Goodwill = Craftastic

Now that I'm in a city I am able to experience the joy that is Goodwill. Though I admit some of the prices are ridiculous when they have a half price or tag sale it is worth the couple of hours it takes to sift through the racks to find some goodies. I had been looking for something to store my jewelry in but I knew I wanted something a bit quirky. While perusing the kitchen section I found a couple of things that work perfectly. I know that used goods aren't for everyone but this is a neat way to display my jewelry while keeping it neat and organized. I'm still working on an easy way to hang necklaces. Maybe next week....

A muffin tin to sort out rings, watches, pendents and such

A strainer to hang earrings, hair clips and pins

An up close shot

 At the food truck rodeo last week Lucky Devil Food truck sold a number of great doughnut flavor combinations. One was a maple frosted doughnut with two strips of bacon on top. The yummy one pictured above was a delicious combination of chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate glaze and ghost pepper crystals. Yes, that is correct little pink gems made from the hottest pepper on earth. I have put hot sauce on chocolate cake before and I've had mole and always felt that the heat was worth the taste enhancement. The heat from just two bites of this doughnut stayed with me for over an hour but I didn't feel that it enhanced the taste of the doughnut at all.

Life in the Emerald City

Well I’ve been in Seattle a little over a week and I have been pretty active so far. Looking for jobs is a bummer and I have been sending out at least one cover letter and resume a day which may not seems like a big deal but it’s a full time job in itself. I wish that I could just talk to the people that are hiring because I know that I can sell myself so well in person. It will happen and right now I’m not freaking out about it I’m just learning about my new home.

I am living with one of my oldest friends from Amahami and her family which includes her partner who is awesome and can put my potty mouth to shame any day of the week and their son who is like a tiny Godzilla. I didn’t think that I would enjoy living with a toddler at all but so far we are pretty good buddies. I am learning about farting dogs, kids music that does't suck, snack traps and stomp rockets from an expert!

My second day here I attended the SlutWalk which is an international campaign to end slut shaming and victim blaming. Basically it doesn’t matter how one acts or looks there is no excuse for violence ever. I was happy that my good buddy Carl that I met in Korea decided to join me. He jumped right in and volunteered to be a chant leader for the march. His megaphone didn’t work which is pretty on par for Carl’s luck but we were louder without it to be honest. I met up with a new friend I’d met online and the three of us went to Pike Place market for some Greek food and people watching. A lovely little Sunday of sluts and souvlaki.

We blame the victim not the perpetrator 

I have decided that a great way to get involved and learn about my new city is to volunteer as much as possible. I have signed up to help with the Fremont Oktoberfest, The North West Chocolate Festival and this past weekend I volunteered at the Food Truck Rodeo. 45 food trucks got together for an awesome display of food goodness. My favorite was Off the Rez which made tacos on Native American fry bread. The pulled pork was perfectly cooked and the beans and veg in the veggie were seasoned well. The show stopper was by far the sweet fry bread which was drenched in a thick lemon curd. I had a food orgasm in my mouth and I will be tracking that truck down all over this city!

I went out dancing on Saturday night with my new friend Avery. The event is held bimonthly and is called Hot Flash: a night for seasoned lesbians and their admirers. So basically older Lesbos rockin’ out in their mom jeans and socks with birks mullets not required but welcomed. It was one of the best people watching events I’ve attended in a long time and I can’t wait to go back. Any place that I can drink ice cold Magners, belt out cheesy pop music and watch gorgeous go-go dancers...I’m in.

My trip to the UK

The last part of my three month trip was spent in the UK. We landed in London and stayed there for a few days where we got to meet up with our friend Nuala who made an appearance in Siem reap too! We did a lot of sightseeing and drank way too much Cider. Then we headed for a night out in New Castle (the rumors are all true) before we went to Dublin. I wish we had had more time in Ireland but the time we did have was spent doing what we do best drinking. We then packed up the car and heading out for a camping trip in Scotland. We only lasted 2 days due to the terrible rain storm but we had a great time while we were there. For my birthday we went to a farm where ewe got to see "Shitfield" Shetland Ponies, highland coos and too many cute sheep to count. I loved every moment of my time in the UK and I absolutely can't wait to go back.

Any spare change?

I just got an e-mail from the orphanage that I visited this summer in Cambodia. I feel completely broken hearted because I look at the photos and remember the joy I felt while I was there. The orphanage runs completely off of donations and the kids have to live there no matter what because there is no where else for them to go. 

Each one of the children gets one of the lockers on the left
that is the entirety of their worldly possessions

They make most of their money form donations from
their dancing and now the performance area is flooded

There were recent storms; much like those we have experienced here and the orphanage was flooded. When I was there this summer it was very difficult for me to leave because of the spirit of the children was inspiring. I know that no one has extra money laying around but it really pains me that I don't know how to do more for these kids. The children at this orphanage live in conditions that we would consider completely substandard at best yet to them were paradise.This is not an organization the gets money form any "parent" group; they operate on 100% donations.

• $32.00 is 50kg of rice which means a full day of rice for the 70 children who live there
• $117.00 is 3 full meals per 70 children per day

Honestly if you are feeling extra kookie and have boat load of money you can donate it to me and I'll fly over there and stay for as long as my money will last to help rebuild everything they have lost. If you have any suggestions on how I can raise money to get me back there to help please let me know because it would be a 100% volunteer experience, but 100% worth it. In everything I have done in my life nothing has inspired me as much as being with those young people and seeing there hope in what from the outside looks like a hopeless situation. If you can help at all please please please go to the web site and donate. Orphanage Website

This summer this was their performance area.
I can't imagine how long it will take them to
raise the money to fix this.