John's Updates

7.1 From FBLA Nationals to Wenatchee
So on the first week of Janel's break, she flew out to Atlanta for a National competition. One of her Future Business Leader of America (FBLA) students not only made it to Nationals, but came home winning 10th place in his event! As she was gone, her dad and brother were on a fishing trip in Alaska. So, when she arrived back, he arrived back the next day - she picked him up and drove to Wenatchee so she could attend one of her masters courses. She had this 5 hour class again on Wednesday the 16th - in which she came back in time to take care of Sabrina and then one more time on the 29th along with a dental appointment.
7.2 Tim Visits
With my new contract job being official, I was having a much lighter week. A part of me was a little bummed about the full-time role I was offered but fell through (on their end budget issues) in the offering stage, but this role still seems rather good too. WSU buddy Tim came out, arriving a little after Janel left for Wenatchee, crashed for the night and hung out playing games, talking, and we ate some hefty meals - including the Chinese buffet next to Northgate mall.
7.3 - 7.5 Wenatchee 4th
On Thursday evening Kristen drove Summer and I to Wenatchee (Adam was joining us on Friday, Janel was already there helping her dad with the water pump and an issue that came up with his work hand). Rocking out to TV Theme song trivia and 80's tunes on the Zune - we arrived in no time - but terrified Summer. Our parents had arrived earlier that afternoon and they had all just finished dinner. Friday started off with volleyball/badminton net and horseshoe pit setup, and people trickled in and out. Uncle Tom & Diane and Jerry came too! Adam arrived with our cousin Rachel who recently graduated from High School in Coupeville. This year held a lot more aerials than expected. Jason actually was out less this time, watching Sabrina a bit more inside. Jake and Lonni who recently moved to Wenatchee, came out to the event as well. Later in the night, Scott and Stacy stopped by (Scott had just proposed the night before). My parents left the next morning for a trip to San Francisco for the week. Tom & Jerry came back in the morning for breakfast before leaving, and we went over to visit Janel's grandmother before leaving that Saturday.
On Sunday morning we met up with Aunt Gina, Rex, Brandon, Melanie and Tyler along with the siblings and Violet for a breakfast at iHop in Redmond. Melanie had arrived in town for the week, and we all ended up roaming around Pike Place that afternoon before they parted to Spokane. We had also pickec up the wii fit game earlier that day.
7.7 New Contract at Microsoft
I began my new role as Marketing Manager for the NSI Group with the benefit of having a trainer for two weeks! For Ryan's going away party (on the 23rd) we had lunch at Maggiano's and went over to another contractor's (Jon's) house for leftovers...Ryan had to ride Jon's special Lotus (only 6 in the US), which eventually instead of poker, evolved into the card game Poop on your neighbor. The job placed me back in Lincoln Square, Bellevue, three floors below my last gig. For a few days I was reconnecting with people I worked with. Most of my team is not located in the area, so I work on the phone a lot more...which might shift my commute time to be a whole lot easier.
7.11 Dinner with the Smiths & LeMieuxs
On Friday we visited with Jason and Caroline who took me out to Claim Jumpers for my birthday meal, they had generaously surprised me with a wii carier and a home-depot gift card. The next day we stopped in to see how well Adam and Summer were doing at XSV. They volunteered to help Uncle Mike out by working in the store while they took a wekend off. Jason, Caroline and Sabrina cmae by to try some wine too, and we met up with Summers parents and some of her extended family and friends. On Sunday afternoon we got a glimpse of where Adam and Summer might live and we picked up an ice cream cake. night, Gina & Rex came through with Melanie and Tyler and we all had an elaborate rib dinner and Tyler and I shared candle birthday cake duty. Some highlights had to be when Tyler was shouting random things out, and said loudly that I had a snake in my pants, or when everyone was singing the birthday song and Kristen said Adam instead of ahem...
7.14 Birthday Dinner
Monday night after work my parents came back from their trip and we all went to the Olive Garden for my birthday dinner. We came home and they spoiled me rotten with gifts - Zune cradle and cords for plugging into stereo, rechargable batteries and charger for Wii controllers, a ladder for the new house and a shower radio bug. Later on when we met up with Duane and Susie whom also spoiled me with the third season of the Muppet Show DVD.
7.16 Amend
7.17 Sibling Night
The first July sibling night Kristen Vi were not able to attend, and we all dined on Pizza. On the 24th we consumed some Taco Soup and played a card game. On the 31st we all went to the China Buffet (Tim and I had checked out earlier). No movies or new TV shows were aired during those evening get-togethers.
7.18 Dark Knight 7.25 X-Files
This month I also went to the movies. The Dark Knight was great, the line was crazy, but I had pre-purchased tickets. I liked it far better than the first one a few years back - and please yoi can't compare Jokers. Its like comparing 90's vs 60's version, waste of time. The X-Files wasn't as expected, but was great to know what happens with the two characters - it did step it up in ways the told the story, but what has been unacceptable in TV, is normal on big screen, and the science wasn't all that fleshed out (no pun intended) in this as it could have been. The mummy 3 looks tempting...but I think I may hold that off for a rental.
7.19 Dorthea turns 103
We traveled up to Oak Harbor to visit and celebrate Dortheas birthday, visiting with Dave, Karen and Tucker too. That Sunday, in honor of Janel's mother, we went out for a big mac (a first for all of us).
7.26 - 7.27 Beer Reunion
We carpooled with Jason, Caroline and Sabrina Saturday morning and hung out with family through midnight, and back fro breakfast the next day. This year, it was actually cooler outsside at the fairground than it was inside! We visited with Janel's grandma before heading abck home.
Week of the Blur
Then Monday Janel and I did a final walk through, signed an encyclopedia of papers, and got the keys to our first home that friday. My parents were in town and unfortuantly we were unable to get the keys in time to just meet there and give them the tour. Summer reluctantly missed out as she had a camping trip she was a part of. They had stopped by it anyway on their way up (during the blue angels show) and looked at it from the outside. Meeting up with Adam, Kristen and Violet, we all ate at Red Robin for dinner - and my parents gave us beautifully hand knitted placemats for our anniversary (and a little extra). They had just spent the week at the Long Beach Condo, and headed out shortly after dinner. Everyone else stuck around to play the card game Poop on Your Neighbor, and then we spent another two hours dancing and shouting oldies song lyrics (yes Vi did too).

And that takes you through brief look at July!

John's Letter

Hello everbody, One month down, and here we go for some more!

2.1 The Big News at Dataworks
Caroline and Jason have a new batch a pictures, and this time 100% verification that it is in fact a girl!

Sarah at the GalleryOK
On Thursday night, Janel & I went on the waterfront in Seattle to view some of te collaborative artwork (and quickly catch up with) Sarah. We grabbed some Taco Bell and made it back in time for sibling night too.

