I've been really good, so fuck free.

If you look back at the last 10 blogs I'm pretty sure you'll notice a common trend. Practically every title or blog has the mention of free in it. I'm obviously addicted to this phenomenon. I should probably go to some Free Support Group.

I get to go to LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Peter, Bjorn and John and a 2-festival that'll include just your ordinary musicians. Maybe you heard of them. Bjork? Beastie Boys?

The people who gave me these tickets are very nice and I'm seriously considering naming my kid (if I have one) KEXP to show them how grateful I really am.

So, because this is saving me oh, $175 I think I deserve something. I've withheld shopping because there's a big indie shopping bonanza going on next week. But more importantly I need sheets. Good, pretty, soft sheets. Maybe even a new duvet if I really love it. I kinda have this addiction where I need a new duvet every few years.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I would find these sheets and or duvet?

I went on a search today after a date(!)

I ended up in this placed called Velocity and the woman there was such a snob. She really could give two shits if I was there or not. You'd think they'd want my money or something? I mean their pretty fucking sheets cost a fortune but for whatever reason they'd only have sets that had a duvet and pillowcases. Then you have to buy the sheet separate, except they didn't have anything that matched. So I was all sorts of confused and when I asked for help the lady seemed so put off.

Some boutiques, like Fancy Pants, the people are so friendly you actually believe for a second that you two once knew eachother in grade school. But then you get these fucking snobs in these upscale stores that really just carry the same shit Design Within Reach sell and even if you want to buy those pretty and expensive sheets you're so turned off by bitchy snobs that you just leave. So that's what I did.

So yeah, does anyone know of anything good? I read somewhere that Restoration Hardware is pretty soft and clean looking.

Also, to get an idea of what I'm looking for, here are the sheets I liked at the bitchy store:

http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/dl_chinoiserie.html

I didn't see these there, but I like these too:

http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/dl_essex.html
http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/dl_stanton_bronze.html
http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/dl_pinstripe.html

I also really like whatever my sister has on her bed. Alyse, where'd you get that?

If you guys have seen anything (preferably over 300 thread count) let me know, mmmk. And please don't say Bed Bath and Beyond (or Target). That's my last resort.

Thanks.

Sale, it's almost as good as free!

Lots of good, cheap things has happened this week.

Saturday:

Went to a big rummage sale. Greenwood basically got every neighborhood together to have yard sales and it was pretty cool. I got old timey placemats for $1

From there, I then went the Library Book Sale, but it was near the Soundgarden. Books galore!! Videos galore!! Posters, old children books, basically anything you could ever want in your life was there!!! And I didn't even buy actual reading books, but I did buy:

Anne of Green Gables: All the volumes in one big book. I seriously think it found me, because I saw it and didn't even hestitate. I mean, sure I'll probably never read it, but fuck it's a fucking $1 so I had to have it. (And wait, I'm lying. I actually will read it)

A 1900 Sears catalog. This was so awesome and worth the pictures alone. They sold everything from electric belts to headstones. This is the kind of book will come in handy later, when it comes to making more websites... Plus it was only .75

The Unexplained Mysteries of the World: The perfect bathroom book and $1

Then I got some old timey children books and The Stranger's Guide to Seattle. All worth the .75 and $1

Sunday:
Got an email from my LYS that they were giving away free memberships, which usually cost $20 or something. Guess who went there bright and early? That's right...

Monday:
One of those lovely reps took some of us girls (and one guy) to get mani/pedis. I usually hate this, but when it's free... Anyhow it was so amazing! The best mani/pedi I've ever had. They even did that parrafin shit, which I've never experienced. Everything was just wonderful and then they even treated us to a great dinner (and drinks!)

Tuesday:
Just the normal free lunch. No big whoop, but I feel like I should keep telling you how many free or very cheap things I can acquire in one week.

is this considered a drunk blog?

it's 1:23 in the am and i'm just the little itsiest bits of having too much wine and cranberry vodkas.

but i wanted to say how excited i am that the following people will be visiting me in the next few months:

beth- she called me today to say, "i just did the craziest thing and bought a ticket to seattle. can you take a few days off?"

the mom- will she be able to walk the hills of seattle? will she like our "warm" weather without wearing a parka? will she go outside if i have to go to work? all these questions will be answered. eventually....

the sister, the brother-in-law, the nephew- will i get pot in time?! (wait, was that me letting the cat out of the bag? i hardly doubt it)

happiness overcomes me,
barrie

Coming to America

This title is appropriate for 2 reasons. I just got back from Spain a week ago (god, it feel like forever ago now. fucking weird) and I had never seen Coming to America until I put it on my ipod and watched it on the plane on the way to America.

