And now, for something completely different....

Still not ready to talk about things. So let's have a meme, shall we?

The Alphabet Meme-

A - Age: 20-something
B - Band listening to right now: Arctic monkeys
C - Career future: Freedom from having to work
D - Dad’s name: Daddy-O
E - Easiest person to talk to: BBG
F - Favorite type of shoe: boots (cowboy, snowboard, hiking...)
G – Grapes or Grapefruit: Grapefruit - tart, tasty, good for you
H – Hometown: Cali (okay I know that's a state, but who's checking)
I – Instrumental talent: Ipod Diva aka Sing-a-long Sally
J – Juice of choice: Cranberry
K – Koala Bear or Panda Bear: Koala
L - Longest car ride ever: 14 hours
M – Middle name: "Sunshine"
N - Number of jobs you’ve had: Who's counting anyway?
O- OCD traits: Flossing my teeth, using 'like' far too much in my sentences
P - Phobia[s]: Hard shelled bugs
Q - Quote: "I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.” -Maya Angelou
R - Reason to smile: Clothes fresh out of the dryer
S - Song you sang last: Lovely Guilty - Visqueen
T - Time you wake up: Way to fucking early
U - Unknown fact about me: I can be dreadfully insecure.
V - Vegetable you hate: Brussels Sprouts
W - Worst habit: Spending too much time on the computer
X - X-rays you’ve had: Knees, wrist, spine, shoulder (yeah I'm kinda a klutz)
Y - Yummiest food my belly likes: Spinach Salad - know, i'm a green food geek
Z - Zodiac sign: Gemini (sun) Virgo (moon)

It was an asscracking good time...

Speaking of my privileged life: Friday I did drive.

I threw my board and shit into the back and headed up to the Summit after work. Anyone who rides The Summit knows it's not the best mountain around (low elevation, short runs, sometimes excruciatingly family oriented) but it has one major plus. Proximity. I could throw a rock from my job and knock someone off the chairlift (not that I would, but it is tempting) Plus they offer a sweet night ride session, so if I leave work at 3:30ish I can be dressed and in the lift line in an hour. And it's relatively cheap, as resorts go.

There hasn't been much new snow in the last few days so I knew the chances of it being more icy than usual were high. I'm seriously thinking of changing this blog to Lil Miss Stubbornhead. I could have scrubbed and gone this weekend, but after thinking about riding all day, and so close to the mtn, I couldn't say no.

As a result of which, a new word has entered the Rosie lexicon: Asscracking. As in, I fell so hard I felt my ass crack. Which I did mostly when some jackass cut me off at the lift line forcing an emergency stop, and once, when I fell getting off the chair due to my own lack of balance. Seriously, I have a bit of padding in the hind end and I have no idea how these skinny butt teenage boys manage to do this sport without causing some serious posterior damage.

Great night though, I have to say I have a thing for inclement weather. I like fog and snow and stuff that usually drives people OFF the mountain. Lest you think I am anti-social, I usually ride alone, so I do get a chance to strike up conversation with some interesting folks. Last week I met a group of Romanian kids, and once I had a conversation with some deaf snowboarders, which was fun cause I haven't practiced my ASL in a while and they seemed stoked that I had some basic language.

Last night I rode for a bit with a pair of guys I met on the chair who ride a lot like I do - not hitting the biggest stuff, but pushing themselves to new terrain. I like riding by myself, but it is nice to have a little encouragement, and company on the rough runs. I usually meet people after falling or doing something silly, which I don't think so much of myself that I can't get a good laugh out of my own antics. Conversation ensues, and suddenly the guy that looked like a total bro-brah out to be a really nice kid who can point me in the direction of a few good runs.

So it never pays to have too many preconceived notions about anyone based on what they do. That and it totally helps to be a girl snowboarder. A cute, goofy footed girl snowboarder.

Not that I'm braggin, or anything.

But nothing I did on the slopes compared to what happened 10 feet from my car, crossing some heinous ice covered concrete. I was tired, and focused on whether or not the car parked in front of me had used my bumper as a parking brake, took a big step and my feet slid right out in front of me. Of course at this point I had already taken my helmet off (bad) but I had my snowboard in my hands so I couldn't put them down behind me to break my wrists, I mean, catch myself (good). So I did a full, cartoon style, legs out in front of me landing on my entire backside and whacking my head on the ice.

Good times. I lay there, senseless, not one of the 10 odd people standing around said a thing or made a move to even see if I was still alive. It's a good thing I wasn't knocked unconscious, those bastards would have left me there to freeze to death. So today I have a couple of NICE bruises on my elbows and back and a nice nugget on the back of my head. I'm off to a hot soak in the bathtub and a healthy dose of advil.