2.3 - 2.4 Exploring Greenwood
Janel & I broke up two walks and explored stores in our area over the weekend. Eating at a Chinese and Mediteranean restraunts for lunch. Janel exploded in creativity and dove into many babyshower ideas for Caroline, and I was consumed in a book.

2.7 Pat Visits
Though we had just seen him days ago, Pat really wanted to hang out with us again, so he came over for dinner and a viewing of Jackass 2.

---

2.14 Valentine's Day
Janel & I had a light exchange of gifts (she is not particularly a fan of the holiday). Kristen was sick, and then Janal & I sat with Jake & Kyle (Jake read to us just before bedtime) as Barb was taken into the hospital for a cut. Fortunately, instead of stiches, they used a type of glue.


That about covers this month, so until next time!

John's Letter

Hello & Happy New Year! May some of your greatest days await you all! For those first time letter readers, please note that I have included prior letters from an old obsolete blog into this one (refer to the Letters label), and I have decided to write one post per month with updates made upon occurances to the original post. With that, here we go...

1.1 Day One of '07
We were slugs. Barely moved all day...totally relaxed without using any effort to do so. Constructive Day zero, Unconstructive Day 1. I hope everyone was able to have a brief silence, or moment to refresh themselves like we did for the new year.

1.5 & 1.6 Dan & Pat
Friday night Dan came by for a quick visit and absorbed the UHF flick before heading on out. On Saturday Pat came by for dinner and football game viewing. He left to meet up with some friends at a bar, and heard from everybody about being single and heading out to do stuff after 10pm...that was rather funny.

1.8 Mom's Conference
On Monday - Wednesday my Mom stayed with us as she attended a conference nearby. The first night Janel had class, but Kristen, Vi, Adam, Summer, and Adam's friend came on over for some tasty pizza...and we chatted late into the night. On Tuesday we had a pot-luck like Spaghetti night over at Kristen & Vi's, and the meal was delicious, from our pick-your-own salad and the homemade garlic bread (the spaghetti was tasty too). Wednesday morning my mom went in a little bit later and so we hung out a little while in the morning, and fortunately her drive home in the afternoon was not too bad.

1.9 Mark & Fabiola
Gave birth to Noah Sebastian today at 3:01AM! Congratulations to them both.

1.10 Another Storm
So, around 4pm I zipped over to a post office in Bellevue to pick up some mail and bring it back to Newcastle for Jason. As I left Bellevue small snow pellets began to hammer down. Nothing serious, and it let up on my way to New Castle. Once there I also made a quick stop to City Hall and the staff was freaking out saying things like, "if you live north from here, leave now," and "there are accidents happening all over the place!" A bit over exaggerated I think. None-the-less, when I hit the road I got stuck on a 2-4 mile stretch, for over two hours. My cell phone worked once out of ten attempts, and I did make a quick stop for gas. When I reached I-90, after about two exits...it was fine! I mean, we weren't going the speed limit, but 10-20 under was not bad! It took me one hour. That was all. But that one stretch of road freaking killed me. waiting to get to I-90.

1.12 & 1.13 Friends Coming to Visit
On the weekend a few guys came over to hang out and catch up. Jon (and his cousin Joey) arrived, followed by Tim, Scott and Adam came up for some good ol Red Mill burgers. We talked for a while, played some games for a while, and watched Jackass extras. Tim & Scott stayed up talking till 5 but I was out at 3-ish. Saturday morning was a bit slower, and originally Tim & Scott wanted to go go-carting up at Mukilteo, but the snow started up again, and everyone decided to play it safe, so we ate a light lunch over at Wing Dome. Soon after they left, Janel & I went to Dataworks Conculting's Christmas party celebrated over at Jacks, the food was tasty and the company entertaining.

1.14 Game Day
Uncle Jerry called and told us that he was feeling sickly and did not come over, but Scott & Stacy, Adam & Summer came by and we shared some snack foods...despite the Seahawks loss. Pat called every-so-often throughout the game too. Scott and Stacy hung out and played Phase 10 and Uno Attack, and shared a relaxing afternoon (complete with a stroll up to Divas).

1.20 & 1.21 Wenatchee Trip
Over the weekend we traveled out to Wenatchee to visit the family (and also check out the storm damage). We visited with her granmother, who seems to be doing well, and still loves chocolate. We visited her aunt and uncle for some polish dogs and egg nog, and had dinner with her grandfather and Oryan. We also met up with her fascinating neighbors the Gills for a little while too. Susie has surgery to remove her thyroid (apparantly the "best" place to have cancer) this wednesday, and our thoughts will be with them for a smooth recovery.

1.26 & 1.27 Parents & Wine
On Friday my parents came up, and after deciding not to sleep on Adam & Summer's futon, stayed up at our place. My mom headed out with Kristen, Vi & Karen for dinner and a play, while my dad hung out with us for a pleasant evening. The next morning, after my mom's coffee cake breakfast, we traveled up to see my Uncle Mike and Sharla to help bottle over 230 cases of cabernet. That was rather cool, and filled the day. Over 20 people came to help including my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Therese (and Tim). Janel & I were going to go to a housewarming party, but opted out by the time we actually left. Sunday Janel and I took a walk, shopped for food, and visited with Barb & Neil...a relaxing unwind to the final moments of the weekend.

Other
Janel started another Monday 5-10pm class again. However, this time they really are planning to come very close to the full time allotted because they miss a few monday classes, she is also had a Tuesday class, but it seems as if that will meet only one more time with one optional class for people to see if they are on track.

I hope that this was enjoyable to view this month, and I always welcome hearing everyone else's updates too! Until next month, take it easy!

John's Letter

(unfinished) Hello everybody!

Once again (this is like a New Year's resolution) I have decided to try and maintain some sort of open letter for friends and family to read about current news and such (especially for those whom I haven't talked to). So, we shall see just how frequent these actually are, and we will take it from there. Click on the hyperlinked (X) to view postings with pictures or just click on the tag for Pictures to see all of the pictures in this blog. Also, when you scroll down, in the last box on the right side of the screen, there are two new features. One allows you to have a pull down menu for viewing other labels (like News, etc) and just underneath that is a chat box. So, if I am online, you can chat with me at anytime you want (without having to set up a chat account). So, try that out! I am not going to save letters as drafts, so I will publish them each time I write. That being said, I will indicate at the top (unfinished) if it is a work in progress.

12.7 Mom Visits & Socks
My mom came to visit all of us and partake in a shopping trip with Kristen, but we all had a filling dinner, and a pleasant evening together, and met up for a tasty breakfast that Saturday before she left. For over a month, Janel and I had been having trouble finding Christmas stockings to hang. We didn't really like anything we saw. At one point as we talked about it, we realized it was because we grew up with homemade knitted ones. That's when we thought, heck, we will just get some cheap-o ones for this year, and ask my mom if she could knit some. By the 18th, we already got them...and they look great! She even made some for Kristen, Adam & Summer too!

