#40 - Visit the Grave of Edgar Allan Poe

...and the accompanying adventure.

This is obviously something I've wanted to do for a long time, as it's on the first page of my Bucket List. Poe has been one of my favorite authors for years, and I find myself in the heart of Baltimore this week, so I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

My dad was at his convention all day, leaving me to fend for myself. I had called him to see if he could sneak away for some brunch, but he couldn't, so he told me to take the money he left and go get a hotdog on the corner. He strictly specified if I stayed within the block that the hotel is on, I'd be fine.

Jokes on him.

I got my hotdog and decided, well, I'm already outside, might as well explore, right? I knew that the graveyard was close, but I didn't know what direction, so I pulled out my phone and mapped it. Literally the easiest directions ever, but it's important that I show you this map, so it's on the right.

Now why is this map so important, you ask? Well, you see... I got lost. Not "lost" in the traditional sense, but I walked right by it. Yes, I walked right by a 200+ year old graveyard. I even had looked at the church and said "Wow that's a beautiful building, I should take a picture of it..." and kept walking.

So when I finally figured out that I had gone too far, I turned around and eventually realized what I had done, it had started to sprinkle. I thought "no biggie," since I'm from Seattle and all. As soon as I set foot in the graveyard, to the sight of a beautiful monument erected for Poe, as well as what I understand is where Maria Clemm and Virginia Poe are buried.

As I walked around and browsed the graves of various famous (and not so famous) people, it started to rain harder. And harder. And harder. I eventually found the actual original burial place of Edgar Allan Poe, and crouched there for a minute or two before finally leaving. I had wanted to sit and read for a bit, but it was simply raining too hard. Some pictures from the graveyard:

 

 

So I decided to ditch the graveyard, thinking that the spirits were telling me that I should have listened to my dad. I knew I had passed the Lexington Market on my way there, and I figured I could find some solace there while the storm let up. So I briskly walked down the street to the market, dove inside, and tried to dry myself off a bit. I also took this picture to show how miserable and soaked I was. For reference, I was wearing flip flops with gel in them, and they basically just oozed water every time I took a step. Gross. 

So after the rain let up a bit I decided to head back to the hotel. Except, I did it wrong. Now, I'm gonna show you another map. Because this one is also important. Here's the map from the Market to the Hotel on the left. Shouldn't be that hard, right? Well this time, I didn't map it. I trusted my gut after I left the market and I walked the wrong way. And then I was like "Oh I know where I am because there are signs for the University!" and continued to walk the wrong way. And I might have walked into a bit of the wrong part of town because I decided to maybe look at a map. And then I VERY quickly turned around. Once I knew where I was I was golden and made it back to the hotel in no time (with a slight detour for some sweet tea). By the time I was within sight of the hotel there was tons of thunder and a bit of lightning, so I made it back just in time. My clothes are currently hanging over the tub and I'm comfortable in my PJs. AND I got to listen to the rest of the storm from the comfort of my bed.

So there you have it. Today we learned that although I am almost 23, I still need adult supervision. And if you leave me alone in a hotel room all day in a city I've always loved and never gotten to explore, I will not listen to you when you tell me to stay within a one block area. We also re-confirmed that even with a map, I never have any idea where I'm going. Ever.

#44 - Name a Pet Kuzco

So first off, I was talking about how I blog about my bucket list to a friend of mine and then I realized that I haven't blogged in almost a year, though I've accomplished a few things. Oops.

So here's a quick one for the night. Last June I was coming out of a doctors appointment and I saw this odd Yellow truck-van near where I get my prescriptions. At first, my mom and I thought it might be a taco truck, but as soon as we got closer I saw that it was the Humane Society and that there were, in fact, kitties in said truck-van. I yelled "PULL OVER NOW" and hopped out of the car before she had even put it in park (mind you, I had just had blood drawn and was in the middle of a ridiculous fibro flare).

So I was perfectly content just standing outside looking at all the cute kitties through the window, when suddenly a guy who works for slash volunteers for the Humane Society walks up to me and simply says the words: "You can go in and take them out of their cages if you want."

Man. What a mistake.

I opened up the door and immediately saw this little gray kitten standing up against the bars of his cage just meowing and meowing. I crouched down and frantically tried to let the little guy out, and once I finally figured out the handle he, no exaggeration here, LEAPT into my arms.

