i would just like to say that i'm glad kevin is dead; i think all males should be dead.

it's gonna be a good day!

the title of this post originates from the daria episode: "murder, she snored." i'd like to take this time to reflect upon ms. barch and how great of a character she is; you don't see characters like her at all in television shows nowadays (wow, i sound really condescending considering i wasn't old enough to understand daria when it actually aired on mtv). daria is my main source of happiness when everything starts going wrong and real life starts becoming too fabricated. oddly enough, i've started writing my thesis paper on third-wave feminism and was pleased that mrs. stevens allowed me to cite daria in one of my body paragraphs. on a related note: thanks to that wonderful bookseller/women's studies major who helped me find books to develop my thesis.

i've been pretty disappointed with the state of the world recently. most likely because that's easiest for me—to view the world extremely negatively. it's unhealthy and i should change my perspective. kamden has done so much for me in these past couple of weeks. he's driven me to lunch, given me revisions on some of my work, worked with me through some of my random bouts of neurosis, taken me to the rope swing at makiki park. mostly, he's just been a great person to me. truly grateful to have the honor of calling him one of my best friends.

emily slept over last night, and i've missed her quite. i guess i've just been so busy in my life that i haven't made an effort to sustain our friendship - something i feel extremely guilty over, because i realize how much fun we can both have together. moreover, she's very much supportive in everything i do, and always provides the greatest, most logical advice. we watched daria, ate kettle chips, drank hot tea; all the things hip grandmothers do in each others' company. i'm lucky to have her in my life, and i know it.

i'm grateful for my itouch. i know, i know, i'm not one for relying on electronics. in fact, i'm quite drawn to the idea of a world without electronics for i yearn to live very nomadically, or like a gypsy of sorts; however, i haven't realized how useful the itouch truly can be. i can unlimitedly text message iphone users through an email address. i can charge starbucks drinks to my gold card via a simple app. and extremely importantly, my 4th generation itouch has a built-in camera on both sides, which also doubles as a compact mirror.

some final bouts of thankfulness:

• "into the woods" is over. i will no longer need to stay at school till 10:30 pm on school nights. moreover, i won't have to see x's face so frequently, which may/may not be important.
• the following itouch apps: instagram, puddingcam, starbucks, solitaire, dailyhoroscope. i just really love my itouch...it's unhealthy, but there's no stopping me now.
• lauren asked me to participate in a script reading today. i really enjoyed critiquing the script, as well as being paid $60 to simply offer my opinion.
• for being asked to perform slam poetry in the 8th grade slam assembly, and for the sustainability slam. i feel my message is reaching more people, and i feel very good about it.
• this.

my current goals are to stay alive, and strive for constant improvement throughout the rest of this school year.

will the real snorting elk, please stand up?

i realize i haven't been good about keeping this blog updated with posts, consistently. i've got quite a bit of catching up to do, but i've decided to dedicate this post to one of my best friends, ariel, and her family. they were extremely gracious in allowing me to accompany them on their trip to washington; this particular trip was a variety of firsts for me. this post will serve as a late travel log (i had limited computer access on my trip.)

we spent the first couple of days in olympia with ariel's grandmother, annelise - an extremely heartfelt woman who was nothing but caring and inclusive towards me. annelise suggested for me to visit the state capitol in downtown olympia, which turned out to be a magnificent suggestion. home to impeccable architecture, the olympia capitol was a wonderful way to jumpstart our washington adventures. i'm especially proud of this moment:

planking on the steps of the olympia capitol.

following our visit to the state capitol, we headed to downtown olympia for some secondhand shopping. there weren't many known stores, but i was impressed by the amount of secondhand stores available for browsing. particularly, there was a store filled with antique magazines, books, minks, jewelry. it was divine, and i regret not purchasing anything from there earlier. we'll save it for my next trip to washington, because i will definitely be back someday. i also visited this somber, new age medicinal shop - i believe it was called "midnight sun". there wasn't anything particularly interesting, which was somewhat of a letdown. even their collection of herbs was not too impressive - but still, i was lucky enough to happen upon their celtic jewelry, something i am fascinated with. i decided not to purchase anything. instead, we made our way to a nearby café, where i purchased a rich chocolate ganache cake. first smart spend of my trip.

ariel's family and i then made our way to enumclaw, washington - location of the crystal mountain ski resort. i had never seen snow prior to this trip; if anything, i had been to ice palace and seen the resulting ice shavings from skaters' blades. the snow was entrancing, and unlike anything i had expected. i had the urge to shove incredulous bits of it into my mouth like i had seen on man vs. wild. the temperature was also wonderful, for in a past life, i believe i existed as a black bear.

lying in the snow was not one of our greater ideas.