12.10 Tree Hunting (X)
This month, despite the fact Janel & I put up a fake tree, we traveled out with Adam, Summer, Kristen, Vi, and the neighbors Barb, Neil, Jake & Kyle to pick up Christmas trees. Setting out in boys/girls cars equipped with walkie-talkies, we were good to go. Upon arrival we picked up some regular kettle corn (yummy) and some with cheddar cheese (not so yummy) and headed out into the thick of trees. Barb & Neil found their tree first, and then Kristen and Vi found theirs. Adam held back some branches for me to cut, but some pushed against the side of my head (which I thought was not a big deal), and there was also another tree stump I negotiated around leaning in rather rough. Well, in the end, the trees needles were so sharp they made some cuts on my ear and face that drew blood! Who knew! Later when Kristen put the lights on, her hands were swollen...they have a super super mean tree this year. The place ties down your tree, and we headed over for free packages of cider and cocoa, and looked at some geese nearby. We left at a good time, it started raining pretty hard. Later that evening (minus Adam and Summer) we had a very pleasant dinner with Barb & Neil. (they already had their tree up and decorated!).

12.12 Bellevue Lights
One Tuesday the siblings (including Summer and Vi) whisked up to Bellevue to check out the Christmas lights at a garden. The place was glowing in amazing lighting feats. There was a little pond with animals and plants (made of lights), various flowers and creatures...including a frog!

12.14 Storm & Power Outages
We knew it would be windy Unfinished portion.

12.16 Christmas with the Smiths
Janel & I agreed this year that we would get each other a new couch. After a charity group turned down our old one, we placed it onto Craig's List for $50. Two people were interested, the first came, liked it and took it on away. College students, so it will continue having an exciting life. Janel's Aunt had given me a horseshoe set...and that should be a lot of fun. On Saturday we celebrated Christmas with Duane, Susie, Jason & Caroline. Duane & Susie were headed for Boston on Sunday. We stopped and toured items that Central Market had to offer...and later feasted on twice baked potatoes, and steaks! Janel and I received a Food Saver and a runner for the hallway! Most excellent! Janel was twice has happy being that her dog De-o-gee was brought over to stay with us for two weeks. She has adapted to the city increadibly well. She is fine on a leash and is quite comfortatble outside (perhapse its because Janel is around). As for Hook, well, he hid from her the first day...figured out that he is safe in the office, kitchen and dinning areas (places where De-o-gee doesn't like walking on slick flooring on her bad hips) and by day four, actually touched noses. De-o-gee had been taught to bark and chase cats, so under supervision, she has been very good.

12.17 Polly & Jerry
Janel's Aunt and uncle came through Sunday night for a Spaghetti dinner, and played multiple rounds of Uno Attack till bedtime. They had an early morning flight to Vegas for the week. They came back at 5am Saturday because there was a traction advisory on the pass, and they had been up late. So, they slept a bit, and successfully made it over in the afternoon.

12.20 Candy Cane Lane
Kristen joined us as we took De-o-gee to Candy Cane Lane to check out that little neighborhood of houses festive decorations for the holidays. They were pretty good (although the lights in Bellevue may have bumped our expectations), and the old neighborhood homes and narrow sidewalks were cool to check out as well.

12.22 Thursd-acation
We tried some of Kristen's pumpkin soup (I liked it, Janel not as much), and then Dan came by for a visit. Adam and Summer came up and we chowed on Pub Mix, wine and plenty of rounds of Uno Attack. In the morning, Dan joined us for a huge breakfast at a little place called Beth's down the road from us. Extremely filling food, truck stop-like theme.

12.23-12.26 Christmas with the LeMieux's in Oak Harbor
We were spoiled once again this year! Aside from the tasty food, family bonding, and gifts, we also played board games and saw the movie Night at the Museum in theaters. We had an excellent time, and it went quickly too!

12.28 Nutcracker & Pat
On Thursday night, Janel, Summer, Kristen and Jen went out to see the Nutcracker, and my WSU buddy (whom has been the PM Drive News Producer for Newsradio 710 KIRO) Pat visited with me. We ate at Red Mill, and finally (after months of him having to wait) watched V for Vendetta.

12.30 Dead Sea Scrolls
My parents stayed the night this weekend and left New Years Eve, after a nice evening trip to the Seattle Science Center to check out the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, which was very cool to see. We also celebrated a quick Christmas gift exchange with my Aunt the next morning.

12.31 Happy New Year!
For the Eve celebration, Janel and I joined our friends Jason & Kiera Jamerson at the Residence Inn (Fairview Ave, Seattle Room 712) to party out the year and watch the Space Needle spectacularly explode us into the New Year. Once we arrived home, we visited with Adam & Summer who were up celebrating with a friend, and then we turned in. Happy New Year everbody reading this, we hope that this year brings you only the best.

Other Updates
The first Monday of December marked Janel's last day for her college class this quarter, and she emailed her final in! Winter break started this Wednesday!

...and that wraps up this edition!

Proposal Letter - Part 9 (Final)

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

--Family arrives
--Lunch at 12:30
--Something with Jason & Caroline

Checkout was noon sunday

Janel got her newly resized ring placed on her finger on 10/12.

Proposal - Room Pictures

Pictures taken before the Proposal.

Proposal Letter - Part 8

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

When I woke up I slipped th envelope to Janel on her way out the door...she glanced at it and recognized the pattern before she left. I started a load of laundry, tidied up the kitchen and living room, grabbed all the trash and recycling, put away some dishes, and started initial packing. At one point I knocked over a potted plant and it hit the faucet. water spouted at the back end, and I weaked around a bit to make it stop, and it works back to normal again. However, it was at that moment that I realized I could incorporate a dolphin into the picture after all. I grabbed the water toys Kristen ahd previously given us, and packed them up. By 7am I checked my email to print off this journal and Jason & Caroline's flight information...and there was a message from Janel that said, "Grrr You know I don't like this one bit. Where are we going?" Sigh, that's too bad, I thought that it might make her a little excited...not annoy her...oh well at least the secret has been somewhat safe till today. So, that morning after I finished cleaning the bathroom, I packed up the car with my stuff for the day. I picked up some cash, and went to Safeway where I grabbed a few candy snacks and fruit. The chocolate dip I wanted was not there...they had the cream cheese version, but not the chocolate. But I knew Fred Meyers had that anyway. I grabbed a variety of roses and headed over to Lindberg High School. I parked in the neighborhood across the road from the school and walked up to a maintence guy out in the baseball diamond. I wanted to know the quickest route to the main office so I could get in and out. When I got to the office the secretary cut me off before I could say whom the flowers were for and asked if I was bringing them in for a student! Ha! I wrote a short note just in case the first clue wasn't enough....somthing along the lines of "This is not a surprise, you know what this is, Relax, enjoy every moment of it." I wasn't particularly sure if Janel would really really go along with things since the previous track record of unwanted surprises went...from there I went up to the Outlet Mall to grab the purple fleece Janel liked and dog shorts too. I went over to Aunt Vi's to borrow a cd player, and then called and asked if they could change my check-in time to 1 instead of 3. I unloaded everything into the room, and paid for parking. I also drove down to see where the restaraunt was located. On the I-5 trip home I called Janel. She sounded pleasantly happy, and even asked what her next set of directions were to be. Whew, that was a relief. The reception wasn't too good, and I said just to meet back at the apartment. When I arrived, I ddin't see her car there, and I picked up the mail. By the time I parked she was standing in the parking lot to greet me. She packed (I checked my email and saw that Janel had written back, presumably after the sent flowers, a one line email that said, "I love you!"), and we headed to Costco for gas, and then the Hotel. Her Aunt called and they spoke quickly.

