The entire month of July... and beyond!

I have a good explanation for being late with this journal entry. Let's just say, it's been eventful. Some of the eventfulness stems from our amusingly-childish roommate, Rick, and his low-IQ mind games.
` While 'crazy' roommates have been a staple of my blog content for years, there's also been other things here and there going on, Like Lucas' brother's wedding. Where to start? How about with the first of July -- and a bad picture of me!

July 1, 2010:

There's something about guys with leather pouches for their nutsacks who are really not so tough. Just saying.

There's something even funnier about guys who go to the bar every night, yet claim they don't drink and tell you that you shouldn't drink, either, and then call you for help when their car gets stuck at the bar!

You may recall that last spring, me and my fiance Lucas had finally caught up with rent after being shortchanged thousands of dollars by our worst roommates from December to March.
` You may also recall that after Lucas had succeeded, our roommate Rick was loudly accusing him of spending Rick's rent money on beer instead of giving it to the landlords. Why beer? Because Lucas drinks beer when he watches sports.

That, and because Rick blows his own money on beer and then claims he's not getting paid enough and that gas prices are climbing to the 4-5 dollar range. (When Lucas and I pull into a gas station, Lucas says, "$2.89 -- oh no, it'll be over four dollars any day now!")
` In fact, Rick goes to the local bar every night and thus cannot partake in beer-drinking and sports-watching along with Lucas.
` So, he tells Lucas that he shouldn't drink, either, and that he should instead go to church. Lucas then reminds him that Rick isn't his daddy.

This drama has reached new heights tonight: As Lucas and I were on our way home in Lucas' truck, Rick called from the rear parking lot of a bar up ahead on the road, asking if we had a tow strap.
` We pulled in to see Rick and his car's ass-end sticking up from a ditch! He said someone had 'bumped' him in. Somehow I think that in that tight, crowded parking lot, there's no way anyone could have gone fast enough to knock his car ten feet.
` The tow strap wasn't in Lucas' truck, but we actually went home and found it, so Lucas brought it to Rick. Another guy used his much larger truck to lift his car with the strap, and as Lucas was leaving, the cops (including that one woman cop who's been to our house several times, who we saw on the beach the other day) were driving into the parking lot!
` For a half hour or so, Lucas and I figured that Rick was probably being questioned or arrested or something, when he came back and thanked Lucas for the tow strap.
` I'm thinking he probably won't give Lucas trouble over rent money this month.

Even so, every time we leave the house, we lock up our former bedroom and my office, using the locks we originally bought to keep Brad and Char out last winter. We just don't trust the guy.
` I'll also remind you that the reason that room is our former bedroom is because Rick, Mr. "I don't have sleep apnea" kind of drove us to Stinky Johnny's former room with his deafening snoring. (It was a lot of work de-stinkifying it!)
` However, we have a purpose for the former bedroom -- Lucas is going to move his office into there and then build a sound stage for Hump City, the show he stars in, in its place.


July 2, 2010:

I took the cats to the vet today... one in a cat carrier and the other in Lucas' "Lucas" Brand duffel bag, because evidently our former roommate Stinky Johnny had taken the other one when he had left with his own cat.
` I actually tried to use another box that was the same dimensions as a cardboard cat carrier, but Vada quickly clawed a hole in the side and escaped.
` As terrifying as being shut up in a box may be, the cats were so good at the vet's office, and then I got them a new box carrier, and some Advantage flea killer.
` I told the vet about this weird thing on Violet's mouth, which had appeared to be a tick. Lucas had burnt it with a hot match-head, singing two of Violet's whiskers off, but it took a few days to turn black and drop off. The vet said it may have been a tick, and in the future, to use tweezers to very slowly pull ticks out. Works much better than burning them!
` Then, I took them home, dosed them with Advantage on the front stoop and let them run away from the bad smell.

Later on, this door-to-door guy for this painting company, who appeared to be several years younger than me, asked "Is your mom or dad here?" And I'm 28 now! I just played dumb and Lucas, who was watering the lawn, told him we were renters.


