Washington Day 3 and 4.

On September 9th , Maggie, a friend from college got married to her fiancee John. The wedding took at the Rosewood room in Bothell,Washington. What happened at the wedding was the same thing that happened when I reconnected with Rachel the night before. Me, the Hartmanns, Maggie, and our friends Andrew and Viktoryia caught up like no time has passed.  After the wedding, I even got to see Matt's seven month old son. :0) 

This morning, Melanie and I met Rachel and her husband at IHOP for breakfast and they showed us a comic book store they go to once in a while. Then Melanie re introduced me to her new boyfriend before we headed back to Yakima. 

 I know I needed the re-connection more than any of them did because ever since grandpa passed away , I feel like summer is over for me  because my grandparents where who I used to spend my summers with growing up, and I can tell I am still learning how to make my own memories now as I go forward in life. So thank you , if I saw you over this weekend. Even if you didn't know it, you helped me out a bunch. Thank you all for the reminders of the good times we had, and the good times still to come.

Love you all

Donna 

Washington Day 2

In the midst of watching the news about Hurricane Irma, and learning more about the  brush fires that came to Washington and Oregon, I learned that I really am blessed. 

Today I ran before Melanie came into town. After lunch , Melanie and I went to the drug store to get last minute things for the wedding, and we met our friend Rachel for dinner at Los Palapas, a mexican restaurant in Lakewood. 

It has been years since I have got to meet up with Rachel, but if you don't know her and Melanie - you should. Rachel and Melanie lived, and worked with me when we where going to school, and they still choose to be around me, even though I am a handful.  Rachel like me,  is half white and filipino. Rachel now works at the Washington State Department of Corrections doing PR work.  Melanie is working with her dad at the Kwik lok factory. Even years later, they are both just as hardworking, ambitious, and funny as the day I met them.  It was like the three of us never stopped talking when we where at the restaurant. 

Teddy has known me since birth , has been the mediator between my mom and me for 32 years, and still chooses to host me when I come to the westside. AKA Teddy lets me look through/steal her books and confuse her cat Prince Edward with all the going in and out that I tend to do when I am traveling.

The Hartmanns have done nothing but treat me like family since we met at Central Washington University , and my mom well I know she wants nothing less than for me to be successful , happy and healthy. (I just won't admit that aloud .) 

I want all of them to be nothing short of successful, happy and healthy as well and really, I am the one that is blessed to have all of them in my life. 

Love you all,

Donna 

Washington -Day 1

Well, after a later start than planned, I made it to Washington state. So far, Teddy and I have caught up , ate dinner , and now we are just relaxing for the night. I still need to wrap up my friends wedding gift for Saturday , and I am trying to figure out how to get some running in while I am up here.
Today I have decided , whenever I get a place of my own, I want a place with a big attic that I can walk in. I want to make it my personal library. Everytime I go to Teddys I always have to go up in hers at least once while I am visiting. *hehe*
For me it's still hard to believe how much has changed since I started going to school here. Some  of my friends already have houses of their own, and are , or have already got married .
But I hope no matter how old we get, or where life takes us, we're never to get together every now and then.
Love you all
Donna

San Japan...

Well folks, Saturday turned out to be a busy day.
I got up early that morning , ran three miles and  kept the eye on the booth until Laura came to
I got to go to San Japan, the annual anime convention here in San Antonio with my friend  Laura this past Saturday. Laura needed help with her costume as the Diva from "The 5th Element."  I didn't even need to go around the whole convention to see all the different costumes people put together. I just had to wait until they wanted to take Laura's picture and then take their picture while I was there. *Hehe*  It reminded me that Laura and I really have known each other for a while now. I still remember when she started working on that costume, and even way before she started cosplaying. So, I knew the diva before she became a diva. haha. We ended the day after having a dinner with some friends.  It was a blast getting to take my picture with someone dressed as pikachu, and catching up with people I don't get to see everyday.
Saturday also reminded me that  both have played an important part of my life.  If you know me, you know I am a geek to the core. I love anime, Disney movies, I am still waiting for my acceptance letter to Hogwarts, and dream of becoming a Pokemon master.  But when I run, I can't help but think of  where I've been,  and the road still ahead of me. As I get older, I hope both things can continue to be a part of my life.