I gave her a room key, and she took in the sight of the room. As she looked around I relaized, whoops, she can't look in certain places. So I blocked things like the refrigerator door, and the side of the bed...we realized that we had a couple hours before the dinner reservation to occur...sat for a little while, and then Janel turned on the Gilmore Girls. I excused myself for the restroom, and changed as fast as I could, into my suit, and tie. I went as far as to hide dress shoes under the sink...although I happened to of left the black pair of socks in my bag...and there wasn't really any time to get it without raising suspicion. I came out and stunned her a little bit (in white socks too), I asked if she could stand up, I knelt down on my right knee and began talking. After a while she began to tear up a little bit, and I kept on talking a little bit longer (which may have been unnerving). Then I asked. Without lengthy pauses or sidetracked answers (which I had been hearing other guys going through all weeek long), Janel accepted. Then, we opened up talking about the day, and the week, obstacles and close-calls. I let her in on everyone coming, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Janel made a couple of quick phone calls.

The restraunt was almost like a hole-in-the-wall location. As we entered I said that we had a reservation, and instantly Tanelly warmed up to us and pointed to our special table with flowers on it. Tucked in the corner, with pillows and one with a red heart-shape. Tanelly was funny and charming as he talked with us, we let him in that the question had been asked, and he was more than excited to serve us. He brought over some tasty pieces of chunky garlic coated pieces of bread and our drinks. He even picked out music specifically for us...cheesey 80's romance soundtrack tunes, and Janel knew every word. That was perfect. The meal was tasty too. Normally I am not a fan of mushrooms and tomatoes, but cover them with pork tenderloin and several oils, and you can't tell what they were anyway! Tanelly provided some free dessert and a signed menu, along with an anniversary candle and one of the bill-books. From there we hit up the Jacuzzi and ate fruit dipped in chocolate and drank sparkling cider. We both made a couple of phone calls too. After that, we were pretty tired, and called it a night.

Checklist Friday:
--Give Janel envelope containing word puzzle as she leaves
--Laundry
--Trash
--Vacuum
--Clean Bathroom
--Print Jason & Caroline's flight info
--Pack: wine glasses, glass bowl, Maalox/tums, camera, toy dolphin, suit, two outfits, workout and swimming clothes, puzzle answer key, razor, Nettie pot, etc.
--Get Cash
--Fred Meyer Fruit and Chocolate
--Take Roses to Janel at School
--Leave no later than noon to reach outlet mall (Van H-Purple Fleece, J Crew-Dog shorts)
--Radio/CD player pick-up
--Hotel Check-in (where to park, unpack)
--Call Janel (inform her that Aunt must use Garage code)
--Pick up Janel with purple fleece handy
--Dinner
--Massage (must have at least Jasmine/Ylang Ylang)
--Hot bath (salts, dolphin)--Allow only bathrobe to be available (maybe dog shorts too)--Set up rose petal trail
--Slow dance
--Drop right knee, speech, doogie tribute, ask

--Rough Ideas of what to say: "As of yesterday, we brushed over what would be our three and a half year anniversary mark. You have been with me at my very best, and we have also tugged at opposite ends of a rope. Your strength has been a firm grip as I have made some teeth clenching decisions, and just your presence with me means more than I have ever been able to communicate to you. I know this, because your expressions say a lot. And yet you humor me another chance to try another approach. Today I tried to hit all the shots. A word puzzle which at times seems to be your favorite thing to do, the word color from when I know I became hooked on you, a purple fleece for that adored shade, dogs on shorts is a closer step to having that animal you desire, a tyou dolphin for the obvius reason, a relaxing evening complete with a hot bath because I want to give back the release of tension you provide with a simple rummage of fingers through my hair (and I know with expectations of today, that this may not have been as all relaxing as I wished for you), a slow dance because I don't often do, and an object wrapped in this box, which I can only describe as being the closest thing currently I could think of to keep the memories of those long lost. You have a strong patients, an addicting smile, a remarkable energetic spirit, you've been a wise teacher, and a passionate friend. Last weekend and the weekend before were amazing times. I have fallen into another realm of loving you that I did not ever expect to hit upon. What more can I do, but ask if I could selfishly cover a portion of your flesh. Janel, excluding symbols and traditions, I want to always be here for you, to be that caring ear, to provide the appropriate support, to bring you that comforting sleep. It is at great risk that that you will sacrifice this region of skin from ever having the chance to tan. Janel, my friend, my beautiful petal, my internal utopia from the world, would you do me the honor of committing the rest of time, and marry me?

--Let Janel know that this is a temporary engagement ring
--Fruit, chocolate

Proposal Letter - Part 7

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

Unfinished - Updated Edits

A long day of work to accomplish. I would place today in the same scope as a not-so-good day. Work could have gone smoother, and then I hear from Janel that she seems to really want to meet up with her Aunt Loraine. Understandably...and so...I'm not even sure how it evolved, but while we took care of Jason and Caroline's cat and home, Janel was led on to thinking that someone was coming to visit us on Friday. I still was a bit bummed...and I allowed the lie to swell. Only the day before I made something up about my friend Phil coming to visit and that didn't come up. To top it off, I still didn't have any music, and Jason & Caroline's garage door would not open with the code...and that meant to me that we couldn't give her Aunt a useless code. So, we placed the key under the front door mat. Which has me feeling rather uncomfortable. Now all I can think about is that hoping that key remains there, and that the house remains safe. All of these elements combined were making me feel kinda smutty. I am thinking that there are so many aspects that combined may be overwhelming and actually may annoy Janel that I went to certain extremes. Later on she spat of a couple of names of who may actually be visiting as we headed for a meal at skippers, I let on nothing, and that annoyed her a bit. The knots were straining inside me. But alas...the ball is rolling now, and tomorrow is a very extensive day. With my nerves the way they were on Monday, and the uncomforting thoughts of tonight...I am pretty tired.

