Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Things to do in Spokane

As my friend Meng's wedding approaches, I find myself (as the maid-of-honor) visiting Spokane every so often to go to fittings, address invitations, and just find excuses to get together. Unfortunately, Spokane seems to be a bit limited in attractions. So, while I suppose it is not exhaustive, here is my list of things one can do in the city of Spokane, Washington.

1. For a walk on the wild side, you can visit Cat Tales Zoological Park to see some beautiful big cats.

2. When the sun is shining, make sure to take a trip over to Riverfront Park. In the warmer months they have amusement rides set up, and in the winter they take those out and open up the ice rink. The park is also the location of Spokane's IMAX theater. How many parks can boast that? Besides that, it's beautiful and is a perfect setting for a photo shoot (in summer at least).

3. Dancing the night away is in fact an option, even in Spokane! Meng and I went to the Marquee Lounge, which was actually really dead when we first arrived. It picked up after about an hour, but I would suggest looking into other locations. The DJ was terrible, and he didn't have any idea who Kat DeLuna is. Ugh.

4. There seem to be an abundance of wineries in the area, which surprised me. I don't really think of Spokane as the Northwest Napa.

5. If you're interested in learning more about the area and its history, you would probably enjoy a visit to the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum.

6. I personally love white-water rafting. No matter that I've actually only done it two or three times in my life. Flow Adventures offers rafting and kayaking excursions.

7. I can't find a working link for it, but definitely visit the happy hour at Uno. It's located at 515 W Sprague Ave, Spokane, WA 99201 and has an amazingly inexpensive but totally delicious happy hour. Even if you don't drink, go out for the cheap food!

8. If you're tired of Vin Diesel, you can watch some real fast cars at the Spokane Raceway Park. My dad used to race. Now he just speeds and gets tickets. lol

9. No matter the hour, it seems that there are always tons of cars at the Northern Quest Casino. I don't get it, but maybe that's because I don't gamble.

I know most lists go to ten, but Spokane is kinda limited. Just be creative and have a good attitude.

Monday, August 17, 2009

In a State of Irritation

I suppose that in my previous posts I have been a bit vague about who I am, my interests, and so forth. Today you will learn a bit more about me through the venting of one of my recent frustrations. Yay.

Last summer I dated an Indian man who, while growing up in a Hindu culture, considers himself more of a "spiritualist". I, on the other hand, am a Christian, and I typically hold to Baptist doctrine. We have remained very good friends, and do get together every so often and occasionally get into deep conversations.

A recent phone conversation took place where my friend, whom we will call Mr. S, was raving about an Art of Living workshop that he attended locally. He told me of the church that held this inter-faith conference and how there were images all over the church of symbols from various religions. Mr.S thought that it was wonderful how the church embraced other religions and that it showed how Christians ought to act: be open to other religions and accept that our beliefs may be different, but equal.

Evidently, Mr. S had not been in a Christian church. He said that it was Unitarian or Universalist or something. Either way, if that is what the church held to, then it directly contradicted the Bible. John 14:6 quotes Jesus as saying "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This does, of course make sense when considering the cross. Why would God send His son down to earth, and then have Jesus die an excruciating and torturous death in order to take away the sins of all humanity, if it really did not matter what path you followed?

"Ehh, I sent my beloved son to be an atoning sacrifice for everyone, but y'know...whatever. Do what you want and be happy. Peace, man." Sorry, couldn't help adding the last part.

Anyway, that conversation truly frustrated me, especially since Mr. S seemed to think that he better understood my faith than I did. Jesus was not trying to be inclusive with his teachings. He didn't try to water down his message for mass appeal. What he spoke of was exclusive. You follow him or you don't. He offered himself up to die for the forgiveness of sins. The choice was, and still is, for every individual to make.

This post is not meant to bash my friend, or even beliefs that differ with mine. I do, however, want to make it clear that churches who believe that there are multiple ways to Heaven and to God are not following the Bible.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Power of the Negligee

Seduction. Sex. Scandal. All of these probably come to mind when you think of a negligee, and for good reason. Negligees are designed to be attractive and alluring to the male in question when the lady dons one.

Yet...they are so much more. I have pretty much always worn practical nightclothes to bed. T-shirt and shorts, nightgown, or long nightshirt. Whatever. They are comfortable, and make sense. A negligee is not that practical and really is not a logical thing for me to wear to bed (I sleep alone, lol).

After drooling over the sexy bras and lingerie I've seen in stores and catalogs, I recently decided to indugle myself just for fun. This is where I made an accidental revelation. Ready for it? Think you can handle it??