I started petting him and loving on him, and then I took a selfie with him cause who wouldn't want that, right?

My mom tried to tell me I couldn't have him, but she fell in love with him as well and in the end said "you're an adult and you can make your own decisions." So really what that means is "I am not taking responsibility for this when you tell your dad you brought home a cat."

So I brought home a cat.

And then hid it from my dad for 4 days.

But he became right at home, and walked in and looked around like he had lived here his whole life. He basically stepped in and said "This things? These are all mine."

And thus, Kuzco was named.

He is Lilo's baby, and occasionally thinks that he is a dog. To the point that he's actually a really heavy footed cat. Like, he may think he's sneaking around the house, but he's not. We all know where he is at all times.

Oh and all boxes are beds.

#53 - See Miss America Live in Vegas

So this happened way back in January, but I'm just getting around to blogging about it. Wow. Go me.

I only managed to get to one preliminary night and finals night, but that still fulfills my bucket list requirements, and I will say, it was QUITE A SHOW. I watched the amazing Miss Washington, Brittney Henry, perform her talent on Thursday and found out later she won non-finalist talent (deservingly so). I also got to go back to the reception area afterwards and talk to some of my pageant sisters, and B, which was awesome.

Finals night was ridiculous. I've never been to a live taping of anything before, so it was a totally different atmosphere for me. We sat in front of some people who were from Texas, who weren't pageant people but just happened to get tickets to the pageant because they were in Vegas. They seemed to really enjoy it even though they didn't know the ins and outs. Although I was disappointed that my girl didn't make Top 15, it was still a wonderful pageant and I was very happy with the outcome.

So, here are some pictures from my trip:

I found these awesome Dinosaur necklaces that I bought for myself and my roommate.

With Miss WA 2011 and 2007 at visitation on Thursday

The cousins and I at the Wax Museum. I was so much taller than ALL OF THE FIGURES.

My baby cousin and I before finals night with our WA signs that they took away from us. =(

So there's the trip in a nutshell. I'm also up to 131 things to do! OH NO!

#95 - Fill a Journal with Inspiration and Gift It

I completed this one a while ago, but never blogged about it because I don't really know how, but I'll do my best.

This past summer my friend Margaret let me borrow her horse to ride since mine were in Oregon. Margaret is 16 and like any teenager has some confidence issues sometimes with various things in her life, so I figured this was the perfect thank you/encourage you thing to do for her.

I bought a little journal and began clipping out pictures from magazines, as well as printing some pictures that I had taken of her. I also used inspirational quotes and song lyrics that I knew she liked. The idea behind this journal was that whenever she was feeling discouraged she could look in it, and even add her own inspiring things with the idea that perhaps she could gift this journal, or a brand new one, to someone younger when it comes that time.

There aren't really any pictures to "show" this one, so I'll leave it with this explanation. I also have expanded the bucket list to 128 things. I also completed another since I last blogged, but I'm tired, so maybe I'll write about that one tomorrow. 13 down, 110 to go.

A Realization

I was looking online today at some quotes, and I came upon a

realization. I used to ask people a question very similar to this:

In fact, my question was almost identical.  Whenever we would run out of conversation, I would ask this question. Great topic starter, no doubt. When I saw this, I flashed back to when I asked my first boyfriend this question and what his answer was. I realize now that at that moment that there should have been red flags.

For a year and a half I suffered through an emotionally abusive relationship with this person. With some studying and discussing with others, I realized that he had many of the symptoms of a sociopath. He would do purposefully hurtful (and sometimes illegal) actions and use his charm to win people over and make things okay. I realize now that I should have noticed something was wrong, when his answer to my question was "I would rob a bank, or maybe rape somebody." At the time I was just a naive teenager looking for a boyfriend, so I looked over anything that may have seemed bad.

I do not put this out here to harm him, which is why I have kept this person anonymous, nor do I write this to gain your sympathy. I write this for a few reasons.

1. I believe that if I release all feelings of regret I will be able to live a better life, and the best way for me to do this is to share those feelings with the world. I do not regret that I dated this person, for I learned a lot from the relationship, I regret that I did not see the warning signs when they were so obvious to begin with.