As for the dinner reservations, Kristen sent me the following:
Here are my suggestions for wonderful Italian, with great ambiance and stability (meaning they'll be here in 10 years when you want to go for your anniversary!):

Tulio's - owned by a great local Italian. It's a bit noisy, but make sure you get a booth, or let them know you're proposing that night and need a special table. Mr. Tulio is usually there and he can really make the night special. Parking is across the street in the garage (you might ask when you call them where they recommend parking, but it's probably that lot on the West side of 5th)http://www.hotelvintagepark.com/vpatuli/Review: http://www.kirotv.com/restaurants/1885832/detail.html

Palomino - this a chain, but it's an upper-scale chain. I like the layout and they leave you alone. Again, let them know that you're proposing. Their parking is in the City Centre building.http://www.palomino.com/menu.php

Il Terrazzo Carmine - Mr. Smeraldo is a CLASS ACT. He's always been there, each time I've dined there. It's a beautiful, very romantic lighting, quiet restaurant. The dinner is fabulous, it's got A LOT of character, very classy place. When you go to their website, it tells you where to park. http://ilterrazzocarmine.com/Review: http://www.kirotv.com/restaurants/1886252/detail.html

Brindisi - so, so cute and I am in love with Chef Luigi who wants to turn this portion of Pioneer Square into Little Italy. He promised to find me a "nice Italian boy." Sigh. Be very sure to tell them you're proposing and they'll treat you like royalty. They usually have Italian staff - but all of their waiters are just the best. I'm sending you a link to one of my favorite articles about Luigi and his three restaurants - plus it has the contact info. There's a parking garage right across the street, it's that weird triangle one. Call them though and ask where they recommend to park.
--Iron at least three shirts
--Charge Razor if necessary
--Select a dining location make reservation at Brindisi 206-223-0042

Proposal Letter - Part 6

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

Unfinished - Updated Edit

It was now Wednesday, and I had been failing the practice of massage and dancing in the morning before work. I had it planned each day too...I had the pages copied with steps on it, and massage book pages marked (52, 58-61, 64, 69-78, 80-93). My thoughts were that I should just do a rundown Friday morning, and possibly skip the dance steps altogether and just sway a bit or something. I also wanted to get a haircut, but couldn't justify why I needed one at night, and not get it over the weekend, so that thought got pushed back. I thought maybe Friday morning, but I thought I had a full plate for that day already, let alone the annoyance of tiny cut ends all over the place all day long.At work, Brian, Ruth and Erica learned about what I was going to be doing...word traveled very slowly...I also got the idea that I should jot this little journal-like write up of the leading events as things snowballed. For the most part on Friday I had a lot of work at work. My to-do-list was considerably revised. Finding some kind of music was tough, I tried to download some jazz in the morning to no avail. I called the Hotel to see if they had the option to play CD's through DVD players, or anything like that, but they did not. So, I called up Kristen to borrow theirs. I called my dad up, since he has been the only family member I have not talked to about any of this. It was a short conversation, and at Kristen's suggestion, I made sure to ask him a question. I told him that he was the best source for random odd questions, and always had answers for them, so I asked him if there was any particular knee that touched the ground...and he said not really, and that most people tend to place their right knee down because they are right handed. Works for me! For the last two days, P2P programs have not been working, I tried Ares, I tried Soulseek, and I got nothing. Soulseek simply would not connect. So, I need to figure out music plan number two.

Checklist Wednesday:
--Call Hotel 206.325.1400 or Reservation Desk 800.590.1801 to see if rooms had cd players
--Call and talk to my dad
--Find some music
--Create some words to say

Proposal Letter - Part 5

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

I wrapped the DVD's in the early morning and packed the hidden objects into one location. Work was still fairly busy, and I had been pretty occupied in it. Gina stopped by my desk in the morning learning of the news and was very excited, grinning and letting me know that if I needed to shift work around that they would do their best to help out if I needed more errand time.
I made a quick Costco run, and crammed the snacks into the trunk. While there I talked with Kristen about the current updates. She seemed like she was itching to assist in any possible way. So, I mentioned that the only time I figured I could really look into finding a location for dinner reservations was to sometimeon Friday. She decided to take on that task, and that became a big help. She also recommended the idea of brunching at the Icon Grill. Am I really going to argue with that thought? I told her that the parents would probably meet at her place, and she got the idea to have all the parents carpool from her place, and the siblings would carpool separately.
Then I went to Jason & Carolines, picked up the mail, fed the cat, took out the trash, and stopped for some gas on the way home.

Checklist Tuesday:
--Wrap DVD's
--Pack goods
--Costco: Sparkling Cider, Chex Mix
--Jason & Caroline's: Mail, Cat, Trash