A negligee simply makes the wearer feel attractive. No need for a man to confirm this (though I suppose it's always nice to verify such information).

I love the negligees that I purchased. They are not the most comfortable things I've ever worn, but I feel so sexy and feminine when I am simply sitting on my bed reading before I go to sleep. How is it possible that such a tiny little garment could have such a huge impact on my view of myself? I feel prettier! I feel girlier! I feel SEXY!!

Going through a breakup? Forget him with a lacy chemise!

Lost your job? Apply online in your babydoll from Wal-Mart!

Need something for your African safari? Blend right in with a zebra print set!

Ta da! Everything is alright now that you're in a negligee.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Doggie Rescue Mission #3

There were two occasions in Virginia in which I attempted to rescue dogs. Here is the account of the first one on October 18, 2006, taken from my xanga:

Oh...kinda random, but Meng and I saved a dog this weekend! We decided to take a random road trip to Appomattox, and stopped at a couple of the little sites before going to the Court House. One of these places was the North Carolina monument. We got out, and walked down the little trail that leads to the monument. There, on the trail coming toward us was a dog. She was extremely weak she just laid down along the side of the path. There weren't any other cars. There weren't any other people. Her collar bore the name and home phone number of her owner, one Marcus S. Somethingorrather. Meng called him and left a message. I called the visitor's center who said they couldn't do anything but would keep calling the owner. Then I called the Sheriff's department after being advised to do so by Animal Control. The Sheriff's department said that they couldn't do anything or send anyone out unless the dog actually bit someone, but that they'd keep calling the owner. So we were stuck. The poor doggie was exhausted, and had fleas and an eye infection. Finally, Meng and I realized that we couldn't do anything more so we went on to the cemetary and Court House. After a little time at the Court House, Meng received a call from the owner who said he'd meet us at the N.C. monument. So we drove back over there and went to check on the dog. Wait. Where'd she go? After walking around for a couple minutes, Marcus showed up. We informed him that we could no longer find the dog. He kept walking on the path, whistling. As he turned the corner toward the actual monument, he started yelling out. He'd found her. He informed us that his dog, Peppy, had been let out of the yard by some neighbor kids three days ago and that she'd managed to walk the 18 miles from his house. Wow.

Doggie Rescue Mission #2 on March 13, 2008, also taken from my xanga:

So about an hour and a half ago, I was sitting at my computer in my pajamas trying to figure out what to do with my day. Out in the living room, the phone began to ring. Thinking that it was another telemarketer, I was hesitant to answer, but eventually I stood up and ran to the other side of the apartment. It was Meng. She told me that while driving to school to take a test, she'd noticed a dog lying in the grass next to the on-ramp to 29N from Church street. She felt bad, since she couldn't stop, and the dog definitely had a collar. Well, Meng and I consider ourselves dog rescuers, as we have saved exactly one lost dog before. After about five minutes of trying to decide what to do, I put a bit of makeup on, changed into some real clothes, and rushed out the door. Upon reaching the ramp, I saw the puppy sitting contentedly in the grass, but there wasn't a shoulder on which to park. I ended up taking the first exit (Grace street) and following it all the way to Fifth street, and making a big circle. The second time I decided to park on Church street just below the YMCA. It was a bit of a walk, but hey, I needed the exercise! Upon reaching the grassy area, I started walking toward the dog. As soon as it saw me, however, it took off in the other direction. When it had gone a decent distance, it decided to sit down on the grass again. Slowly I began walking toward it again. When I was within about 100 yards, the dog decided that the grass was too limited an area, and ran across several lanes of 29 into oncoming traffic. There was now no way to get to him. And thus, my mission was a failure.

I consoled myself with a raspberry mocha frappuccino light. I just hope that the poor doggy wasn't killed due to his stubbornness and stupidity.

Doggie Rescue Mission #3 occurred today. While two of my co-workers and I were on our way to a coffee break in downtown Kirkland, we saw a golden lab walk through oncoming traffic down a sidestreet by us. As dogs do not run loose in downtown Kirkland, we knew that this pooch shouldn't be taking a stroll right now. We quickly parked the car down the corner, and I took off running in the direction that the dog had taken while Mariko and Lisa tried to catch up by walking. Silly girls. After running for what seemed like an eternity (maybe two blocks?), I was out of breath and wasn't sure which way the dog had gone. I asked some construction workers if they had seen a dog go by. One of them informed me that they had, but that dog hadn't had any identification and had ran down another street and disappeared into some bushes.

All in all, this is Doggie Rescue Mission Failure #2.