the time, but in the winter with the trees and lights and eighty five billion starbuck's red cups everywhere, it's hard not to get wrapped up. (after all, capitalism is the reason for the season. the rest of you are obviously misinformed.)

as you can see below, i bought a tree. it's fake but i also bought a pine scented candle, so it all works out. i haven't gone all crazy with the decorations elsewhere, mainly because stringing the lights on said fake tree was a royal pain in the ass. not to mention, it's just me in the house which means it's just me cleaning up and well. i'm lazy. so. there's that. but i don't mind being alone this time around. i think part of why i'm so excited about christmas this year is because i'm finally starting to settle into this place and making it feel like home. and i am excited that this feeling came despite being miles away from my family and family of friends. all of whom i still miss terribly, but not in the way that used to make me sad and wistful. i mean, i'm not a sissy, ok? i don't know why you would think that but it's rude and not in the spirit of christmas. there. i said it.
nevertheless, i hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday. send cookies if you feel like it. but not too many, i'm watching my girlish figure.

laces out.

i think i need help. having spent the greater part of this weekend shirking my chores and (unconfirmed reports suggest) my personal hygiene, in order to watch nba games, stream the highlights and settle for baseball when no basketball was available, i can no longer deny that i, the great selenie, am a sports nut. an addict, even. and it's not just basketball - the nfl lockout haunts my dreams. i find myself flipping through stolen television channels with alarming intensity, searching for my next fix, any fix - praising the heavens for canadian television (CANADIAN TELEVISION FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!) because they can always be counted on to deliver hockey or even (gasp!) curling...it's bad. it's real bad. i suppose i have only myself to blame, but i'll blame my strict catholic upbringing instead - for having wound me up so tight that something as pedestrian as a sports addiction could bring me down. i couldn't have the glamour of heroin, noooo - it'll be three point plays that will be my downfall. my only consolation in all of this? i have yet to be seduced by golf - the day that happens will be my last day on earth, i assure you.

whew. it feels good to get that off my chest, and admitting it is the first step, right? right. anyway. how are you, dear reader? ... no? nothing? ok. RUDE. but i'll let it slide. i hope things are wonderful in your world. aside from my freakish, crippling obsession with blatant male aggression, life continues to be splendid. my job is still proving to be awesome and terrifying at the same time. awesome because i get to draw blood and cut up tissues and stare at hot doctors, and terrifying because i get to draw blood, cut up tissues and stammer awkwardly when hot doctors talk to me. good god, i'm smooth. feelings of inadequacy: 1, self-esteem: 0. overall though, i'd definitely file my position as a specimen collection specialist under the incredibly-fantastic-can't-believe-they-picked-me win category. and best of all, for only the second time in my 30 years on this continent, i am being compensated as though i am worth the hard work i've been putting in. it's revolutionary, i tell you! revolutionary!

as always though, with modest financial freedom comes modest financial responsibility. of which i've demonstrated little to none. what's that, night out on the town? you think we should be more than just a weekly thing? ok! oh, hey there, expensive plane ticket, why don't you just scoot on closer? what's going on, thing i've always wanted but could never justify buying? care to reside in the casa de selena? alright! sigh. oh well. i'll give myself 'til after my trip to rosa to embrace the concept of moderation. after all, i think i've demonstrated pretty well that i can quit my bad habits any time i want.

with that, i leave you, your found item of the day: hella jealous.

i marvel at unpredictability...

i like to think that seattle's weather is decided much in the same way that i decide what to wear in the morning - a frantic rush hampered by so much indecision that eventually i just kinda give up and put on my crummy fat pants. today's weather was no exception - rain. then clouds. then sunshine. then snow. and finally rain/snow, which we all know is mother nature's fat pant equivalent. what? i don't know what i'm saying. i can't believe you've let me go on this long about the weather. crimeny. i've got far better things to talk about.

