It was oh so great to see Ryon and Brad. They ended up missing their plane out and spending an extra day at Lester Lake. Boulder cave with Paige and Serena was a blast too but now I need to go back and hike up past the cave entrance to see the upper falls. I was so proud of myself because when I did that hike for the first time just a few years ago I huffed and puffed all the way to the top, doubting all the time my ability to make it. This time it seemed like nothing at all, just a little jaunt

Paige and I kidnapped Marleen and headed for the west side last weekend. We stayed at her folks'place in Tacoma Saturday night and then headed to hempfest on Sunday. There were lots of beautiful people playing instruments and dancing (and some crazies that were entertaining as well) plus all the peace and love of a giant family reunion (200,000 people giant). I met up with Stacy and Adam there and I had Paige sell brownies for me which earned her $20 and allowed me to leave with more money than I came with. I ate 2 of the brownies before hand and felt nothing but I used nearly an ounce of real marijuana (stems, 6 months saving). They tasted ganja good and there was abviously very low THC potency so no harm no foul. We went back to her folks that night and then headed to Point Defiance for the morning before heading back home.

The next day Paige and I headed to wash-away near Grayland followed by Jim in his car. The weather was hot and sunny and we spent a couple of nights camped right on the beach under the stars- too fantastic. I still have a hard time leaving the coast and returning to Yakima. I am definately getting eager to get back to Ellensburg and the healthy distraction and "anything is possible" feeling I get from school.

I officially gave notice at work that I will not be returning every Saturday to work this school year. I am working through Autumn Bounty (9/17- tickets still available) the weekend before school starts and then I will be leaving to find a work study position somewhere on campus (hoping for a lab tech of some kind). The goal is to work before, between, or after classes during the week and have weekends to myself (I know, a lot to ask) so that I can come back to Yakima only IF I want to. Just think of all the things I could do with 2 days off back to back every week, wow. Sad thing is I will probably end up doing homework or just slacking most of them, but that is not the point. I am going to miss the arboretum very much. I wasn't ashamed to tell others I worked at a community/educational oriented non-profit organization- an employment first for me!

I shall return as soon as something exciting happens. Until then everyone needs to go and do stuff that makes them really happy and get out of any situations that don't. Then put that in your blog and post it!

Peace!

I realize I am slacking on the blog thing..this is why I have never kept a diary or journal. The ex-boyfriend thing didn't last very long but it was a fun couple of weeks. I still haven't had a ciggarette (five months now) but have taken a drag off of Serena's ciggarette twice now- d'oh. I haven't had too many adventures but I will give a short run down.

Started housesitting again on July 27th (in the country club for the president of the arboretum)and will be done this Friday, the 12th of Aug. This is the main reason for being sessile the last couple of weeks. I did head to Portland for a night and go hiking to the top of multnomah falls along the Columbia River. I also escaped to Ellensburg July 30th and did some street dancing with Paige and her friend Rebecca at the "Jazz in the Valley" protest performance at D&M coffee. (M)ark of D&M is the son of my friend Julie- anouther one of the fantastic people I have met through Marleen! The next morning we headed over I-90 and hiked hiked up to the top of Tiger Mountain then back to Ellensburg for swimming at the People's pond with Marleen and the kids. I also escaped by myself back to Ellensburg this last weekend for a day of inspiration with my friend Jim; he is everything I would like to be. I just can't believe somebody that smart, educated, financialy independant, and concerned about conservation isn't actively working at some university to develop an efficient process of using algae to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into hydrogen gas.

Well, that was the quick and painless skinny of the last 23 days or so. I realize it was rather lame but what do you expect. I am planning lots for the rest of the month- Ryon and Brad visiting from D.C., boulder cave, hempfest, and camping at the beach (not necessarily in that order). Less than 3 weeks until we head back to E-burg and then anouther 3 weeks before I start classes, woo-hoo! Peace!

Damn it, I knew better than to come to Yakima for the summer where my demons all hang out. I am WEAK! I got word that my ex-boyfirend's wife left him and well, you know the rest. We have been hanging out for a few days now and I am loving every minute of it. I am not going to speculate where this is leading but go with the flow. He says he likes being around me again and I feel the same, at least I might have a dependable hangout/makeout partner for a bit.

I did a 7 mile hike on Rainier (7/12) up above Sunrise Visitor center on the sunrise rim and sourdough trails. It included a great view of emmons glacier which was beautiful. The subalpine tundra was magnificent with miniature life-forms that are 100's of years old.

Nothing else to report for now, until next time, Peace!