If anyone else is "dieting", thinking about "dieting", or what have you, head on over to my diet blog because I am restarting detox/induction today.

The problem with me is that I find too much enjoyment in being a nomad. The thought of settling down somewhere is frightening! Being in Las Vegas and not knowing where I would go next was both scary and exhilarating. Same thing with New Hampshire. When I spent a month flying all over the east part of the USA, (Michigan, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesse, Connecticut, etc) I had the time of my life. I found it far too easy to live out of suitcases, motels, and my car.

It's the fear of commitment that gets me. I can commit to friends and family, but beyond that it gets really dicey. Having pondered my living situation for the last year or so, I always found the idea of buying an RV and living out of that and being so mobile really attractive. Driving across the country twice exposed me to this whole culture of RVing that was really fun to watch.

Most of the RVers were, of course, retired folks, who had the time and money to do it. BTW, It's so absurd that you have to wait until you are 65 or older to actually travel and enjoy our country. I know someone who is closer to my age who bought an RV and has that mobility, but chooses to stay around the Vegas area. He loves it and I can't blame him.

So having been unemployed since November, I've found myself a bit disappointed that I didn't do something more fun with this time. I truly didn't think the economy would keep getting worse and that hundreds of people would be applying for janitorial jobs and such. It would've been fun to rent an RV back in November and just drive around!

I don't wanna believe that my traveling days are behind me. Is normalcy that only thing I have to look forward to???

Having been born on Tax Day, is it safe to assume that I was born to be a Democrat? It only took about 21 years, but the best Democrats are reformed Republicans!

Aren't really so funny and/or interesting because they are often false, misleading, half-truths, etc. Generally speaking, the emails that are simple jokes or funny pictures, aren't what I am referring to. You know exactly what I am referring to!

The emails that drive me insane are the ones that are political in nature or something that is a picture of something but the description isn't accurate, but almost always political or social in nature.

For instance, I received a forward of this beautiful building with this awesome interior. What was the building? A prison in the United States. The problem is that the prison in this particular email is actually a prison in Austria. A very nice prison, but something that US tax dollars didn't fund.

Honestly, I don't care how Austria spends it's tax dollars, but I do care that people spread these emails around without verifying the contents via Snopes.com or another website that is in the business of debunking. It takes, literally, 10 seconds of Googling to get to the bottom of these forward emails.

I remember getting so annoyed when people would assume what I believed as a Mormon. Really, it only took a few minutes of researching or asking questions to figure out that Mormons DO NOT sacrifice animals in the temple. Sending emails around is akin to the same type of ridiculous assumption that just because someone told you something or sent you something, it must be true.

This problem has only be exacerbated by President Obama's fast rise in politics and stunning defeat of Hillary Clinton, as well as the massacre that took place when the McCain campaign was dismantled by the Obama campaign's superior practices and theories of campaigning. How many Obama forwards exist? I would guess somewhere in the thousands. For the record, no he isn't a Muslim and even if he was, who cares?

One thing that has been great is that I receive fewer and fewer of these ridiculous forwards. The Republicans I know are either too smart to send me crap or they just don't get involved with this email forwarding game. When I do get forwards, they are usually funny jokes (even the political jokes can be funny), funny pictures, cute pictures of animals, etc.

A few days ago my dad took me out to lunch. We went to the Space Needle and ate at the top. It was a bit overpriced, but really fun as the restaurant moves around and you get a whole view of the city as it slowly moves (makes a whole rotation every half an hour or so). To eat at the restaurant, you must spend $25/person. Included in that $25 is the admission to the top of the Space Needle. So really you are only needing to spend what you would spend eating at a Cheesecake Factory or similar restaurant.

It was fun to get the view of Queen Anne and find my condo building! Seattle is a very unique and fun city and it is fun to live here. But, my mind can't help but wonder where I will be living come November, when my lease ends. I like Seattle, but parking is expensive, the bus system is overpriced and when you are in the ride free zone, it's a bit scary. Anytime you live in a big city, there are always complaints, which I why I just need to move out into the suburbs a bit. If I want to go to the mall or a movie, I don't want to pay for parking, unless it's valet parking. But I will miss my view!