Now that I'm back, I should note some major differences. Some good. Some bad.

1. Smoky
Spain (and Europe really) hasn't followed the non-smoking ban that America is quickly adopting. For instance, you can't really smoke anywhere in Seattle. Not even in some bar patios. They can get pretty strict. In Spain, I smoked a lot so it was good in the sense that I didn't have to go outside every time I wanted one. Bad in the sense that everything fucking reaked. It actually bothered me a lot, hurting my nostrils and making me feel not right sometimes. I thank America for being strict, and realizing how gross this habit is. No one should have to endure all that smoke. It's painful really.

2. PDA
People basically fuck in the streets in Spain. I'd see at least 3 couples necking every time I went on the metro. This is unheard of in America. If you see someone even kissing too much, people will yell at you to get a room. But in Spain everyone loves eachother. They kiss eachother hello and goodbye. Little old men and women still hold eachother's hands as if they are still young love. It's all quite cute, and it's something us Americans should look at. Love is a good thing. It doesn't have to be something that's done in private. If you love someone at that moment, it should be known. Unlike cigarettes, love should be everywhere.

I should note, that on the first few days Jessie told everyone that I wouldn't kiss them on the cheek because I'm not a hugger and I just don't do that. I kept telling her to shut it, because sure I'm not that type of person but I'm also not rude. I have no problem doing those things anymore. I even sometimes go out of my to give people hugs. I'll even go as far as hug my mom when I see her. teehee...

3.Dirt
People really don't give a shit in Spain. Everyone throws their trash on the ground in restaurants their. It makes you wonder if that's how they treat their homes too, because in America I believe our philosophy is "if you wouldn't do that at home, you shouldn't do that here". This really didn't effect me either way.

4.Waitresses
It's known that throughout Europe you'll have to wait to get service, but this is especially true in Spain. 3 hour lunches are very normal, and honestly I think this is the way to go. Too many Americans are in a rush. Everything needs to be done now. Every restaurant is just waiting for us to get up so the next customer can order what you just had. In Spain, everyone is too relaxed to give a shit. You could order a cup of coffee, sit there for 2 hours. Wait another hour for your bill and no one will bother you. It's refreshing. And at the same time, an experience. Which is how food should be treated. If you go out to eat, you're spending extra money for the experience. Not to scarf it down and leave immdiately.

Also, waiters don't get tipped (or very low) so really they have nothing to work for. This could be the reason for the slow service, but really it doesn't matter. It sets the mood for everything and I actually enjoyed it (because I was on vacation).

5.Tourists
It was amazing how some people were just so nice to me, especially since I didn't know their language. In America, if someone doesn't know English instead of trying to help them a lot of people immediately get frustrated and say, "Don't come here if you don't speak our language!" But in Spain, there were a few times I was stuck in sticky situations. Especially this one time, when I had to take a bus to get to the train station. First I didn't know where the bus was, and I kinda mimed that to one lady who actually walked me over to the bus stop (which was like a 5 minute walk). Then, once at the bus, they wouldn't take my large bill and I had nothing else. If I couldn't get on this bus I'd miss my train, which was the last train to leave that day, which would've meant I'd be stuck in a town all on my own. I kinda just looked pathetic for a second at the bus driver, since I didn't know what to say in English or in Spanish. The lady behind me though just said something in Spanish real fast, motioned at me and paid my way in. I offered her my pack of smokes, which she denied, and then kinda told me which stop I wanted to get off on. In a span of 15 minutes 2 women who didn't speak my language and didn't know me at all totally saved my day from what could've ended in tears.

This would've never happened in America.

6. Hot Chocolate
Hands down this is the best thing in the world. They do it much better than us. I might have to go to the Spanish supermarket and stock up on this shit. I'll risk gaining 10 pounds for it. It's that fucking good.