July 4, 2010:

After a good aerobic workout at the gym, Lucas and I walked to the bottom of Japanese Gulch, expecting to find our way back up the hill to our neighborhood.
` We walked along all kinds of giant log bike ramps and paths that had raised sides so you can ride sideways around the curves. I've never seen anything like it!
` On this one hill, I climbed almost straight up a long ways, then managed to climb onto the front of a bike ramp. I turned around and looked down and was like, "How could anyone just ride their bike off of that?"

I didn't take pictures of these bike ramps, though, because it was bizarrely dark and cloudy today, and looked like night-time under the trees. I figured I could get better pictures some other time.
` Our goal was somewhere up the hill on the other side of the train tracks, so that's where we set off for. At least we crossed the train tracks... Lunch Break!

After hours of hiking, the sky was getting dark, but we figured we'd find out way out at any moment. We could hear cars and caught a glimpse of someone's house and even an area practically in someone's backyard where the tree trunks were completely covered in paint ball splatters.
` Unfortunately, the path kept curving away from the houses and we wound up going back to the train tracks again and again. As night approached, we also saw stuff like really old junk having been dumped down a hillside -- decades-old vehicles and mattresses and clothes! Apparently this hill had been a dumping area, and it almost looked as if civilization had fallen victim to a landslide!

At last, we ran out of path and wound up following the train tracks all the way to Boeing. After six hours of hiking, we'd found civilization at last!

And then we found that we were trapped inside! Oh noes! We had to crawl over the fence and then walk along the Boeing Freeway like a couple of hitchhikers in order to reach our neighborhood.
` When we finally were getting close to home, the 4th of July fireworks were already starting! But, we got delayed for about twenty minutes or so when we ran into this guy walking his black lab. We told him that we were exhausted from being lost in Japanese Gulch, and he told us that he's part of a committee to stop it from being developed.
` A very long discussion ensued as I mostly stood around and looked awkward and talked to the dog. I could hear the fireworks and the sky was so dark -- thank goodness for street lights!

We could see the fireworks from the crest of the hill before we even got home, and I snapped a halfway-decent picture by putting my camera on top of a mailbox to steady it. We had planned to go up to Harborview Park to watch them, but we were seriously exhausted and felt it was better to watch what we could from home.
` Rick was there, already watching the fireworks from the deck. I said, "You'll never guess where we were!"
` He quipped, "Was your car stuck in a ditch?"
` As both our cars were visible from the deck, I figured he was just being a jerk.

We watched the fireworks and I tried to take pictures, which is difficult when you're propping your camera on the same deck that people are walking around on. Still, I got some okay ones of both the fireworks and the ferries:

Vada and Violet were watching them as well, but they kept running away when I tried to get near them, so I figured they were ascairt of all the explosions and our interest in them. "No, Mommy, we don't want a closer look!"

We eventually got too tired to watch anymore and went inside. That was when there was a knock at the door. The man on the other side had long, black hair and was doing the Drunk-O Hula -- it was Former Roommate Drunk-O Steve!
` Apparently, he had run into Stinky Johnny, who said that we were still able to keep the house after he'd moved out, so he thought he'd come by on his way home from the fireworks.
` Lucas tried to make clear that Drunk-O was one of the people who, upon moving out, made it possible for us to continue living here. I'm not sure he really understood, being that he was wondering if he could still call Lucas.
` We told him we were just going to bed -- and so we did.
` In so doing, Violet crawled under the covers with me. Then, Lucas came into the room and adjusted his side of the bed. Disturbed by this, Violet hopped down and then tried to get us to let her out of the room.
` Lucas said, "Violet, get in your bed," -- and so she did!
` I was so exhausted, having gotten up at seven in the morning and later working out for an hour, and then spending six or so hours hiking, most of it trying to get home. Still, I didn't get to sleep until about four in the morning.

July 5 -- Vada Down!

July 6, 2010:

I limped my Jetta to school today, and wished I had brought my camera because a deer trotted by, going the other way! I wonder if it's the animal that's been systematically eating our lettuce from left to right?

Tonight, Lucas says, is the happiest he's ever felt! Lou Ryan Productions is heading forward and he has no worries for now. It's so nice outside that he's lit the tiki torches -- one of them caught on fire where it shouldn't be on fire, though he put it out.

Julys 7-10, 2010:

We really did stay up almost all night, although Lucas fell asleep on the old lawn chair chaise with the cats. I kept him company while working on The Corrigendopedia, and long after he'd fallen asleep, finally put out the tiki torches.

