Ain’t no sunshine

It's 47 degrees in Seattle. This is not the record coldest; that was a high of 40 degrees in 1924. This summer reminds me of the summer of 1997. That summer, it was still cold well into June. I was working at the Pierce County Prosecutor's office as an intern. I would take the hour-long bus ride and then walk up the huge hill to the courthouse in Tacoma, shivering in my penny loafers and suits bought in North Carolina. What a strange summer. And now, 11 years later, I'm preparing for a wedding here in Seattle. I never thought I'd be doing this. I can't believe I've put up with this weather for so long.

Here's the sort of thing that gets me through: today I'm breaking in a pair of silvery Betsey Johnson shoes, with this cluster of cheery golden crystals on them that almost make me feel like it's sunny outside. They make me feel like a raindrop goddess.

I have some thoughts about maintaining passion. I spoke to my colleague Mark Tackitt today; he's an attorney who does conflict cases for the Office of Public Defense, so he does essentially the same job as I do, except as a solo practitioner. His hobby is civil war reenactment, which he's been doing for over 12 years. I asked how he keeps his interest in his hobby fresh, and he indicated that he tries to work to make everything as close to how it really was as possible, and that this is a very difficult thing to do. He also tries to do better and better events. Soon he'll be going to Gettysburg for a march that he's leading. See http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnppcGNvbi5uZXQvfnNpbGFzL2FuZGVyc2J1cmdtYXJjaC5odG0=

I'm going to try to do that to maintain interest in my passions. It's partly about keeping things as close to your artistic vision as possible, and try to make every "event" better than the last.

Right now my event is, of course, the wedding. I'm working hard and I think it's all coming along. The main things I need to do now are to design the programs, select paper for them and the favor tags, and figure out how much of each beverage we need. And there's a number of other easier to dos (call florist back with updates, bridesmaid gifts, pick up rings, pick up dress, get it cleaned, things like that), but I'm actually pretty happy with the way it's all coming along. I think everything really will be o.k. But anyway, I decided that there were some parts of the vision that could be compromised for the sake of economy (I didn't really need a photo booth, for example), and others that simply could not (I HAD to have terra cotta pots for the floral centerpieces-cum-favors that I'm making. Pastel baskets with checks wouldn't do. I actually had to fire this woman who was going to make them because she couldn't get that it had to be terra cotta pots with pansies and lavendar, not pastel checked baskets with hen and chicks. Sometimes it's difficult to make your vision a reality. I'm just glad my vision was something that is actually pretty doable. It's humbling that my vision is what kind of centerpieces to have on tables at my wedding reception, but that's how it is.

It's freaking cold in my office. Really kinda wishing I were in LA right now.