our lodging accommodations were also quite nice. in our small apartment, me and ariel's room was only accessible through climbing a ladder above the kitchen. this is very hard to explain, but it was a loft, i believe. this little apartment proved extremely useful in the 10º weather. also, during our stay at crystal mountain, we dined at the "snorting elk." i mean, in a place where there's an abundance of white powder, what else would these elk be snorting?

will the real snorting elk, please stand up?

after the second day, filled with gondola rides, skiing, a screening of bridesmaids, french onion soup, dogs in the snow, and snorting elks, we departed back to olympia where we rested for a couple of days. we toured seattle uni, and u of w, and eventually shopped at urban outfitters (huzzah! it exists!) we then took a two-hour drive to downtown seattle, where we stayed at the edgewater hotel - a place seemingly ghetto from the outside, yet luxurious from the inside. the beatles stayed at the edgewater during their stints in seattle.

our room window literally overlooked the water.

we took some time to feed the seagulls outside of our room, which turned into something out of "birds: the movie." the seagulls would hover right in front of our window, expecting food. ariel and i made a run for it and hit downtown seattle's shopping district.

i could take multiple posts glorifying the downtown seattle shopping district, but i feel it is something that must be experienced. we explored the many inlets of this vast area including: urban outfitters, h&m, the six story nordstrom, j. crew, american apparel, free people. it reminded me much of union square in san francisco; ariel claimed it was very much like times square in nyc, and i shall be sure to visit there someday. i made many purchases including the long sought after denim jacket, cardigans, sweaters, stationary, teas, and etc. overall, i completed a lot of retail therapy - something so necessary as of recent (i will explain this crypticness eventually.)

the next day in downtown seattle was spent at pike place market. i've become so enamored with this city, and will make sure to come back someday. the market was mostly specialty foods, and one thing i regret not trying was the seafood. i have a hard time trusting seafood from places outside of hawaii, but what's done is done, and i will just have to experience it some other time. i was intrigued by the woman selling ocarinas. she sold a special-zelda ocarina and when i asked her to play "zelda's lullaby", she smiled back and played it effortlessly. twas a beautiful moment, and i thought of getting one for my friend, x; however, i budgeted myself on these last few days of the trip due to a shortage in funds from my prior retail therapy. i hurried on and made one of my proudest purchases from a cute little chinese man. he sold me this sterling silver owl ring, and although i'm not one for rings, i haven't taken off this ring since the trip.

(to those who doubted its existence)

my old man hands modeling "my precious."

fresh seafood!

interesting story: the fishseller yelled at me for taking pictures of his fish, rather than purchasing one. i don't know what i'd do with an entire dead fish, especially with no place to prepare one (nor do i know how to prepare one...) after pike place, i did a bit of self-adventuring and happened upon this wonderful alley:

i bought a hazelnut truffle from rose's chocolate treasures and was offered a bit of a chocolate-coconut brew from perennial tea room. both were simply delightful. i was disappointed that the white horse trading co. was closed because where else would i purchase a white horse? in all seriousness, their sign said they sold "books, ale, & wine" and in an ideal world, these would be the only things that existed. alas, i went around the alley into the building it was nestled under, only to discover another antique shop. twas similarly wonderful like the first antique shop i had visited in olympia, only, things here were way expensive.

we spent the next day exploring seattle center. ariel and i ventured to the top of the space needle where we saw an incredible view. i don't believe it was as spectacular as others made it out to be. if anything, i could find something more spectacular at home, after climbing diamond head. nonetheless, we took some pictures at the top.

thug lyph at the top of space needle.

we eventually took a ferry over to bainbridge island, where we stayed with auntie andrea's friend peggy and her family. their home was so lovely, and they had a piano. i took some time to reacquaint myself with the black and white keys, something i had abandoned for awhile due to the trip. their backyard also had a trampoline, something ariel and i utilized and had too much fun with. future investment: trampoline.

the day before our return to hawaii, we stayed in a best western near the airport. ariel, auntie andrea, and i shuttled to the westfield center, which was large beyond my greatest expectations. quite frankly, it was larger than any mall i had ever shopped in, and i got lost multiple times. from the mall, i bought a nice pair of jeans from h&m, and spent some time adventuring on my own. we all met up at around 5:30 pm and saw "the hunger games" together. after seeing the movie, i now wish to read the books; i had felt they were overhyped, but now i understand.

overall, this trip provided be with a great appreciation for the world outside of hawaii; more importantly, it made me realize how much i appreciate the opportunities i an bestowed with. i hope to do more travels in the future, for as much as i love hawaii, there are many places i've yet to discover.

hopefully that's everything; there is far too much that i can't recall, but i believe this covers most of it. xx