Also, Andrew's put the fist down on Lacey again and has kicked her out of the house, and maybe his life, for good. I know this because first thing in the morning I hear him talking about how there's no reason for her to hang out anymore and saying, "I'm not going to reward you for your behavior by driving you somewhere."
` She was like, "Reward me?" And she threw a fit. I took a picture of her down on the deck below my room, looking all pathetic in her pajama pants. She really didn't know what to say, being a meth-head and all, and he closed the door on her. Later on, another one of Andrew's car's tires was flat -- which also happened the last time he told her off.
` I'm seeing a pattern here....

I also got a picture of Violet doing a great impression of Lacey...

I also got some bad pictures of our systematic lettuce-eater... it's the neighbor's cat, whom we call Llama Kitty! (Vada says; "I'm just watching!")

In the next pictures after that one, Lucas chases Llama Kitty by walking very slowly, with Llama Kitty looking over his shoulder. At last, as Violet and Vada watch, Llama Kitty finally goes under the fence.
` He may not be the only one, but we've seen him a couple of times eating our lettuce. There's only one head of Romaine left, all the rest are eaten!


July 11, 2010:

In the Roommate Circus today, Rick was telling me to tell Lucas that Troy was unable to sleep in his bed last night because of a leak coming from the ceiling.
` "Troy's a nice guy," Rick said, "and he pays rent on time. Lucas should really do something about it."
` As if he wouldn't.
` See, this has happened before a couple of times, months ago, and we had no idea where the leak was coming from. Not only that, but it went away, so he couldn't exactly fix a problem that wasn't even there.
` Lucas is investigating the problem as I write....

Later on, this movie-making guy, Vamsee and this other guy, came over and Lucas auditioned for him -- I was the supporting actor for the scene. The character's name was 'Jose', but he apparently can be any ethnicity, as Vamsee doesn't know everything about American culture, and they eventually changed the name to 'Mark'.

Later still, Rick took the time to do a load of laundry that consisted of only one shirt. I am not making this up. He also left the lights on all night. Between that and his running the dishwasher, this probably explains why our energy bill is so high....


July 12, 2010:

This morning before school, Troy saw the spot where his ceiling was leaking -- at the same time, Rick had just taken a shower (above Troy's room) and had flooded the bathroom floor.
` Can ya figure out what coulda happened there?
` Lucas yelled, "Aw, dammit! Rick flooded the bathroom!", then told Troy why his ceiling was leaking while Rick was standing there. After that, Lucas taped up the surround-shower curtains so it couldn't happen again.

All this day, Lucas had been trying to get ahold of Michael Tuckman, the TV station guy, and both his phones gave a disconnection message! Lucas had wondered if he was dead or something, and was just calling Tuckman's office so I could hear the message, and it started ringing instead, and he answered!
` Tuckman assured Lucas that he is not dead and that Lucas is THE MAN, and invited us to a party for his indoor football team at Hooters casino-bowling alley.

Whoo-hoo! I'm so happy that I'll give you a random pretty photo:

That's the end of someone's driveway, just up the street!

Speaking of driveways, the neighbors who use the alley as their driveway are getting it all paved, including the section that was formerly an elevated gravel parking spot! I have pictures of Violet staring at the whole thing!


July 13, 2010:

I swear, Rick is really terrible at looking intelligent. He was talking on his Bluetooth for quite a while, complaining about his son's text messaging seemingly the whole time, then asked Lucas to call his cell phone because he couldn't find it -- and it was in his pocket!
` That was kind of a blow to his ego, and he was eager to find a way to put Lucas down:
` Later on, he was on the front deck and someone handed him a notepad-sized notice about the house being potentially foreclosed. Triumphantly, he returned through the door and came up the stairs, practically bragging about it! Oh, he really got Lucas this time!