2. I want other young girls to know that it's more important to stay safe than to have a boyfriend. If something sounds off to you, talk to your friends or your parents about it. Don't just let it slide. The numbers of domestic violence are so high in this country, and once you're in it it's hard to leave.

2 1/2. I do not want anybody else to have to go through what I go through now. I lack all trust in men, making it nearly impossible for me to find a relationship. I ended a perfectly fine relationship with someone I loved because things began to remind me of my first relationship. Abuse effects you forever.

So tonight, I leave you with this: What would you attempt if knew you could not fail?

Number 58 - Go Cross Country Schooling

August 22nd, 2011, my best friend took me cross country schooling. This makes 11 of 100 things accomplished. I had a wonderful time at Northwest Equestrian Center in Rainer, WA. I shared my friend Margaret's horse Obe, so poor Obe had to go over everything twice, but it was well worth it. My first experience with cross country was over a baby ditch (right). It was such a baby ditch that it was only one sided, in fact. After jumping it for the first time, I loudly exclaimed "11 down, 89 left to go!" and everyone laughed. Later we jumped a "real" ditch, but never got a good picture of it, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Our second jump, left, was nothing exciting, just a log. Except for the part where it was up a hill, and the grass was really high so you couldn't see it until you were on top of it. Yeah, did I forget to mention that? Though it wasn't very big. I will say, cross country fences don't look big until you're a stride out from them, and then they look huge, and then you're going over them and you realize that they're not big at all. At least that's how it is for me. I hear it's different for everyone.

This is probably my favorite picture from the day. At least of Obe and myself. I do not have video at the moment, seeing as Allison has it all and she is currently in Waco, doing something for college. Smarty pants. I'll put video up once I have it.

Now for some non cross country related business. I realized a while ago that the picture I posted under FEI Dressage does not indicate that I showed FEI Dressage, since I'm wearing a short coat. I showed FEI Juniors, in which you still wear a short coat even though the tests and rules are sanctioned by the FEI. Since the picture doesn't show it, I will post video now. Here is my proof of accomplishing #19: Show FEI Dressage:

I'm also in the process of working on marking off a few other numbers before the summer is over. Let me know if I've inspired you to start a bucket list of your own, I'd love to know (It's also on my list to inspire 10 people to start their own). I hope you all are enjoying my adventures as much as I am!

My Bucket List

So I've been thinking. I want to change the world, right? Right. Well, what better way to do than by doing things that make me happy and inspiring people to do the same? Exactly, I can't think of one. I can promote my platform day and night, and I still will, but the only way to truly change someone is by making them happy about who they are. So new goal in life. Read on.

About 6 months ago I began making a bucket list. I started it after I saw the movie with Morgan Freeman, and I realized that life is short, and I didn't want to wait until I found out I was dying to realize I had missed out on all these amazing things in life. So at 20, I began a list of things I wanted to do before I died. I'll often add to the list, and today I brought it up to #100. One of the things on my list is to inspire 10 other people to start their own lists.

The most important thing about a bucket list is that it's not just things you might find cool, or fun to do. It's things that will make you happy, or bring joy to your life. I mean, the two aren't mutually exclusive, obviously they can be cool and fun as well, but that's not the purpose of the list.

To keep you on your toes, I'm going to keep my entire list a secret and just document things as I accomplish them. Some things will be able to be document via photo or video, and some you'll just have to take my word on. But I'll give you some ideas on what to put on yours. I have everything from Try Yoga (#96) to Tour Europe (#6) to Volunteer in a 3rd World Country (#91). Quite the span of things. Now onto the things I've accomplished.

#4 - Be a size 6. (June 2011)

#15 - Date a good guy. (December 2010-May 2011)

#16 - Have picture I've taken published in a national magazine. (February 2009)

#19 - Show FEI Dressage. (March 2008)

#39 - Have a walk in closet. (June 2011)

#54 - Have picture I've taken published on the cover of a magazine. (November 2010)

#59 - Go to the Baseball World Series. (October 2005)

#62 - See a play on Broadway in New York. (July 2007)

#63 - Go to a game at Old Yankee Stadium. (July 2007)

#67 - Fly in a hot air balloon. (August 2010)

So that's it. 10 down, 90 to go. Until I add more, that is. I'll add more pictures as I find them, and more accomplishments as I do them.