Proposal Letter - Part 4

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

Unfinished - Updates to be inserted

Monday October 3I woke up with my newly revised palm pilot checklist. I needed one of Janel's rings for size. Once Janel left for school I began looking in her box, I took one that hopefully would not have been obvious that it was gone, placed it onto the hook on my key chain and was on my way. On my way to work I had a dorky idea that would hit up the puzzle element that Janel likes. I thought that I could make her a word puzzle that would give her a heads up about Friday night during the day, and to be prepared. The puzzle didn't take too long to make, and I added some other surprises to it as well, printed it off along with an answer key. A few people found out at work what I was going to do (Scott, Kindel, and Courtney).
Monday was the jamming point. I needed to speak with Duane pronto. I called his cell again, this time it was on and rang a lot, but no answer. Then I tried home, and got Suzie...I did not want the cover blown...I told her that I really needed to talk to Duane. She asked if everything was ok, and I knew, I needed to talk to him even faster. then came what I initially thought was a safety zone. A student was found with a gun at Janel's school and it made the news (she sent me an email about it). So, I thought, maybe I could use that. At this point, I thought that Janel may be calling home like, right after school...and it was already close to 4pm. Then I got nervous...what if she does and they refer to my calling...could I really BS that it was about the student and the gun...I didn't think so...and I knew that my cover may be ruined. I also began thinking, what if Suzie talks to anyone else? I needed to reach Duane, back to the cell phone once again. he answered just as I got word I needed to rush to media authorizations...but he answered, so I rushed to the staircase leading to the back ally (where it was quieter). Asked if his weekend was open, mentioned my fondness of Janel, and asked for acceptance/blessing. He gave it to me with a fast "Hell yes" rasp as if I was stupid for even asking him the question to begin with. We had a chuckle and talked a bit and I made him swear that nobody else should know, I didn't want any aunts or even my own cousin blowing the cover before Friday. He told Suzie and she shouted Yay! I even called back minutes later to talk directly with Suzie and made her swear not to tell a soul. They would be seeing us Saturday. I ended up calling back one more time because I didn't have their email addresses to send them directions to the hotel. During this time, for the first time, I was nervous and I called Kristen to balance things out when I couldn't get a hold of Duane. She wanted to know how the conversation went when it happened. Then Corinne and Ally (from work) found out and were pleasantly excited too. I got off work only ten fifteen minutes later and made the call home to tell my parents what was really going on that weekend. Momma seemed excited and asked if I told the grandparents...and I reiterated, that someone has to answer the question first. She said something about Adam having an engine problem, so I decided to check in with him since I had not heard back. I called Adam to confirm that Summer was in fact invited as well, and that things truly are a go so far, and that if she says no, I'm still having a family party regardless. He assured me not to worry about car problems, and that helped me out. I went to the Shane Company in Tukwila with a throbbing headache. I spent close to two hours there looking and getting certain styles written down to notice later. I asked the sales lady to stop trying to pitch the "quality" to me...I wouldn't have been there if it wasn't quality, and it was not selling me on anything. It was irritating, so I asked that if it was required say it nonstop for as long as it takes, and then come talk to me about shape and everything else. She still talked about "quality" but toned it down to once every minute. I made a temporary selection, and headed off to Lover's Package. I never thought that I would ever go into one, but I was running out of time (like I thought I might) and I knew that if I asked I could get what I was looking for quickly (specific massage oil ingredients and bath salts). I had an answer for the multiple rose ideas I had when I saw that LP had specially designed rose petals with scents etc...and I figured that would be better than staining the carpet or the bed with real ones, and I went with them. It all came in a purple bag too, and I was offered a free LP Membership card for discounts and invited to a Halloween party...I passed. When I came home, Janel said that she had talked to her dad for an hour! He bought a magazine for FBLA magazine sales...I was impressed, he said nothing. Suzie wasn't there when she called, for she was at bell practice. Whew, another close call. It became clear to me that I was not really on a final stretch...the days were too far away from one another, anything could happen...I realized that this secret could get very tough to sustain. there were too many elements that could go wrong, or stand out. From stashing DVD's in places, and hiding everything under the sun.
Then came the Aunt Loraine obstacle. Now, nothing against her at all, but her timing...oof! On the plus side, this indicated to me that the news had in fact not reached her (and on Wednesday when Janel forwarded me an email about their projected 7pm arrival and wanting to meet up still indicated the same). So, at least that made me feel ok. I remembered that Janel said, if they arrive too late, she could just give them the garage code. So I pondered back and forth, should I call her and tell her, or not. I knew if I did, the Friday surprise was out the window. Her tone of voice would give some away. I debated calling her on Friday when it was possible that Janel could have a pretty darn good guess about where her weekend was headed, but then if they talked by phone that might provide a stronger support of what may be to come.
So...in the end, even after I brought the matter to the attention of Kristen (she agreed with my final thought), that because of the word puzzle giveaway...I should say nothing to Loraine and let Janel's excitement tell her that we would unfortunately be unable to meet up. Hey, if weekends were easy to come by for this...I wouldn't have to take such a drastic measure. However, I still have it in mind just in case...so, when I call Janel on Friday in the afternoon, the topic will come up, and addressed if need be.

Checklist Monday:
--Borrow a ring
--Get Duane's permission
--(Send everyone directions)
Silver Cloud Hotel11100 Broadway, Seattle WA 98122
From I-5 Northbound:Take the Madison Street exit, #164AContinue on 7th Avenue and turn right onto Madison StreetTurn left on BroadwayThe hotel is on the right at the corner of Broadway and Madison. From I-5 Southbound:Take James Street Exit, #165At the 2nd light turn left onto James StGo uphill and turn left onto BroadwayThe hotel is on the right at the corner of Broadway and Madison.
--Call Parents
--Get a ring
--Lover Package
538 Rainier Ave S, Renton WA, 98055-2411.
Phone: 425-271-9393, Hrs: M-W 11am - 9pm
--Place ring back

Proposal Letter - Part 3

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

Janel and I had a relaxing wonderful unrelated weekend. It was great. Secret safe. On Saturday we checked in with Kristen since we wanted to know how the trip was (wink wink). Vi answered and asked how I was handling things, and I snubbed that conversation from going anywhere...and we all had a nice conversation. Kristen sounded very sick since speaking to her the night before, and that may have actually helped prevent any awareness that something was up. On Sunday I kept mental note (so that entering it on the palm immediately wouldn't be so obvious) to pick out a purple fleece and dog shorts Janel eyeballed at the new outlet mall. My back had been a little funky from sleeping in too long over the weekend, and I thought that if I needed to stay up late at night in the next day or so, that this might have provided excellent time to go over stuff...but my back didn't really bother me after that, and I had enough allotted time planned as it was if everything worked out.

Proposal Letter - Part 2

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

Friday morning, I needed to find a hotel. So, I jumped online looking for something with a Jacuzzi, and expedia pointed me in the direction. I looked at about a dozen places, and ultimately liked my first choice for what it had and location (definitely better than others). After work I zipped over to Silver Cloud Hotel and reserved a room (421) with a Jacuzzi for Friday and Saturday night.

Jacuzzi Suite: One king bed. 380 square feet. Electric fireplace and two-person spa tub with bathrobes and basket of bath amenities. Contemporary decor with earth tones and dark wood furniture. Granite desk. Refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker. Bathroom with bowed shower rod. Cable TV with premium channels, pay movies, and Nintendo video games. Free local calls; complimentary high-speed Internet access. Most rooms have sliding glass doors. (As you can see, the "Sliding glass doors" was the final pitch that pushed me over , but then wait! It says that "most rooms" have them…uh oh! My fingers are crossed)

I was tired, and thinking of a hundred things I needed to compile together. This was my first chance to think about how to play this all the way out from all that scattered ideas I had. Unfortunately, all these thoughts were in my head as I was reserving the room. I even asked for a room with a spa in it! I gave them our address with "SE" missing in it, and realized that as I left.

I had to reach Duane. No answer, on cell or at home. What the heck! My thoughts jumped to Adam...and I thought I better call him now if I had any hope to be able to include him in the event. For quite a while I wanted the immediate family members to be present at some point in the process and was never really sure how...and it struck me as plain obvious that Saturday (the day after) would be a good celebratory time. Adam said that his boss had placed him back on weekends despite his protest, and told me that he would give him an ultimatum...either way, he told me that he was in, and would be there. Whew. So, I called Kristen, whom managed to stay pretty calm. I told her to keep the weekend open. She said she had a wedding to go to that Saturday night. Didn't matter. I guessed a meeting time of 11am, and chatted a bit more about the ring ideas. In my mind I concluded that it would be best to go in on Monday and pick a temporary ring. I would look at engagement ring prospects, but thought that our four year anniversary mark would be a good upgrade point. Plus my pocket needed to figure out its current expenses. As for Jason & Caroline, they were leaving at 4am for Mexico...I debated, but at the time I was not quite sure one way or the other to say anything to them. So I didn't. they would be coming back Saturday the 8th, and they could celebrate with us then. I knew picking them up would be an issue too, and guessed that Adam might possibly go get them, or some other alternative yet to come to me. I also knew that I couldn't keep the secret the whole time. If I could up till Friday, I was set. This did not seem like a tough feat, at the time. I also felt that I wanted something of Janel's mother involved. At the moment, all that came to mind was when Janel had said that the show Doogie Howser brought back memories. So, I figured this could be a way to keep those memories alive and strong...and who can turn down a trip to Best Buy? I called my parents up and reserved Friday and Saturday by saying that Janel and I were coming over to visit. This was done to keep the weekend available, I only left them in the dark because I was awaiting consent from Duane.