Lucas knew this must be some kind of B.S., so he called landlady Roberta and got her to tell Rick, over the phone, that it was a mistake in refinancing the house, it wasn't really in danger of being foreclosed, and it had nothing to do with us.
` Amazingly, Rick believed her!
` Apparently, this mistake was due to someone who seems to have Down's Syndrome, and because the bank really wants this house, they apparently tried to scare us by posting the notice on our door instead of hers.
` I know this because Lucas had a long conversation with her over a bottle of fine wine. I walked over to her house with Violet, in the dark, to check out the fresh pavement in the alley -- nice and smooth, but still hot! -- then Lucas came out of the house and the three of us walked back home, Lucas and I laughing about the whole matter.


July 14, 2010:

Having been defeated yesterday, Rick took it upon himself to look up our legal history at the house. He found record of the "eviction notice for all of us" that Steve the landlord filed specifically in order to help drive out three of our abusive (and squatting) roommates.
` He confronted Lucas with this, touting it as evidence that Lucas was not the best at paying rent. Lucas responded with something like, "You dipshit -- that was for domestic violence, and didn't even have anything to do with me. You would know that if you had read it!"
` Rick didn't bother him again after that.

I also have a bit of Vamsee News today; we received a Performer's Callboard audition email from Vamsee, and Lucas was shocked to find that the role he had just gotten, 'Mark', was listed! I suggested that maybe it was a typo or something.
` After all, Lucas had met with Vamsee again this week and they had discussed the script and its cultural subtleties at length. Lucas had also arranged to bring his track and dolly for use in the movie, and even to perform music as 'Mark'. Heck, they changed the character's name just to suit Lucas!
` Surely, since Lucas had already invested so much into the movie after being accepted as the lead role, this has to be some kind of mistake. Right?
` Lucas has been trying to get ahold of Vamsee, but no news yet.


July 15, 2010:

I swear, for 48 years old, Rick is so like a child, which he demonstrated again today. I suppose I ought to mention that each morning, when his buzzing-flashing TV-blasting alarm goes off, Lucas normally has to bang on Rick's door before he even wakes up. While the other roommates are annoyed by the alarm, they leave this job to Lucas, presumably because he's in charge.
` This is in fact why it's most logical to think that, last month, Rick purposely loosened all the bolts in his bed frame before going to Portland, and purposely didn't tell anyone, and purposely left his alarm on.
` He knew that Lucas would bang on his door as usual, find nobody there, and turn off his alarm, and in so doing, lean across his bed, causing it to collapse!
` With all the B.S. Lucas has been putting up with lately, he didn't bother banging on Rick's door this morning, and the other roommates had to put up with two hours of a huge ruckus while Rick snored on.
` Lucky for Rick, he managed to wake up just in time to hurry off to work. I guess he doesn't really need anyone to wake him up anyway!

In today's Vamsee news, Vamsee finally called and told Lucas that there's no mistake in the audition email -- he wants to recast 'Mark', because he wants a different look for the character.
` I'm sorry, but... what the hell, dude? He had Lucas already working on his movie project, and then, without even telling him, invited other people to take his place! That is so not cool!

And, in a RickWarfare Update, Rick has resorted to leaving the door open when he smokes outside so that the smoke gets into the house and the entire downstairs smells like Menthol.
` Need I say more?


July 17, 2010:

Wow. Just... wow. Stupidity... just... read:
` Off and on today, starting at five in the morning, I've been hearing this high, droning noise that indoors sounds almost like Indian music, but when you open the window, it sounds more like a shop vac.
` I commented on this to Rick when he said he saw a gray whale in the sound early this morning, thinking he might have heard it, too, and he said, "Oh, a weird vacuum cleaner sound is the sound a whale makes. You've never heard a whale before, have you?"

I'm going to pause for comedic effect.

Bwaaa haa haa haaa haaaa!!! Gray whales don't sound like vacuum cleaners!!! Also, Puget Sound is several blocks away, and the only time I ever heard whales was when I put my head underwater -- I couldn't hear them at all above water! Sound is like that, you know?

This afternoon, even though I had massive homework, I was eager to see a meeting between Lucas and Michael Tuckman, so I decided to go to the indoor football party!
` In Lucas' one-window, junky truck, we passed by Ananda (aka 'Nympho'), who is looking for an apparent census dodger, and blew kisses at one another. We went to the gym first, though didn't have time for a full workout, then drove an hour to the Renton Hooters Bowling Alley and Casino.
` Yes, it's real!