Living in Idaho really gave me a craving for living on a property with some land. A bit of seclusion, but not too far from the city, some land for a big yard, a fire pit, but not tons of acreage because that would be a little scary.

Am I describing Auburn or something more eastward? If I won't live in the big city, do I really want the typical suburbia city with regular neighborhoods all filled with families and minivans? No thanks.

Federal Way has turned into "Ghetto Way" or "Federal Watts." Other nearby areas are equally as scary, or so I've read. How about a place with some land and a view of some water? Does that exist?

The blue team on The Biggest Loser drive me insane. I can have seen bigger babies than those two. Their problem taking orders from a woman is so evident, is there any doubt that they are sexist? Are they really Mormon? If so, what an embarrassment.

Wow, out of the thousands, maybe millions of people who manage to get thru customs with their undeclared items, Cuban cigars, drugs, suitcases of liquor, and way too many cartons of cigarettes, I got caught bringing in undeclared jewelry. So lame, but I should've been honest and declared it. Anytime I enter the country now, I am on some list where I'll be searched. Oh joy. 

I've most likely shared this quote before, but I love it so much, I'd like to share it again.

"When I tell any truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do." ~William Blake

In just a few days, I will be on my way to Miami, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten and I cannot wait. I definitely need to just get away and recharge my battery. How sad is that as I am not even working right now!?!

The weather this winter in Seattle hasn't been too horrible, but I am stoked for sunny skies, warm water, and warm wind, if there is any wind at all!

As the economy continues to take more and more victims, I am left wondering if there is any point in looking for a job at all? News story after news story document hundreds and thousands of people applying for low-paying and often times temporary work.

With that said, I am definitely moving full steam ahead with getting my knowledge compiled into a small book so as to consult campaigns on the use of candidate trackers. If they can't afford a consultant, they can get the small e-book and I might print out some hard copies because it would come in handy to have a small copy.

I better get to work, the 2010 campaign season is fast approaching!

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Enos 1:27.

"And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

A very comforting scripture in general, but most especially when a loved one passes from this life into the next. My Aunt Marilyn is now with her Redeemer and is resting and free from a physical body which can be prone to pain, sickness, and disease. But more than that, her mind and heart are free. Former Mormon President/Prophet David O. McKay once remarked:

"The greatest battles in life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul."

I haven't made my love and obsession of New Hampshire a secret. Can you blame me? NH is beautiful and has such a diversity of scenery that is incomparable. The Lakes Region, coastline, forest areas, the mountains (North Country), the more urban areas, the country, and all within a short drive of eachother. It reminded me of Idaho in some ways, though NH is a bit superior, IMO. It reminds me of Washington State much more.

Well one of the great things about Washington State is that you get a lot of that diversity, though much more spread out. Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and more, the country, the urban, the forests, the beaches and coastline, beautiful bodies of water, suburbia, etc. There isn't the beautiful color of fall that manifests itself in the leaves during Fall and there isn't the proximity to other states, but it's home, my home.

I am so excited to go camping, hiking, biking, weekending, etc. The west truly has so much to offer and the summer's in the west are amazing!

I am going to bear my testimony about the greatness of Facebook. It has allowed me to become closer with the friends I have, reconnect with long lost friends, become friends with people I met briefly, or might never have met without Facebook, and learn so much more about my friends* and in turn, learn about myself.

My mom always told me that the friendships from high school will pale in comparison to the friendships you get in college and beyond, and boy was she right.

If you haven't, get on the Facebook wagon.


*Also includes family.

I am thinking of having a housewarming party in the next week or so. I'd like to do it on a Saturday and have it be open for a few hours since my condo is only so big and people are pretty busy. I'd also like to have some nice weather so people can sit out on my deck and enjoy the view.

Would any of my family members reading this blog in the area drive to Seattle for it? Comment or facebook me and let me know.