Checklist Friday:
-Reserve room with a jacuzzi
-Attempt to reach Duane
-Call Adam
-Call Kristen
-Doogie Howser DVD's

Proposal Letter - Part 1

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Pics, 9 (Final).

On April 6, our 3rd anniversary came and went. So, when Janel mentioned something about a halfway mark being an ok time...I kept that in my head to see if that would be possible. Since this was rougly sometime within the first week of October, I had a little while for ideas to roll around. Because of weekend activities, weekends started filling up left and right, and things were getting kinda close. However, the best weekend available targeted around the 7th. That was close enough for there to be an opportunity and still have a surprise.
Earlier in the week I had been granted three extra bonus days off that needed to be scheduled quickly before the years end. I sat down with Trisha and asked about a few dates and she approved all of them...this was my first "it's a go" light.
Later in the afternoon Scott Conway came by with some paperwork and I was unable to hide my open screen fast enough...and he said, "no it's too late, bring it back...what are you learning to dance or something?" he said grinning totally catching me in the act. I did not elaborate why, but found the whole thing rather amusing. I was looking at the following dance steps.
My actual plan needed a list and fast. I hit the most important points quickly in my mind, and addressed the immediate the next day. I had an idea or two I was stumbling over and began figuring out time to tackle each point.

John's Letter

Hello Everybody!

Surprise Visitors
Jim & Cindy were in town for the weekend and gave us a call on Saturday morning. Cindy was out getting a haircut at Gene Juarez (her brother is a partner). Jim wanted to hang out with us (including Jason and Caroline) while staying up in Bellevue. So, we carpooled with Jason & Caroline ad sat at some benches at the mall, catching up and chatting. While we were there two kids came walking by at first, but then skated. Their shoes has wheels in the heels, and that seemed pretty cool, and we were all memorized for a little while as they subconsciously switched between walking and skating in smooth transitions. When Cindy’s appointment finished we ate at PF Chang's for lunch. The lettuce wraps were delicious. Their daughter Joy and her husband Carl are now back in DC, and not only do they both work in the same building, but the same floor as well!

Insane Email News
Saturday was also a crazy batch of emails from all kinds of friends.

High School: Amber Schmid and David Kerr got married last month. They have been a couple for something over 8 years or so, and Amber had that scare last year about undetermined internal bleeding…anyway, we all had lost contact throughout this year (and all of us tried to reach one another several times), and then by fluke, got the right email addresses, and received the news of their wedding! I also heard from Alex Zaveruha who is now doing some recruiting job at a health care place, and he lives in a tiny apartment at Lake Union.

Skagit Valley College: Jon Moore has informed me that he has a bar exam the first weekend in October, and he has been preparing for that for the last two months…

CWU: Andy Martin has informed me that he has been in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because the company he works for has a contract from FEMA so he has been sent down to assist in the relief efforts. His daughter Sydney will be turning 3 this December.

WSU: Dave Montgomery wrote that his dad has been in the hospital for Cellulitis, and would not be able to return to work, possibly 2 to 3 weeks. His message went on about how a load of wood came to heat their house with the woodstove, but one of our farm trucks would not start and was in the way of the pile that had been started. So Dave and one of the gentlemen that brought the wood over in a dump truck decided to push the truck. To no avail they were about to call it quits, when Dave’s mom came to join in…here is his exact quote, “As she pushed she fell flat on her face, leaving her arms up against the grill and bumper. Between her weight and the angle at which her arms were at, something had to give. She ended up breaking both of her arms clean right under the ball in the shoulder joint. That's right, broke both her arms!”

Tickets
This upcoming Thursday Entertainment Weekly magazine gave us two tickets to the EMP to see some upcoming bands, have free cocktails and food. I have no idea what kind of music we shall be seeing, but it should be fun.

Distractive Projects
The road paving project at night outside our apartment is finally over and now we can sleep without everything shaking and rumbling about. They added a good inch to two inches. Sadly, for Janel, other projects are going on. The school has been tarring the roof and the smell has been coming through the vents. A quick poll in one of the classrooms showed that two-thirds of the students had headaches too.

Becky Wilson
CWU: Becky Wilson and her boyfriend Andrew Fickles joined us on Sunday to set them up with a Costco membership (and our own shopping). Becky's birthday was last week so we celebrated with a meal out at Claim Jumpers (Go figure, and seriously, it was their choice!) They live pretty close by in an apartment just behind Fred Meyers.

That about wraps it up for this posting! Take it easy!

John's Letter

...a short short update

Mariners
Below are a few pictures from the recent Mariner's game that Celest offered to us (after the completion of my first internship project). We went down to visit Darci, who works in the Diamond Club on weekends. The last picture shows the view where we sat. The chairs were the same as the Diamond...padded, and bigger than the rest of the stadium seats. You could order food from your seat and have it delivered too. Although, the walk around area was cool, especially since there weren't all that many people walking around in it. In the last picture you can see the handrail that a foul ball bounced off of later on in the game. It was pretty close! If you look straight ahead from where we sat, on the third base foul line, just to the left was where we sat a week later on Sunday after we sold programs and scorecards to fundraise for Janel's FBLA. She went three days straight and was a little bit tired by the end.





Wednesday Afternoon Storm
Sun, then hail. Sun, then rain...what a crazy week for weather. Take a look at this, lightning has been there before 9well, pretty close anyway)


(Image from Komo and Kiro)

1999 (Image from someone's 1999 webpage)

John's Letter

Janel
Last Saturday Janel and I attended a wedding with one of her teacher friends. I met some of her other workers, and we had a pretty good meal. On Monday she went in to work because now she is also in charge of helping plan the new learning communities (or whatever that program is called). And it hailed a lot! We watched the movie Ladder 49, and relaxed on her two days of vacation. She left Thursday morning for the FBLA conference.

Sunday & Dinner Train
On Sunday at we just relaxed. We watched the video from next-door, read through the newspaper, checked out the free lunch (although it was bagels and broccoli)…and then we celebrated our anniversary on the dinner train. We had a table for four all to ourselves. The two servers in our car were engeged to be married and both were entertaining. Janel had the chicken, and I had a steak (we shared...and then she had my mashed potatoes, and I had her rice). We tasted some wines at the stop (they were ok, but then, like we are professionals). Chatted with a few couples there. Then we had the chocolate tort on the way back. All in all, a delightful time. Let's see and the train itself? We were on the Columbia Winery (Dining/Bar) Car. According to the flyer it says it was "built in 1938 by the Budd Company for the Santa Fe Railroad, it was used in service from Chicago to Kansas City until 1971. In 1988 it was purchased by WCRC and refurbished. There were only two of these cars ever built and the Columbia Winery is the only one left."