For the most part, we were stuck with the rest of the indoor football fans and pep squad to watch choppy, live internet footage of an indoor football match, with a radio broadcast of the announcers being blasted from a speaker right next to my ear.

The football fans, whose team (the Predators) Tuckman had just bought, were talking about him as if he's some awesome, legendary figure, especially because he's going to put their games on TV instead of this internet B.S.
` We were excited because he's getting the TV station back (from the crazy, terminally ill guy) probably on the 23rd, and he's said that Lucas is his his number-one talent and wants to purchase Hump City, the web comedy Lucas is starring in.
` I got tired and went out to sit in Lucas' truck, and called some friends, which I'd been meaning to do. Then my phone went dead. I tried to call back with Lucas' phone, but they didn't pick up, so I called the only other person whose phone number I can remember off the top of my head and we had a proper conversation (compared to the one we'd had this weekend, which was interrupted on their end).

At the end of two hours, Lucas finally called Michael, who said that he was actually in Utah at his cousin's wedding and thought Lucas knew about this and apologized profusely.
` The bad news -- we just wasted four hours, and I had a lot to do today and I haven't finished it and to hell with it. The good news? We learned that Michael Tuckman is apparently larger than life, another good sign of his competence. I think.


July 22, 2010:

Once again, Rick has spilled sugar -- our sugar -- without cleaning it up.

In other news, Lucas' mom, who was on a trip, and, being a math teacher, helped me with my math while on the road, and later in a hotel. I'm going to ace the test, I just know it!

OMG!! Someone else who knocked on the door -- a college student apparently much younger than me -- asked me if my parents were home! Seriously!
` She was asking about some educational program and was looking for households with kids. I told her that I didn't have any kids. Ha!

Must be the acne.


July 23, 2010:

I almost aced the test! Okay, so I really screwed up on the first problem, which was really easy, but I guess I'll live....

Too bad I didn't take the camera for this one. Out in the hot sun, amid the sounds of beach-goers and bagpipes, Lucas has been trimming the secret pathway in the hedges for the neighbors. I was out there admiring his handiwork when Vada plopped down in the middle of the path.
` Little did she know, that iridescent green hummingbird she keeps trying to pounce on was sitting in the tree behind her, plotting an attack! He launched himself, and very slowly swooped lower and lower behind Vada's head!
` Lucas and I were standing about ten feet in front of Vada, laughing our asses off and gesticulating at her, but apparently not understanding, she just gave us her Cross-Eyed Teddy Bear Look of Confusion.
` After much darting about, the hummingbird was apparently frustrated that he couldn't even get a reaction out of her, and he flew off through the bushes.
` I swear, that cat is so blind! Lucas said that the other day, she was standing on the railing next to him, hissing about 20 degrees to the left of Mr. Yoboshi, who she couldn't see through the male kiwi plant. Lucas said that Mr. Yoboshi looked at him as if to say "Why?"


July 24, 2010:

Lucas has finished the Hump City set (a fake bedroom) just in time for his mom, Charlene, to arrive and use it! (And for Violet to go through one side of the window and out the other!)

Charlene, by the way, is pronounced with a 'Ch' instead of a 'Sh'. Rick was very taken aback at how much younger she seemed than him, and how much more cooler she is than him.
` After him saying, "I knew a Sharlene once," and Lucas replying, "That's very similar to Charlene," he kept a low profile.
` Especially after she was candidly talking about marijuana or something with Lucas. Rick's face got so red!

She's actually here because we're going to Lucas' brother Boone's wedding this Saturday and she's visiting everyone in the area. We were actually expecting her tomorrow morning, but she made it tonight! With some wine! Much conversation has ensued, too much to keep track of!


July 25, 2010:

Lucas, his mom and I walked down the even more-trimmed trail for lunch at the Diamond Knot pizza house (which is right near the Diamond Knot Brewery). Do we ever stop talking? Violet followed until we got to the street, then she meowed piteously. I told her to wait for us.
` A couple hours later, when we were walking back from eating both lunch and dessert (berry-peach calzone!), I chirruped for Violet, and she emerged from the undergrowth! Then she cowered down when a terrifying jogger passed by. Wow! She endured all those scary strangers just to wait for us! What a loyal cat!

