Last Parade - Matthew Good

I love this picture of Matthew Good! His new song was the first thing I heard when I turned the radio on today. Fantastic tune..New CD in October!

There is live mariachi music out my window, I am out in the middle of the country…ok I really can’t get away from AZ (I am sure John thinks that is a racist statement)

I have a lot of random thoughts to blog today. I have had an absolutely wonderful week after one day of pure depression. I am fighting so hard to have less and less of those days where I dwell on what I don’t have or what happened in the past. Live in the moment. Believe in your decisions. The past is gone, no changing it and no need to relive it in my head. No more wishing for things I don’t have, let things happen as they may. All those positive chats need to be present constantly. No more getting those neurons all worked up into frenzy! Yep, if I focus on good, things all flow.

Some things about Washington:

*I saw a store called “Stupid Prices” I should go in and see if it is true. It was next to a dollar store, does that mean it is less than a dollar?

*To attract folks away from Starbucks, many espresso places have bikini-clad girls working the drive thru. A few thoughts come to mind…
a. what about the women customers, where is Jim Zorn to serve me my Chai tea? (Ok maybe most women want that Twilight guy or Brad Pitt)
b. Is this wise? What if she accidentally spills, scalding her body…
c. Is this any different than Hooters, I am sure it offends women. I am indifferent to that but many women find this super degrading.
d. I never saw this in Phoenix where it is warm, I bet these women in Washington are freezing. Oh now I get it…

*They have a lot of these “roundabouts” on their roads. The first time I encountered one was in Halifax. I was pretty sure I was going to die. The ones here in Washington are not as traffic-filled but still scare me. I just don’t think everyone gets the concept, therefore “danger-danger!” Why can’t we just stick to 4-way stops? A traffic light?

* Ivars is a famous seafood place downtown Seattle. Maybe they have always had these but I just noticed they have Ivars fast food joints around the rest of town. It is a small consolation for lack of In ‘n Outs… “Giant Prawns to go pleas!”

*I keep seeing the same people! Even the same cars! The day I got the job at the Puyallup Fair, I was parked next to a cool PT cruiser with flames. Two days later I saw it in the town I am staying in which is a good 30 miles away.

*Grr to a Sheriff who came flying up on my rear while driving. It made me figure I was nailed for speeding. I was waiting for him to pull me over as he tailed me for miles. When we finally came to a second lane, he flew around me like a jack-ass in an import racer. I watched him with other cars after, he was a tailgating Sheriff. JERK!

* I hear the most bizarre noises at night out in the country, Ones that wake me out of a dead sleep. The funniest one wasn’t outside though. Mary’s refrigerator must have demons to shake when it defrosts. Scared me straight out of bed one night! Speaking of beds, when I finally get my own place I am going to get a King size bed. My two hounds take up more room than I do.

*Oh I found a tiny little scam…I heard a women say to a sales clerk that she was from Oregon so they didn’t charge her sales tax. She just had to show her drivers license. Guess who has a driver’s license from a state with no sales tax…. (and no I don’t mean AZ. AZ has plenty of sales tax…)

*Finally if I may make a small suggestion for my bearded male friends, never go apply for a job with a comb stored in your beard….;)

What You Need - INXS

It's Tim Farriss' 52 B-day today!!!

I think I am listening to my favorite record of the year as I type! Before I moved, I heard a single from this band Elephant Stone on The Verge. Oh the single was killer! Then they ended up on the Polaris long list. I searched all three Canadian record stores I got to stop at on the way to Alaska. Only one had a slot for it but no CD. Today, I wised up and looked on itunes…I just never expect obscure little Canadian bands to be on itunes but it was! This is sweet poppy heaven! The vocals are very slightly Jay Ferg sounding..

Also discovered today that I can listen to CBC3 and CBC1 on my iphone! I finally looked into applications for it. I have not cared for the phone because it does not last for a long phone call. Maybe 2 ½ hours at best. I am a long way from my friends; I need long phone calls to keep me socially adept. Hahaha!

Saw Mt. Rainier today, I haven’t seen her in a few weeks. She just towers over everything and is impossible not to stare at! It is so odd how she is just sort of away from any other mountains. John Muir Quote: “Of all the fire mountains which like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest.” Yelm is in the most ideal location to view her perfectly. Blessed I am to be in such a beautiful location!

I have now been turned down for 4 jobs. Maybe I am vain, but I thought I would get to the interview stage sooner than this. My resume is outstanding for education jobs, I know it is. I am not going to slide into self-doubt. I am learning to focus on what I want and making it happen. The tricky part is that my truest desire is to live and work in Canada. So do I focus on that or do I plan on staying in Washington for a while so I can work on manifesting my desire to become Canadian? I will change my citizenship. I don’t think I have ever fully expressed that to anyone but when I voted in the last US election, I prayed it was my last as a US citizen. After Canadian Residency, you can work towards citizenship. And I will.