Happy Saturday!

This commuter's life...

Good news this week:

I found the Redmond Express. Now with only two buses and a short car ride I can get to work in about 45 minutes or an hour if I leave during peak traffic times. A Novelist dropped by to remind me of all the fun things that you can do in your car during traffic. Which I completely agree with, especially the part about singing in the car. I am a total "iPod Diva" while driving - high notes and all, plus it's getting to be the only way I can keep up with This American Life; Wait, Wait and Driveway Moments.

Plus, PT is SO CLEAN in Seattle. I mean, the buses don't smell, there's no extensive covering of graffiti, the lights all work. You don't feel like you're taking your life in your hands when you step on to one - and the few times my life HAS flashed before my eyes it's been because of either the driver or some stupid Suburban driving idiot.

I guess I'm just a cheap bastard too: I don't have the most fuel efficient vehicle, but I'm not willing to get into another car payment situation. Plus I LOVE my car. Even though I love it a LOT less when I'm watching upwards of $50 vanish into the gas tank. And I hate braking. Which sounds rediculous unless you think of Seattle drivers - who LOVE to slap their brakes in front of you for no good reason. Which drives me into an unmitigated rage more often than not. Then I spend the rest of the ride meditating on anger and trying to get my breath back.

See my dilemma?

Have I mentioned how hard it is to be me: living a privileged life in one of the most developed (if more than a little bit fucked up) nations in the world with a fantastic job and the ability to drive to work every day, which I totally take for granted most of the time?

Sigh, self absorption rears its ugly head.

I am officially a commuter...SIGH

It appears that in spite of my best efforts NOT to have a drive greater than 30 minutes to get to work (door to door, each way, including coffee stop, during off peak hours- I know, I know, I have been a spoiled brat for over a year in that regard!!!) I have been thwarted.

Okay let's get real: I am a Californian - born and raised: I love my car, I love driving. I do not love: driving to not fun places (work, anyone?), traffic, other drivers (especially Seattlites). These are my biases. Now, twice a day I have to haul out to the east side -in traffic - which takes me about 45 minutes car time, and I am not remotely thrilled about it. Plus, after scouring the King County Metro Transit trip planner, I've determined that would take me no less than 3 buses and upwards of an hour to get there. I dig taking the bus to the work cause I can "read not rage" I do not dig: waiting for late buses, being late to work or standing out in the cold waiting for the next bus to arrive. All things that have an exponential likelihood of increasing with every bus you add to the equation. And for my last bitch and moan of the night, I have to start factoring into my finances extra gas and wear and tear on my car. Plus the likelihood that my car will suffer from some sort of "throw money at me" tantrum increases the more I drive (brake jobs and clutches and tires, oh my!) so I'm considering dedicating an extra $500 or so to the Uh-Oh Fund (Emergency Fund sounds so dramatic)

Bummer.

Into problem solving mode: I've adjusted my schedule at work so I go in super early and leave early which is definitely helping. I'm not a morning person, but since work is casual, I can dramatically cut prep time and increase sleep time with a few tweaks. Roomie suggested finding a park and ride somewhere in the middlish to cut out at least one bus and half the drive.

Plus the upside is that if do drive a day or two, I can throw my gear in the back and head up to the Summit after work . I'm halfway there and leaving work early enough to make night ski - which is my favorite time to ride anyway.

No job is perfect, and really this is a minor setback. Just looking for the upsides and willing to make it work, one way or the other.

What's the worst thing about your job? How do you make the best of it?

The Travel Fund

Confession: I've never had an ANYTHING fund. Including, and not limited to, an emergency fund, a car fund, even a cute shoe fund. How have I manged to avoid financial ruin due to any or all of the above so far? Credit cards. Which really isn't avoiding -- only delaying -- the inevitable crash that comes when the plastic runs out.

So, part of being able to travel in a year means not only saving money for the actual travel, but getting myself in financial shape all the way around. I mean, what good is it to take off for three months only to come back and find myself as deep - if not deeper - in the hole? So the travel plan involves three big financial steps for yours truly.

1. Create a Travel Fund. My goal is to start with a 10% saving plan, which will come off the top of every paycheck and going directly into the highest interest savings account I can find. At first the 10% will be divided between two funds - more on that in a minute - and in six months I'd like to ramp that up to between 11 & 15% to meet an end savings goal of $5000

2. Create an Emergency Fund - This is the other will be the split for the first few months of the 10% savings plan. I'll be content with about $1000. Looking over the past year or so, none of my major emergencies have cost over that amount. Knock on wood.