Later -- too much later -- we pulled into the parking lot of this Greek restaurant, but as it had closed, the Greek guy turned off the OPEN sign -- and then shooed us away like we were raccoons or something!
` We wound up having salads from Pizza Hut. They were actually pretty good! While we were waiting, I was observing a family, apparently from Eastern Europe or something, talking in both English and a language I didn't recognize.
` On the TV at Pizza Hut, there was this boy who had killed his abusive dad when he was 12. Charlene was like, "Why would they blame a 12 year old kid? They don't normally do things like that unless something in their life is messed up." And thus, spurred some interesting conversation about parenting and how children are influenced by their parents.


July 26, 2010:

Tonight, Lucas cooked dinner -- shrimp that Charlene peeled, with salad that I picked from the garden, and yummy rice and asparagus that was so amazing that even Charlene thought it was good!
` The conversation was in an eating-lull when Rick came up the stairs, saying, "Lucas! I have a cramp! Help me!" I swear he's the most dependent 48-year old I have ever met, at least in my adult life. And yes, Lucas did help him!


July 29, 2010:

It's been pretty busy these past few days. Charlene has taken Lucas and me to Value Village, and bought us clothings and also a big desk and a little coffee table that I can use as a chair! It's awesome, and it fits perfectly in the space in my office where I moved my electric piano from earlier this month!
` We actually went in Charlene's little Miata convertible, which the cats thought smelled like Charlene's road trip, I expect, and Lucas brought his truck down to move the furniture -- although not before helping this one girl tie mattresses to the top of her car.
` She could speak Spanish, so he was speaking what Spanish he could to her and her family, which they thought was really cool -- plus it shut their kid up, who was being annoying, as most Spanish-speaking kids are shocked when some gringo speaks Spanish to them!
` My piano, by the way, is now in our bedroom, which is the quietest room in the house. I haven't played it yet, but I'm definitely going to pretty soon.

Charlene's also gone shopping with her granddaughter Jessica and gave her some driving lessons. (Not in her Miata, though!)
` Meanwhile, the RickGames have been mostly re-runs, although he's onto something new. For a while, he seemed to enjoy bemoaning his warehouse getting shut down and the fact that he's soon to be jobless, but now he's talking about how he's got everything covered because he's getting these shipping-damaged plasma screen TVs for free and is planning to sell them.

Oh yeah, and we've been eating fancy food a lot.

Tonight we went to Ivar's down on the waterfront -- the outside is the fast-food chain whereas the inside is the original Ivar's, which is super-fancy gourmet seafood! I had the pledar-canked slammon with nazelhuts and backblerry ketchup -- see if you can find that on the menu below, only spelled right!

Lucas and Charlene had to wear bibs for their food, although I didn't get any pictures -- I did get pictures of the ferries loading and unloading outside the window. At the end, chocolate mousse. We couldn't even quite finish it.

As we were leaving, we ran into Mary-Anne from the Co-Op and Barry from Safeway -- ironic that two people working in the food store business would be there together! They looked rather dazed and confused to run into us.


July 31, 2010:

Boone's wedding is today, and Lucas' mom has gone for now.

Rick's at it again, this time with the new TVs he's bringing home. You see, Lucas has found some buyers for Rick's TVs, one of whom will even fix the TV so Rick doesn't have to bother, but Rick doesn't want to sell them.
` Why? Because the buyers only want to spend $500-600, and the TVs are actually worth twice as much.
` But if he's been getting them for free, and can sell a whole bunch of them, that's still a lot of money, right?
` So now Rick claims that he hasn't been getting them for free, as he's repeatedly told me, Lucas and Charlene. Instead, he's been paying for them on his credit card.
` If he's using a credit card, then why has he asked Lucas for gas money in the past few days? You'd think he'd use his credit card if he didn't have cash, right?

Okay, so, which thing is he lying about? Sometimes, it's really hard to tell!

Another thing I can't figure out; Rick says he's talking to the governor or whoever and is trying to get a bill passed. Let's see if you can figure this one out:
` Rick has gotten at least one DUI, says he doesn't drink, and apparently spends a lot of money at the bar.
` This bill is about making it illegal for people who have had DUI/DWIs to purchase or even possess alcohol.
` In other words, he wants to make what he's doing illegal. That's about the most hypocritical thing I've heard in a while!