Last week while poking around careerbuilder.com, I fell into a website I wasn’t even looking for. A website for Canadian radio jobs. Radio gigs open in Halifax. What could I do but try. I was out of my mind trying to be practical. I thought I wasn’t being focused enough, that I shouldn’t even go there. I have been avoiding the radio option. But as my dear friend Andi reminded me, I have a talent that could someday get me to Canada. Not every job skill could get one there. No matter what comes of this, I have to remember that doing radio is my God given talent. I may not love the business of radio but I can do it. I am staying with a dear friend who has a studio, all I can do is put together a real good demo and keep trying. I felt really good about the top 40 demo I did. I always was accused of being too bubbly on alt radio..so maybe top 40 is my gig-LOL! I still feel like I could have done even better had I not been hurried. There were more too, Northern BC, and small town NS stations.

So the question is, what do I focus on? I need to make a few calls this week to find out where the process is at. I also need to go back and check all the Washington schools again for new postings to apply for. I plan to check in with University of Washington’s Comm school as their opening has not posted yet. But what of those other radio jobs? Oh Halifax….I want to be there so bad, for the rest of my life. Is that desire keeping me from getting a job in Washington? I need spiritual guidance. I know the Universe will work for me if I work it.

What else happened this past week?
I like doing yardwork in a nice climate. I think I may even have a garden and flowers myself. Another reason I don’t miss Phoenix.

Della has a yeast infection which has caused her to need special bathes and pills twice daily. She is all dandruff looking and losing hair. I worry, of course. It is probably from the change of area, maybe even the nettles scratching her low-lying belly. She can chase a rabbit though, man she is fast! Jasper seems to love being in the country the most. He was always guarding his yard in Mesa. Now he seems to love to investigate all the acres here. Wicket actually has worried me the most. He seems to have aged from this trip. He is getting slower and looks like his legs ache when he wakes up.

I am listening to Airborne Toxic Event now. Andrew says they are the most Canadian non-Canadian band there is. I like it so far, but I knew I liked the radio tracks.

The new OLP is just that, new OLP. It seems like the last three records have presented this more polished adult rock band instead of the harder alt rock they used to be. But they always have a hooky tune or two per record. I adore their new single so I still buy.

I went to a rubber stamp store last week. Shame, shame…. I only bought one…GUILT!

I got to view the Perseids meteor shower last week. I had just spent time reading about how to live in a joyful state. The timing could be more perfect. They were almost like a dream, in fact when I awoke the next day I wasn’t sure if I really saw all those meteors or not. So weird but so fantastic. Some of them were so brilliant they would take my breath away. I am always in awe of God’s universe.
At that I say goodnight! Here’s to a great week!

"Rearview Mirror" - Pearl Jam

I just added my resume to Career Builder.com and it spit out some recommendations based on my resume! Senior Citizen’s home activities director or Pizza Hut Delivery Driver! I am on my way!!! (Or several jobs in the US Army) Today I applied for a job that demanded an hour long personality test. It was like a facebook quiz but not as fun. It also had two math sections! I skipped the entire math reasoning section. Not surprisingly it stated the fact that I could use some math courses in the evaluation.

I have been pondering if I am a city or a country girl. (Is there a fb quiz for that?) I love being out here in the country while staying with Mary. But admit I miss being closer to the city to head out to a show at a moment’s notice. I know my reaction to an ugly orange spider the other day does not indicate I will be camping anytime soon.

It has been so enjoyable to watch my dogs enjoy the open space. Della spotted her first rabbit recently. I thought she was going to bring it back for me she ran so fast! Jasper’s sight is not so stellar; he has had two bunnies in his path but did not know it.

The job search continues. I am trying to think outside of my box. I have been exploring more general job websites now. I think I have hit all the Universities and colleges in the surrounding areas. (Maybe a few a little farther east also) I got declined for an advising job at University of Washington but it was Adviser Senior. I was pushing it-LOL! UW has new job postings daily so I frequent it. Thanks to a contact with their Communications program, I am awaiting one to apply for. It is working with Grad students. I believe I can work well with any age student. Basically I feel good if I find one or more to apply for a day.

My mind has been in overdrive, especially since we watched “What the Bleep do we know?” I am not sure I have words to properly describe how all the theories work. I just know it has opened my mind, made me think long and hard about how I have been living my life. Most importantly, how I want to see my life in the future. Visualizing what I need feels so good to me. The women I am staying with are absolutely incredible.

Watched the Tinted Windows concert on Direct TV last week. I will tell you one thing; if you looked away you would think Taylor Hanson was Robin Zander singing. They are a tad boring live but the music is so perfectly power pop. Hanson was meant to sing this style of music. Bun E. looked really fit and healthy, I heard once he had back issues. Schlessinger knows how to write a perfect pop song but we knew that already from his penning “That Thing You Do!” (Which we listened to the soundtrack several times up to Alaska and back)

I haven’t blogged yet about what happened to Chris Murphy. Chris was hit by a drunk driver while riding his bike. By the grace of God, he only has a broken collarbone. He was thrown from his bike into a parked car. I just felt sick to my stomach hearing this. I certainly sent him my get well quick wishes. Word was that Greg was learning the bass parts so they could still play a big Hali show. I think he could be a great voice for “Don’t drink and drive” in Canada once he recovers.