A decade later...

Hello everyone!
Well Tuesday it was back to work for me.
Before that, I just enjoyed the fact I had extended  weekend because  of the weather.  Here in San Antonio,  the weather had definitely cleared up on Monday. Now we're making sure the victims get the help they need.
I also spoke with my friend Matt on Monday night. He reminded me we have known each other for a decade now, and decided that it was a good thing when we where going to college we did not have snapchat. I was already bad enough with text messaging to the point where the president of  ABLE( the advocacy group for students with disabilities at the time I was there had to tell me there was no sexting ( sending sexually explicit text messages) at our meetings. ( I know where's the fun in that, right?) Although, we both agreed having UBER back in college would have come in handy, because that way we could have had a designated driver after a night of drinking - I mean studying .  It made me wonder what makes some friendships last over the years, and others not so much.
10 years later, I am still just as perverted , and  sarcastic as I was back in the day.The only difference is I have to keep it PG  during the day since I work in an office. 
Perhaps the answer to what makes relationships of any sort last is last genuinely accepting people for they are. In the book I finished Sunday night, Bittersweet,the heroine of the story was getting a divorce because her husband in the story just wanted her to stay home and raise the children, and not work at all- even after their kids where away in college and he knows photojournalism is a passion of hers.  But ,in the end, the heroine found someone who really appreciated what she had to offer , and she didn't have to change at all.
 So here's to another decade of friendship , and  many cups of coffee together.
 Love you all.
-Donna

Hurricane Harvey....

Well,  yesterday was quite the day. They let us all leave work at 4  yesterday because of Hurricane Harvey and unless they say otherwise, I am off until Tuesday.   Anyway, after I got home, mom and I went to the store to get some supplies , and now we are waiting for the rain to pass. We have bottled water, some soup, and now it is time for the storm to pass.
Today I ran three miles on the treadmill, let everyone know I am ok, and I have Mamma Mia on so I can imagine singing ABBA songs on a Greek island while I am housebound. So far there has not been any flooding, however it is raining and  still windy , so  I am staying home unless I really need to go somewhere.  I have only went out to get the mail, and  as of three hours ago, according  to the national weather service we are under a tropical storm warning.

Stay safe and dry everyone.  Love you all.
-Donna

Jumpdrive pictures....

So, I am 32 now. For my birthday , Wendy one of the coaches from our running group made a birthday cake, and my mom and I ate lunch together. I went to the movies with my friend Debra , and a couple of friends of ours, There I learned if enough people in your group tell the guy at the ticket counter they are senior citizens,  out of confusion, they will give everyone in your group a senior discount. I ended up only paying 5.00 for my ticket .  The movie we saw, Girls Trip was funny, and I want to see a movie at the Hueber Oaks theater again. I loved the reclining chairs we got to sit in while watching the movie.
 I  also got some packages from Washington in the mail.
 I came across a jump drive with old photos, and writings from when I was 18, and the beginning of my twenties because my grandma loved to save everything.

While looking back at pictures, and things I wrote back back then I wondered how much I have changed since then.
 I know I at least try to be healthy. I have learned that I can keep a job, and since I have been 18 have between now and then have lived with a friend, boyfriend, and of course family. My friend Shavonne said I have more backbone then when we first met. I would like to think I am a little better with money. I remember being in the red at the bank when I was younger, and charging things on credit cards that I knew I really couldn't afford.   I hope that I continue to  grow as a person. I want to be the kind of person that is always doing something to keep my mind, and body active, as well as be  that person  you can talk to about anything and everything.

 But of course there are some things that will never change with age. I am still neurotic. I still daydream alot.  I still like coffee,  swimming, seeing friends, reading,writing, netflix binging, and staying up late. I am still waiting for my acceptance letter to Hogwarts, and I am still the girl who can't leave half price books without buying a book, or two, or three there.
So, perhaps  as we get older, we are more like the trees in our yard. As much as we branch out, the important things will always stay the same.
Love you all,
Donna