206.788.5522

If you're trying to reach me, don't call this number.

This is the message I just got from my dad:

"Hey Leslie. This is your dad...I just called your old number just kind of...

I knew I was calling your old number, but I wanted to see what would happen.

And this girl answered and she goes, 'If you don't quit callin for Leslie, I'm gonna call the cops!!'

And I said, 'What are the cops gonna do for you?' I said, 'This is the only time I've ever done it.'"

So, maybe some of your old friends are still callin her. haha. I don't know. But it was kinda funny. She really got irate."

What a silly dad.

Movie Awakening

I love having Netflix through Travis' XBox. I can watch movies instantly on my TV! So, tonight I saw Jerry Maguire and skipped it, but I did look at the movies that it recommended that are like it. I was taken back to my childhood and the great movies I used to watch.

Steel Magnolias

A League of Their Own

Overboard

Kindergarten Cop

Dirty Dancing

Now they are just sitting in my queue waiting for me to watch.

I've never watched Risky Business, but now I get it. Risky. Now I know why I was allowed to watch Dirty Dancing, but why I never happened to see this one before.

My dilemma has been that I can't separate Tom Cruise from his grown up self. He kind of screams "Jerk" to me, but when he waved good bye to his parents I was profoundly confused. His outfit and his hair - exactly the same as always to me.

So, good night.

Grrr

If it snows

ONE MORE TIME...

I am going to

FLIP OUT!

Good Books Gone Bad

Made my way to the library a week or two ago and I stumbled across a couple books on tape that I've been meaning to read.

First, I listened to Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland. Thanks, Lee, for the recommendation. I finished that one easy.

Then I attempted to listen to The Great Gatsby, but the reader's voice was too low to hear while driving on the freeway to work. So disappointing.

And now I am in the middle of Ender's Shadow - the sequel to Ender's Game. It's about Bean - the smartest kid in battle school. I've enjoyed hearing about his past and how the IF thought of him when he was a child, but I'm most excited to hear how he plays into the future.

A book I love reading every now and then, because it allows you to do so, is One Taste by Ken Wilber. He writes a year's work of memoirs about Integral Spirituality. He has a good sense of humor. Here's a story that made me laugh for days.

"When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, his first words were, 'One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' The next thing he said was, 'Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.' The little-known story behind those words: When Armstrong was a young boy, he overheard a heated argument coming from the neighbor's bedroom window. Mrs. Gorsky screamed at Mr. Gorsky, 'You'll get oral sex when that little boy next door walks on the moon.'"

Love it.

The book sitting underneath One Taste on my night stand is A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. A lovely present from my roommate.

Then there's the book I got about food. It has been a wealth of information, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in what's in what they eat.

And of course those books that I will read for work.

And No, I haven't finished American Psycho.

Are there support groups out there for people like me?

RETIREMENT

There's nothing I enjoy thinking about more than RETIREMENT. What a lovely concept. And thanks to my job and John Hancock, I am learning what it means to save for retirement. The first step is picturing what you want your retirement lifestyle to be. When I imagine my retirement, I think of:

Room Service

No more

Retail Therapy

More Shopping because I want to

Partying with the besties

Me & Mine

[and our estates in

Ballard

Austria

Japan

and possibly

somewhere tropical]

Who doesn't want to be filthy rich when they retire? We will of course have to love our parents, siblings, children and grandchildren & contribute to our communities. So, now is the time to save and plan.

The second step is determining how much you need to contribute each month. This is for real. If I want to live the high life in retirement, I'm going to have to set money aside now. No big deal, right?

Step three calls for more knowledge than I have. One must understand the "risk/return relationship." Investments. Bleh. I guess now is the best time to be doing that, because the economy can only get better over the next 5 years.

So, here's to my future. I welcome you all to join me.

Cooking with Love

It's been a while since I baked something. But as I stood mixing the batter for cupcakes, I felt stress and tension in my shoulders [partly contributed to by this stupid cat named Puma who lives with us]. And then I discovered that I hadn't even added all of the ingredients into the batch.

So, I began again after a nice workout at the gym. But this time I was even more frustrated and sad. On the way home from the gym Travis and I were almost killed by a "sudden stopper" on Broadway. I felt blamed for the situation, but it really frightened me.

Now thoughts of how frustrated I've been all day are popping into my head, and I'm sorry, Allie, that the cupcakes weren't made with an overall feeling of love [although I love you]. But maybe this is a lesson I need to learn.

If everything were a cupcake, would it be filled with my love?

Dark Comedy Favorite

"American Psycho" the movie has inspired me to read the book - a fiction that will be foolproof in broadening both my imagination and articulation.

Does the care Patrick Bateman takes of his body and mind make him insane or is it an attempt at sanity? My question is how can anyone watch this and not find their morning regimine significantly more enjoyable? A blossoming obsession with fashion and professionalism has now been justified. Maybe his love for music by Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis can be paralleled by learning to cook with new ingredients. Ah to be as good a cook as he is a psycho.

Moving away from the dark and heavy theme and onto the comedy, I must share what I consider to be one of the best movie scenes of all time.

relief

today i will be sitting around making entries into my birthday book and taking a relaxing shower until I take a cab down to Machiavelli

with mine truly for a day of wine and love food - yes, i will be ordering the eggplant parmesan. 

But first I want to share something inspiring - water. Please drink 5 pints of water today. I believe that water makes life easier. 

Happy Valentine's Day

now for a drink

Today is Friday the 13th.


I rest my case. Call me when it's over.

tanaka-san

he and i walked through historic sapporo with our friends and then sat in the shade for a rest near the rice paper doors of one of the buildings on display. he told me that when he was a child, he would sit at the rice paper doors of his parents' house and poke holes in them with his finger. his mom would then spend the day patching the holes with sakura-shaped patches. 

it's been two and a half years.

In Need

Since I missed out on all things great about the 90's, I need some advice. 

What I'm looking for is a list of songs that one must have on record in order to know the goings on of your average visit to a karaoke bar. 

Any help is much appreciated. 

okay. i HAD to add this clip of the boy from the dentist's office. Please watch it and laugh as hard as I did. the poor guy. I'm making progress slowly on the appearance of my blog. I'm liking it so far. I was finally able to get through on we heart it but didn't have time to search. 

Today my wildest dreams come true. the boxes are being disposed of. I will have a space to call my own. I am getting some things under control. I am taking the time to get organized. 

I reached my goal of not working in my sleep last night. It was so wonderful. And I'm willing to contribute it all to the haircut that I got. Brianne, you made my hair beautiful. Today it's curly and looks great!

Now my dilemma is Teddy's or no Teddy's. It depends on the boxes. 

the best way

I'm convinced that the best way to go about things is not to ask questions, but to be sneaky and do the creative thinking for men. Organization-wise, they have no imagination whatsoever. 

And I also strongly believe in wearing casual clothes and leaving early when one's boss is out of town. Well, maybe not in any extreme form of either, but something close? At least I'll wear comfy shoes [I dream of flip flops] and leave on time instead of an hour late with no lunch. What can I say, I'm a workaholic. 

So, here are my goodnight wishes to myself. May I dream of nothing at all. 

Missing Out

Things I want to do:

sew

play my keyboard

clean

shop

buy clothes

How do I not have enough room?

Okay. now I remember what I've been thinking lately. I need SPACE! And by that, I mean that I need a space [of my own]. Also, I hate our cat. I don't like being home. 

Work is overwhelming right now. I'm only staying 8 hours tomorrow. I swear!