Well, time to go to the wedding!

It's a 2-hour drive -- you can almost smell the Tacoma Aroma!

It was only after the Tacoma Narrows bridge (and onto southern Whidbey Island) that Lucas finally had to pee so bad that he got me to drain the rest of the giant lemonade bottle for this purpose.
` Yes, I was indeed thinking of pulling the ol' 'lemonade trick' on someone, but... eh... I didn't.

The wedding was at this Irish musical group place called Magic Hill. It's by this field where we saw this steer and a calf.

There were a lot of people camped out, including Lucas and Boone's other brother, Noah, and Boone's daughter Jessica, who was taking pictures with Boone's very nice camera.
` She was also wearing the boots that Charlene had bought her the other day -- and Charlene was wearing hers, too. They lit the candles together, also -- here they are hoping they stay lit!

There's Boone (actually called Fletcher by everyone else there) and Erin, in the process of being married. (I admit I didn't get the best pictures!)

After that, the Irish band struck up and many of us walked to the other side of Magic Hill to see the water -- which was straight down below the trees! I have pictures of all that on my Flickr account.
` If you think the above picture was bad, check out this one I took at the reception at Child's House Bed&Breakfast -- Lucas, Noah, Boone, their mom, and Jessica!

Classic! And it wasn't even my fault! By the way, Charlene also bought these really cool M&Ms for the wedding!

In the scale of things, that's a rather good photo of Boone and Erin... Here's another really bad picture of Charlene, who was just explaining to us that every time she wears black pants, something white gets on them!

Now, LOOK BEHIND HER... that white-haired guy. That's Jeff, Lucas' dad. He's really a jerk, and that's why he's been relegated to the sidelines. In fact, this is my only picture of him, and I'm showing it because I can't figure out who Lucas looks more like -- his mom or his dad?
` In fact, this photo was taken just after I was introduced to him, and he teased me for having two first names. I countered with saying, "I had an ancestor once who was named Hazel Hazel." He was like, "Well that's not very creative." I said, "Actually, she married into the family and changed her name to Regina."
` I know that 'cause one time I looked at the Hazel Family Bible, which has the family tree in it over many generations. After that, Lucas told me that his own family had a joke that goes, "Never trust a guy with two names." So, in other words, that was more of an insult than anything!

After dinner, and much family commotion, Lucas and I walked back toward Magic Hill, where the truck was parked. We saw Mount Rainier on the way....

I got a couple more pictures of the cattle, who were right up next to the fence, then Lucas managed to get the truck turned around and we started our long trip out of there. Although, first we stopped at Dairy Queen.
` By the time we got home, Vada and Violet were waiting for us and were so happy! Violet was all licking me, and I got a picture of that as well.


August 1, 2010:

More business as usual, enjoying time with Charlene, talking about everything from science to old times that I was not even a part of.

Oddly, the sunlight today is really red, and at 1p.m. the sun shining through the windows looks like it's from a sunset!
` Later on, I took pictures of the sun and sunlight at about 3p.m. and you can see there's a lot of pollution in front of it.
` Later yet, I took another picture of the sun as it set, and it was really red, and in fact, it looked like... like... Hurry, Gelfling! The Great Conjunction is upon us!

A little later on, Lucas found Rick's lunch containers in the dishwasher after he had already washed them today. Rick said, "Leave them in there! I like my dishes to be sterilized."
` Lucas reminded him that the last time he put them in the dishwasher, they came out still full of macaroni-and-cheese remnants, partly because he stacks them one inside the other, and partly because the dishwasher is from 1968.
` Rick responded with, "Don't touch my stuff! Please, just don't touch my stuff!"
` Charlene was in the living room with me, mouthing words that looked like, "You should get rid of this guy! All he wants to do is pick fights!"


August 2, 2010:

It's been another Red Sun Day -- I wonder if there's some sort of smog alert I haven't heard about? After Lucas' mom helped me with more math, and left for the rest of her trip, it was time for the 'Rick Alden of Skullcandy is Calling' meeting!
` As you may recall, Roommate Rick knows the guy and has tried to get Rick Alden to do a business venture with cross-advertising and funding the projects Lucas is involved with. He didn't even look into it at all, presumably because Roommate Rick is... well, himself.
` He didn't really know anything about it until Lucas emailed him later, explaining that because Roommate Rick tried to help him out so much that he is now obligated to help him out when his car is in a ditch behind a bar! Well, that, and his actual projects, in some detail.