3. Eliminate Debt. Compared to a lot of my friends, I'm carrying a lot less debt. Not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up, at least I had the good sense to go to a state school. My biggest concern is an absurdly high interest rate on one card carrying a high balance (the aforementioned "cute shoe fund"). I'd also like to finish paying off my car. The goal is to knock down as much debt as possible so that I won't be pressured by bills while looking for my next contract.

Phew, just writing it all out I feel a little better, and a little overwhelmed all at once. I know I can do it though. At least, what better to do with my paycheck during my year under contract than to try this? Spending it on shoes and partying really hasn't got me much so far!

Resolution #3: Take this show on the road...

I haven't had a goal, or a purpose for so long it's not funny. Since I graduated from college I've been wandering - sometimes literally - from job to job, place to place, trying to figure out what my next step will be. I suppose I've been letting life happen to me, for lack of a better intention. I have never been "career" minded; I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up and I got my degree in an area I figured the most versatile for doing anything that came along. It hasn't been until recently that I realized I've been living my life as a process of elimination. I try one thing, then another, decide it's not for me and move on to the next.

For my first statement of belief: I believe that life should be lived as a series of identifying and reaching toward things you want, rather than reacting away from a list of "I don't want to do THAT again..."

So what do I want to do, more than anything? Travel internationally. I got a taste of it last year that only made me hungry for other destinations, longer stays. I used to think it took a lot of money, or a woman traveling alone might not be the best idea. Everything I've seen so far in friends and bloggers is that neither is really true. I guess I've been waiting, and now I'm ready to give up on waiting for the perfect conditions to make it happen. Now that I'm working on contract I have a timeline - one year exactly - to pick a destination (or two), do the research, make some travel buddies, and set aside a little cash. A year from now I'll be getting on a plane.

Which, brings me back to the purpose for this blog. I am hereby rededicating Lil Miss Sunshine for the next year: the first steps of my journey toward becoming an international traveler. Stick around, this could be fun!

Resolution #2: Discover my own "this I believe."

Jay over at Kill The Goat started out the year with a list of belief statements, here. Well, statements of belief following something to do with Tropical Drinks being at fault - sounds like there's a story there.

Anywho, in an effort to comment where I read, I thought I'd drop a few of my own "I believes" in the comment section. I clicked the comment button, watched the window open and then stared at it for the next five minutes. It was like pulling teeth to come up with a few cliche'd vagueries that I believed it. Sheesh, man.

Come to think of it, I'm a huge fan of the "This I believe" series on NPR, and dammit if I'd be able to come up with even five minutes worth of this I believe about anything.

So this year I'm making it a point to come up with my own personal statements of belief. Maybe even a mission statement (or two) - who knows what will happen while I'm on a roll. I'm even going to give them their own tag, so you can follow along easier. Even if it takes me all year, I'm going to figure out what I stand for, and what I believe in.

As they say, "If you don't believe in something, you'll fall for anything." Which might explain why I'm so damn gullible.

Resolution #1: Blog More

Well, that one was easy. I haven't been around much lately but I suspect that has to do partly with the holidays and accompanying time crunches. To be completely honest, this blog has lost a little bit of its focus and purpose - two qualities I've been struggling with for a while. I started the blog a year ago to mark some pretty major events in my life: a move and a breakup. A year later I'm settled in, and healing nicely. I've never wanted to blog strictly to bitch about my life, or my job (too risky), or to boast about romantic conquests (cue chirping crickets) - I seem to know better what I don't want to do with this blog, than what I do.

Something else I've been noticing lately is a lot of my favorite bloggers are slowing down, or closing up shop all together. Is it inevitable, that as people grow change and their lives become different places the need to blog about them just dries up? Is it the fact that blogs have reached a peak and begun to decline - that the once abundant throngs of life bloggers have slowly fallen to the wayside until only the political, gossip and celebrity bloggers remain?

Granted, I'm not one to turn down a good celebrity gossip site, but what I genuinely enjoy about visiting blogs are the voices and the lives that are shared. People never cease to amaze and charm and delight me. There's nothing like being brought to tears with laughter by the words of a stranger, or finding slices of my own life being lived thousands of miles away. The experiences we share with each other - what we choose to share at all - says as much as the voice and perspective that we give them in the telling.

That is what I love about blogs, and why I will continue to blog with the hopes that what I share will mean something to someone else. To those who will not be blogging 2008, thanks for all the smiles, laughter and delight in the past years - and to the rest of you, let's see what the hell 2008 has to offer...

Cheers,

Rosie