Sedgewick Rd
I have finished entering the basic level of information about the 209 markets and their 40% of newspapers into a gigantic Excel sheet(s) and will actually be able to start working with rate cards as they come in per newspaper. I will be entering in the ROP’s, and maybe by the end of my internship I will be able to understand the real estate entries (which is Celest says is very handy to know, especially since not many people know it). This week I'm also supposed to read my first POV. When I understand about it better I'll explain it to you guys.

This Weekend
So, when Janel comes back tonight I will be out at a bachelor party (Paul, a guy from Tony Roma’s). Next Saturday is his big day, and its also the same day as Collin’s 2nd birthday too.

I believe that is everything at the moment too.

John's Letter

Moon
On Sunday I went to the main office to return a video we picked up. I was on my way back to help unload groceries when Some of the staff told me about their free Sunday lunches. I saw that it was pieces of a sub sandwich, so I walked over to get a piece for Janel and myself. Once there, I got snagged into this conversation with a guy named, Moon. He was pretty cool, just graduated as an EMT and in addition works with SWAT. He and his girlfriend live way back in apartment G (or F?). He said that since they live so far back, there isn't all that much traffic. So, every so often they block off the parking area and have a big bbq block party (he extended an invite for the next time they have one).

Super Big Tuesday (Last Tuesday Recap)
On my way in for a Media Planner internship interview at Sedgewick Rd, I found myself unable to change lanes at the exit and couldn't take the turn. So, I went back one exit to try again. As I was finishing the onramp a police officer waved me through. I had the whole highway to myself. Apparently there was an accident right there. The exit for Sedgewick Rd is an easy and quick route. Located near Krispy Kremes and the entrance of Safeco Field, there is a big alley for free parking behind the building. (Though on game days, this is not the case) The interview seemed to go alright. Carolyn seemed ok with taking me in because of my instructor tie-in with Mr. Petek (the last five people hired were all WSU interns), and the fact two of them are friends of mine. Unfortunately, it felt as if she was just asking questions for procedure sake, because she didn't really seem to care about my answers. She was also suffering from allergies she noted. She was concerned because legally I couldn't work there without college credit. She said if I could provide proof of my eligibility then I could possibly have it. I called Petek immediately...and actually reached him. He said it was possible and to email him some information and he would get the ball rolling. I talked with registration and they noted an additional late fee bringing the two credit total to roughly $600. From there I just had to wait.
When Janel got back from school we both went over to Jason & Caroline's. Caroline and I worked through a few kinks in the user manual. Then Adam called with a free Sonics ticket, and he met up with us there. The Sonics won, and Adam crashed for the night at our place. While we were at the game, Janel called us to say that Fisher Radio had called to see if I was still interested in the Part Time Traffic Coordinator Position.
That was a full full day.

Sedgewick Rd (Last week recap)
I guess my instructor did not reach Caroline as soon as she needed, for she had given away the internship position to someone else. However she wrote to me saying “There is another position that I'm offering you which is within the Media Newspaper Group. This group is responsible for negotiating/buying newspaper space for all of our clients. The person you would report to is Celest. Celest also has two full time employees who work on her team.”
When I called Celest, I asked if the internship position would be available between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., allowing me the opportunity to consider the Fisher Radio PT job. She told me that was fine and I would see her on Monday. I was slightly surprised half expecting another interview… but happy nonetheless.
Generally speaking here is a list of some clients: Washington Mutual, Washington State Department of Health, Tobacco Cessation & Prevention, Nintendo, Converse, Seattle Storm, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle Art Museum, Cinema Seattle, REI, Mervyn’s, and Marshall’s. There are more, and some have stopped, but in brief here’s whom they have represented.
In working with newspaper I would be able to work on a variety of accounts instead of one. So far I have been working a lot with Excel and SRDS covering the 209 markets and their 40% of newspapers. It's been a big project but one that can be used from now on year by year.

Fisher Radio (Last Week Recap)
Our friend Darci works full time as a Traffic Coordinator at Fisher Radio, and sent this message to Janel, “Just wanted to let you know, my boss LOVED John's cover letter. She yelled out ‘Darci you have to tell me about this guy’...lol...I didn't know what she was talking about, but I went in there and she was reading John's letter.” So that was positive to know, and even better when about a week and a half had passed and she called to set up an interview. The meeting was casual and ran really well. The job would run from 8 a.m. to noon, but I wouldn't know much because she was leaving for the week. After that we had passed, and well into the middle of the next week, she called back for second interview in which I would meet to other members of the staff (not counting Darci-who would understandably be left in the dark). I felt that interview ran smoothly too. I also learned that sweeps week was coming up and that things were going to get even busier for those already working overtime. Then another week passed.
Here is who Fisher Radio represents: KPLZ-Star 101.5, Komo 1000 News, KVI Talk Radio 570, Advertising Sales for Classical King FM 98.1 (since 2000), Seattle Mariners Radio Network (since 2003).
From what I know, the P/T Traffic Assistant would work with sales, accounts and promotion offices. One would learn to use Traffic systems and codes, and basically doublecheck calling to make sure numbers and allotments are correct.

Jon Moore
Jon came to visit us on Friday, and we hung out, watched a movie. Caught up, and joked around.

Easter
We had a good time having dinner with the family and the Kandzor's family for an early Easter dinner. Sunday's breakfast with the inclusion of Uncle Jerry was pleasant, relaxing and fun. I'm glad it worked out that way this year. Originally Janel & I were to be going to Wenatchee, but that changed when she had to get the driving permit on Saturday. Turns out, the Wenatchee Easter dinner had been canceled anyway and moved to the following weekend.
That afternoon Janel & I went to go see the movie Miss Congeniality 2. It was ok, but not one that really needs to be seen in theaters.




Dodging
On Monday, my first day to intern, I barely missed the traffic jam caused by a cop motorcycle/cab accident, then later I experienced trying to park when there is a 1pm Mariner's game. Impossible! The six dollar parking lots are 40 bucks! And naturally the free parking behind the workplace is all gone.

Meatball
On Thursday night Janel and I went over to Jason and Caroline's so we could go over a few final changes to the User document. We stayed and Janel made a tasty spaghetti meatball dinner.

Girls Night
On Saturday Janel met up with Kristen & Darci for a girls night/sleepover. And to think that we had lost an hour of sleep that night too! On Sunday Janel met up with Caroline and Daphni for lunch, and shopping.



Three-Year Anniversary Mark
Wednesday the sixth, Janel and I celebrated our three-year anniversary with my spring break visiting parents! We feasted a delicious meal complete with salads, soups, appetizers, and dessert... I huge desert. I was glad to be able to celebrate with them, and grateful that they stayed the night.