like the fact that my roommate, greg, moved back to california last week. my heart would be broken if i had one, which i don't, so let's just dispel that rumor right now. i'd also like to state that i did NOT cry on the phone when we last spoke and that anyone who says otherwise is a slanderous fiend. a slanderous fiend who left his framed cat cross stitching on the wall. which i now claim as mine. so there.

on the upside, it's actually going to look pretty nice on my new apartment wall. but then, everything will because my new place is FA-BU-LOUS! hardwood floors, clawfoot tub, walk-in closet, gas stove. an actual view. and quiet. so much peace and quiet, i almost won't know what to do with myself now that i can actually get a good night's sleep.

and this is all made possible by the fact that i have a brand new, amazing job! my creepy love of all things venipuncture has paid off as i am now a phlebotomist / tissue specimen collection specialist for the fred hutchinson cancer research center. i will get to poke people's veins, parse up their tissue samples and subject these unsuspecting souls to mounds of paperwork - all in the name of ovarian cancer research! yes, your friend here is incredibly weird. incredibly blessed. and incredibly tired. good night, moon.

here's your found item of the day:

hypothermia may not be so hyperbolic.

so i know i said i'd be writing more frequently. obviously, i'm a liar, and my pants are on fire. don't look at me like that, blog reader. you knew what this was.

that said, there is really no excuse for my lack of internet correspondence. i've had plenty of time to get down to it, what with being funemployed for the last month or so. but apparently a mystery science theater 3000 marathon proved too tempting for me to resist. i'm weak. we know this. fortunately however, my netflix instant queue joyride will come to a crashing halt next monday when i start as an on-call medical assistant at holly park clinic. after tomorrow's bountiful eating and drink fest with greg and his friends, i will have to break out all my notes on child immunizations and proper sterile technique so that i may once and for all prove to be not such a bad deal for society. or at the very least, not get fired. wish me luck.

in other wish me luck news, i'm attempting to make this for friendsgiving, and i admit, i'll probably be sauced during the entire affair. but you can't really blame me - it's snowing outside and like ten degrees in our apartment. for the past three days, i've been wearing long johns, tripling on jackets and socks whilst donning scarves and mittens. INSIDE THE HOUSE (which is where the call is coming from? what? i don't know what i'm saying.) not to mention, greg started making spiced rum cider and he is a persuasive fellow, let me tell you. sure, you might be saying, "since when do you need persuading, selena?". to which i respond with a classic liz lemon eye roll and a request to pass the sailor jerry hither, if you please.

the upside of the cold however, is that it makes it feel more christmas-ey, which in turn always triggers memories of holidays past - and a reminder to be thankful for the things i have and the ones i love. i hope that you all feel similarly blessed in your lives. here's your found item of the day:

yes, yes. that's a very nice sentiment. now, if you'll excuse me, poops, i have pumpkin that needs puree-ing and cider that needs drinking.

i'm obsessed with veins.

it's true. this is what pima medical institute has done to me. five months of practicing the fine art of palpating and stabbing median cubital veins has turned me into some sort of deranged and shallow monster. i mean, the shallow part is nothing new, but i've certainly kicked up the oddness factor. seriously, i'll be checking out some cute guy and think to myself, "now, HE'S got nice veins! i'd like to CBC that! maybe throw a little pro thrombin time test in there, yeah baby!". obviously, i'm not well.

fortunately however, school is finally over, and i will soon get to put my deviant obsession to good use. but sadly not today, though i do understand. the first day of externship naturally mandates defining the pecking order, and the hours of orientation paperwork and grunt filing gently demonstrated that i am last in it. but i suppose it's good for me. it'll help build the character i so desperately lack, as will the externship site itself. working at the international district community health center, i am a lone mexican in a sea of asian women. all of whom are way skinnier than me and talk in several languages i cannot understand. the upside of course is that i'm slightly taller than at least a handful of them and thus, i am slightly more smug. which i suppose neutralizes some of the character building i was aiming for, but i accept the loss willingly.

