Sister in Seattle

I need to say this before I forget, I had the most amusing dream where the Chicago Bulls' Derek Rose danced the waltz with me! ME! Funny that a basketball player figured in my dream, I was that person in P.E. class whom the teacher pointed at to say, Girls, that's how NOT to dribble the ball.

In more random tidbits, here's one of my latest misread passages from magazine articles: Bra Remover. I went, excuse me? A bra remover? How about using one's hands?! A few blinks later, my tired eyes were able to read the text as it was: Bra Makeover.



It's been almost two weeks since my older sister came to visit us in Seattle. She went to Phoenix (desert, cacti and um, older people, according to her) for a work thing and she was able to get a few more days off for us. We made sure to have all four days of her visit as packed with activities as we could. Activities such as:

a visit to Seattle Center where we took lots of pictures with super cute cloudy skies as a backdrop, and yeah, the EMP and Space Needle were in the background as well

a mini shopping spree in the three-floor wasteland that is Forever 21, in downtown Seattle

Another shopping excursion at Premium Outlets followed by...

Dinner at Eagles Buffet in the Tulalip Casino. Keep in mind that this is the sister who once used Buffet as a video game name.

Hanging out outside McDonald's on Third and Pine sipping a McCafe beverage and interacting with locals at the bus stop. Just kidding.

A morning at Snoqualmie Pass for photo ops with snow and creepy deserted buildings

A big family dinner at Maggiano's where almost everyone's dining savvy was on display by ordering the buy-one-take-one-home pasta specials

A cup of coffee at two-hour intervals

A visit to the Pike Place Market pig... and the actual market

A visit to the dueling pianos at Mingebar. AAay, sorry sorry. One more misread item. That was Munchbar, where we narrowly missed a brawl, but did not miss the drops of blood on the ground. Yikes.

A bus ride where my sister took note of some fashion trends such as denim shorts over tights, with cowboy boots

Dimsum brunch where we nibbled on bite-sized dumplings. Just kidding. It was more like inhaling than nibbling.

The objective was to have her as tired as a two-year-old at the end of the day. We were, in fact, so successful at tiring her out that she was asleep as soon as she came within two feet of the bed.

Now, my sister's return home was right on Mother's Day which was sad for her since my nephew didn't get to spend it with his mom. But it was also sad for our Mom who was kind of emo the rest of the day. It was really obvious after she Taylor Momsen-ed her eyes and started gelling her hair with some Dippity-Do.

Bus Nightmare

My Bus Nightmare #2 came true the other day. During morning rush hour, the bus fills up with people - as in the aisle will be crammed with bodies... bodies in various states of cleanliness (or dirtiness) and carrying all sorts of things. I usually have a seat because my stop is early enough on the bus' route, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I get clocked in the head with someone's bag.

It wasn't anyone's backpack, or one of those 20-pound man satchels with the laptop inside and maybe one or two cinder blocks. Thankfully it was just a gentle slap in the face from a lady's soft leather hand bag. I was asleep too so the moment that slap was delivered, my waking thought was: BUS NIGHTMARE #2!!!

Bus Nightmare #1, by the way, is me sitting by the aisle and someone walking on the aisle with their coffee cup and me getting a good dousing of Starbucks on my face.

Bus Nightmare #3 is related to a school bus incident from my elementary years back home. Our school bus wasn't exactly top-of-the-line. It wasn't even middle-of-the-line. It was a rickety metal thing with wooden shades for when it rained and once in a while there will be a missing metal plate on the floor. Don't ask me how, or why but one day, as the bus was running along, my shoe fell into that hole. It was recovered, thank you Manong.

So yes, I still have a small fear that I will get off the bus and have to head to work with one shoe missing... a backpack-shaped bruise on my face, and hair that smells like coffee. Can you blame me?



My little sister is in Brazil at the moment. It's a study-abroad sort of program. She's staying with a family of three sister, just like ours! She sent me an email that they attended Easter Mass late on Saturday night. And after Mass there was running on the streets, and music and celebration.

I can imagine her running like a headless chicken outside the Church and grabbing the instruments from musicians, and terrorizing children with a tuba in her arms and a trumpet in her mouth. Kidding aside, she's kind of, slightly, a little bit, sort of, craaazy but only in the best way possible. And my own study-abroad nightmare worries aside, I'm sure she's having an amazing experience.



Photo: faqs.org

For Future Reference

The other week, an old friend from back in high school was able to come see me in Seattle. For future reference, if a friend who works in a cruise ship visits you, please don't take her to the waterfront. Doesn't matter if it's a nice restaurant or a must-see spot, or if she's too polite to say, "oy, can we go inland?" The girl is in a ship floating in the ocean for months and she's probably in the mood for some stable, solid ground to rest her feet.

Also, by future reference, I mean future reference for me. Of course we had a lovely time catching up, even if it was compressed in about a two hour lunch at Pier 54 but, you know, just a thought, maybe I should have taken her farther away from the water.

Last Saturday, my sister and I watched Splice. It was weird and intriguing and really engages you. And there are very relevant, ethical questions that the movie asks. I don't think I've seen anything like it before.

On the way to the movie theatre, we had the usual Seattle bus-riding characters. On the one hand, Ms. Elocution, a recent graduate of the School of Speaking with an Audience. Her props? A cell phone. Her Script? A dialogue with a friend, filled with her deep observations about the guy she had a date with who is French but with a German surname and a host of other subjects no one else in the bus wants to hear.

On the other hand, Ms. or Mr. Silence Will Kill Me. No props, just the character. Just a desire to fill the bus with her random chitchat with strangers who are looking away because everyone knows eye contact only provokes this character to talk more. About what? You might ask. Here is a real-life example, "you know when you get on the bus and a fat guy is sitting there with their backpack beside them and you're like thanks a lot and anyway no one will fit next to you (pause). What's so funny? I want to know what you and you are laughing at. I know I'm fat too (pause). People are entertaining. Behaviors are entertaining. This is my stop."