7. The food
There's really no variety and it's really not the best in the world. But it's differet and I'm glad I tried all those damn tapas. If anything, I introduced some shit to Jessie who doesn't cook and only eats at TGIFridays. (hehe)

The one thing that is exactly the same are the boys who you walk past and say things like, "Very Nice" in that Borat kinda voice. Silly Spanish and American Boys.

I'm back and I wish I wasn't...

I really had a good time in Spain/Portugal. Almost too good of a time. I was finally getting used to things, knowing where to go, even getting to know the local coffee place's weird hours. I was getting comfortable not working, eating tapas and drinking the best hot chocolate I'll probably ever have.

I wish I could show you guys pictures right now, but of course my computer sucks and it doesn't look like I'll get replacement until sometime next week. But I can tell you some of the highlights...

1. Seeing Jessie for the first time was fun. Gosh, it really has been forever. When we saw eachother at the airport we immediately started giggling. And from there I smoked one cigarette and then another and another. I don't think I stopped until I landed in America....

2. Portugal. I don't think any of us expected what we got out of Portugal. Especially our accomadations. I thought we'd arrive at some shack with sofas for beds. What we got was this amazing house, enough to fit 8 comfortably. We bbqed something almost everyday. And there were enough lemon and orange trees that we actually picked too many.

3. We took a long walk trying to find a shitty waterfall, which we never made it to because it took us 3 hours to walk 7 kilometers (about 3-4 miles). But it was worth it just to find an old woman coming out of the bushes with her donkey, tales of a sheep herder, passing a strange man who told us to come back to his place after dark and a crossing sign that we weren't sure said bull or cow?

4. Most of the time spent in Portugal consisted of laying out. This was perfect. I didn't want a vacation where I was running around every day, with my head in a map. I wanted to relax, take it easy and maybe spend too much time sleeping. I think I succeeded.

5. This isn't to say we didn't drink, because we did. A lot. We discovered Green Wine, which was so delicious I couldn't get enough. Alcohol was really cheap there. 80 euros (like $1.50) for basically anything. We also used those lemons to good use, and Sheena made something delicious with rum, lemons and sugar.

6. The town was too cute. There wasn't much to it. Pretty churches. Pretty bridges. Pretty little plazas. It was pretty and small. It was basically perfect.

7. On Easter, I got 2 of Jessie's friends to rent a car with me so we could go to Sevilla. This was awesome! Not just awesome because Sevilla is a cool place, but because it was Easter we were greeted with one of the biggest parades there is for this holiday. Everywhere you looked we saw guys, girls and children dressed in outfits that freakishly resemble a Klu Klux Klan outfit. There were black robes, purple robes and blue robes. It was pretty crazy. Oh, and did I mention we accidentally got free lunch + a drink. Really, I think we ran off with the food, but they were too busy to notice anyhow.

8. I fell off a bike on the train tracks. It still kinda hurts. And luckily nothing's broken, but I ran into other problems along the way. I had weird hives on my feet and my shoes caused really awful bruises that forced me not to wear shoes properly for a few days. All these things were minor, and I think all apart of travelling. No one lost a limb, so that's all that matters.

9. Back to Madrid, we kept the drinking tradition on par and included some other things as well to the mix. Jessie's friends were nice enough to just give me what they had. They are fabulous people I tell you.

10. Got to witness a drum circle that I guess happens every Sunday. It's good to know people who actually live in Madrid, because if I was a tourist I wouldn't find this drum circle in any book. Or if it was in a book, it's the type of thing you'd find on Monday and then hit yourself on the head for missing it. It was fun to see 14 year olds getting trashed, smoking hash in a big park and having the police come by every 30 minutes just to keep us all on our toes.

11. I took a train to a place called Segovia. It was nice. I think I only spent a total of 3 hours there, but honestly I just wanted to ride the train and read a little. Spain is pretty beautiful when you see it through a train. I recommend trains to everyone I tell ya.

12. Bought things at a market and at a store. The second day I got there, Jessie and I went to this one shopping district and went to every store. I couldn't find a thing. I just wasn't into it. A week later though I was on a spending binge!

13. I saw shit. I went to a museum (for free) that featured Lichenstein's work. I went to a big castle. I smoked more hash. I went to a pub quiz. I watched CSI for the first time (god, that show fucking sucks). And I spent some quality time with a good friend.

All in all, I had such a great time, and I hope to do it again sooner than later.