The time has come...

I know it's time to write a blog entry when someone makes a comment about how long it has been since I made a blog entry. This time, it was my father. (Hi Dad!)

So, since my last entry...

I discovered the wonderful world of Facebook, and reconnected with friends that I haven't spoken to in years. It's actually quite amazing who you can find on there! I was even contacted by a girl I went on a Carribean cruise with in 1990 and whom I became penpals with (Bonnie Brennan). I had forgotten that she even existed. It seems that many of my high school friends are married and/or have kids. Sonya Sidorkewicz, a girl who was identified as my most compatible friend in high school via Matchmaker, even started up a Facebook group about this phenomenon...very appropriate I thought. Anywho, so if you are not on Facebook...maybe you should think about joining. It's fun...although highly addictive.

I passed from my cubic year into my 7x4 year. This was celebrated by a supremely tasty dinner at Cafe Lago, an Italian restaurant very close to my house. We shared an antipasti plate and I had grilled scallops atop homemade linguine. Not exactly crab, but it sufficed. ;) Scallops and shrimp are a close second to crab on my list of favourite foods. And these scallops were perfectly cooked and oh-so-sweet. I MUST take you there...mmm...my mouth is watering.

I bought a snowboard and all the accoutrements to go with it. Jessica and I have now been snowboarding thrice. The third outing was to Snoqualmie, about an hour from Seattle. After we mastered the green hill and were able to consistently turn in both directions, we graduated ourselves to the intermediate run. It wasn't a smooth run down to say the least. (I spent much of it sliding down the hill on my back, kind of like how I would imagine a turtle would, and praying that eventually my snowboard would catch enough snow to make me stop! This, I realize, doesn't sound like much fun, but it was! We feel that we are making exponential progress and are thus EXTREMELY impressed with ourselves. We are also VERY modest about it. Honestly though, I have been told that it's a lot easier to get the hang of snowboarding than it is skiing, and if one knows how to ski, that it is even easier.

I bought a ticket to Norway! My friend Victor (former "crackhouse" resident) is getting married to a Norwegian girl that he met while traveling between London (England) and Norway. They both live in London, and although I have never met her before, he send me lots of photos of their travels throughout Europe and they seem like an adorable couple. Victor is one of the most generous friends I have, so I am very excited for him. Anywho, the wedding is on June 21st in Bergen. Afterwards, I will spend the weekend with Erin hopefully hiking in the fjords around Bergen(!!) Then I have the week to myself...I'm thinking of either exploring some of the towns along the coast or going up to Roros (past Lillehammer) which I hear is a charming little town; it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Meeting up with Kirsten on Thursday and we will spend the weekend in Oslo. Fly back to Seattle on Sunday. It'll be a whirlwind of a trip, but now that I am a working girl, I don't have the luxury of taking off for a month...I'm really looking forward to it, and the promise of a vacation should propel me through these last few dreary weeks of the "wet season". Last weekend, I finished sorting through my Thailand and Laos photos, so it is definitely time to start planning my next holiday.

My sweater is nearing completion. I have finished the body and 1.5 sleeves. This weekend should be a quiet one, so I'm hoping to make a lot of progress on it or even finish it!

Other plans for this weekend: taxes (Canadian AND American), making ma po tofu, and studying the Washington State driver's manual. Apparently they won't let me go out "into the field" without my driver's license. (Field work has GOT to be more fun than summarizing depositions!) Well, at least they don't have graduated licensing here...Watch out, WA!