overall, i'm pretty stoked on where things are in life right now. there's been some adjustments i've had to make lately, and i miss my friends both from home and from school. but as my second favorite minnesotan says, "it's a good day to face the hard things...each day i will try to do better, right now is where i guess i belong." (and yes, gina, that makes you my first favorite minnesotan.)

now that i have some actual breathing room, expect more disjointed rantings here in the future! huzzah! with that i leave you, your found item of the day:



true that.

ch-ch-changes...

oh, david bowie. how you speak to me.

and my current situation, which, in case you missed my subtlety, is changing. i finally got confirmation on that job offer, and put in my two weeks notice at the group home on thursday. unfortunately, my boss has been on vacation and will not get my letter until tomorrow. not. anticipating. a. good. reaction. lately she's been even more of a hot mess than her usual angry self, and this may push her over the edge. naturally, i don't want to be responsible for that, but i can't stay there. especially when my new boss is the complete opposite of her, aka, totally well adjusted and overall AWESOME! seriously, she rules. still, it's gonna be hard to leave the residents. especially since my new residents will not be dd, but rather just old and curmudgeony. but i suppose curmudgeons need love too, so...you know...i'll be nice...i guess.

in other news, my family's visit went by at light speed. how quickly time flies when you have no obligations except to eat well, drink lots and be totally pampered by your mommy. and despite the guilty weight of sheer indulgence this weekend, i needed that break desperately. school found a way to kick up the wild factor by throwing us med assistant students into the deep end of the venipuncture pool. that's right. injections and blood draws. on each other. with scant instruction. jealous much? you should be.

actually, despite the surreal nature of lab class, it's been pretty cool to know that i will someday be competent enough to actually perform these procedures in a hospital setting. provided i don't fail my lecture class. which demands that i stop dilly dallying and get back to the cardiology packet due tomorrow. so stop distracting me. please. i'm trying to make something of myself here, and i don't need your constant nay-saying, blog reader. if that even is your real name.

here's your found item of the day:

hey buddy. i'm totally your gal. minus the athletic part.

older? yes. wiser? not so much.

so some of you may be wondering how it feels to be thirty. i'll tell ya. it feels just like any other age except now when i find someone attractive who happens to be in their early twenties it makes me feel even sleazier than i did a mere 2 weeks ago. i know that age is just a number but when you categorically belong in different decades, it's a little tougher to justify the shameless oggling that i am so fond of. eh. you win some. you lose some.

all in all, my birthday was pretty solid. annie and charlie drove up from portland to join in the festivities. this naturally made me feel like a total princess and totally loved and totally grateful to have such wonderful people as friends. and aside from the tequila-induced crying session and round of hey-everyone-shut-up-and-listen-to-this-song-and-my-explanation-of-its-genius thing that occurred in the latter evening, i consider the day a win.

other things to be placed in the win category:

- i snagged myself a fancy job offer at another group home. the hours are a little less, the pay is a little more and i'd finally have my weekends back! siz-weet! the only thing i am waiting on is for my nursing assistant registration to go through. unfortunately, the department of health is taking FOREVER to process, and their customer service department is what i genuinely envision hell to be like, so here i sit in bureaucratic purgatory. anxious and not-the-least-bit-awesome bureaucratic purgatory.
- memorial day will surely compensate however. my mom and sister are coming to visit seattle for the first time ever and i'm super stoked to show them around. alas, alack. i'm facing difficulty in pinpointing places of interest to show them that don't include bars or some form of drinking. they already think i'm a lush - and while i generally skew in that direction (killian's red is on sale at the corner market! score!), i'd rather they didn't think so.
- my santa rosan friends on the other hand better prepare themselves! i touchdown in the early evening of july 2nd and don't leave til the later evening on july 5th! there will be plenty of partying down going on, and i couldn't be happier! alcoholism aside, i really just can't wait to see everyone. it's hard to be so far away - but i do love it here.still, everyone needs to get away sometimes, so i am insanely excited. it's gonna be boss. i can't wait!

hope all is well in your world! my sister beth found this found item on the streets of amsterdam - i love it.