Who was there? Three men, namely Mark A Johnston -- he's this crazy guy, and he does a great Jack Sparrow a la Johnny Depp impersonation -- as well as Director Andrew Hu, who wrote The Boob script, as well as Director Mike of Hump City (who brought our camera dolly and tracks back), and they crowded around excitedly in anticipation of the call.

Mark actually came over more for possibly buying the wine Lucas' mom had brought and meeting the other guys. The other guys came over in hopes that they'd get to talk to Rick Alden.
` For an hour, Lucas talked to him, and found that Alden has his proposals firmly in the 'no' category, but he is intrigued enough to actually follow up and do some research. Lucas tried to get him to talk to Mike and Andrew, who could better answer his business questions, being that they're actually doing this while Lucas is just an actor.
` Alden set up another appointment to call next week, and said that this time he'll talk to the other guys. Oh well, progress is progress. The guys went home.

We've noticed lately that Roommate Rick has been really subdued. Has Rick Alden been talking to him, too?
` Seriously -- the worst thing he's done today is pour out the last of the dish soap because he wants to use the dishwasher and not the sink for washing dishes!
` Luckily, Troy was a dear (as usual) and bought us some more cheap dishwashing liquid. This time it's a pretty green color!


August 3, 2010:

I swear, it's starting to look like Mars, what with the red sun and pink sky! I've found myself alone in the house, oddly: Lucas and friends have been called off to a Mariners' Game by Mark the Jack Sparrow, a.k.a. Mark the Scoreboard Operator.
` They didn't realize that they were walking past Mark's office at one point, otherwise Mark would have let them in. He did, however, put on the scoreboard, "Lucas, McCagney, Meg, and Nate RULE!"

I've actually seen Rick with a couple TVs, which he is indeed fixing himself. Maybe that's something he really can do? One thing he apparently can't do is dishes.
` Indeed, he says, "I don't do dishes." And, in another attempt to prevent us from being able to use the sink and thus be forced to use the dishwasher, he put spaghetti noodles down the garbage disposal, which he damn well knows has been broken since June.
` So now, there's a huge pile of dishes and we have to undo another clog!

You know, thinking back to June, when the garbage disposal first broke down, and Rick's gladness over it, and insistence that we could never get it working again, I wonder if he had anything to do with it?

After I finished all my math for tomorrow's test, he was all bragging to me about the anti-drinking bill he's passing with the governor, who he's meeting with tomorrow.
` He asked me if I'd heard about it. I said, "No," and he said, "I told Lucas about it, he got really pissed." Basically, I played dumb, but asked smart questions, such as, "How can you make sure that people with DUIs are not drinking alcohol?"
` His reply was that possession of alcohol was a $20,000 fine. And that was it! You pay if you get caught! So, as long as you don't call the police on yourself, you won't have to pay!
` Genius plan!


August 4, 2010:

Lucas finally got home this morning from the after-Mariner's party, at 8:20. His friends had convinced him to drink, so he spent the night mostly not sleeping. Amazingly, he managed to drive me to school in his falling-apart truck -- we're fixing my car really soon, and his truck! -- and slept most of the time I was in class.
` I think I did pretty well on the test, by the way!
` (Actually, Jose the ESL student from last quarter was leaving just as Lucas was arriving. He said he'd fallen asleep in class, so he's going home now.)

Poor Lucas! He still has a hangover from smoking a cigar. It was so strong he couldn't even finish it! No, really, it was a real Cuban cigar. While we were watering things in the backyard, he told me that you don't inhale cigars, or even get the smoke in the back of your mouth, you just taste them and get high. Cool!
` Hey, lookee, I just made a pretty rainbow!

There's not much blogspace for pictures, but all of them from July and August (so far) are up on my Flickr account, including other weird sunsets and of course, all manner of flowers, roughhousing with Vada and Violet, the other neighbor cat Mr. Yoboshi, and even one of those pesky hummingbirds!
` That's all for now!