And in the end

What follows is the third (and sadly, final installment) of my interview as inquired by RA. I had a lot of fun thinking about and answering all 20 of her questions for Neil's Great Interview Experiment. I just hope my answers were as fun for all to read. Not much else to say today, as it's Friday, and dudes, I'm tired and so ready for the weekend. *** 17. Do you perceive a difference between being blonde or brunette? Or having long or short hair? In looking back at pictures of myself over the last couple years, I've changed my hair A LOT. But this cycle of change is normal for me, as I went through it in high school and college, too. It goes something like this: Grow hair to maximum capacity Feel frustrated with hair, dye/highlight it Cut off a few inches, add a few layers Still frustrated with hair, cut it to chin Still not content, cut it really short and highlight it really blonde Currently, I'm in the final stage, which means I'll likely go back to the beginning after this and start growing it out. But maybe not. Maybe I'm done doing the long hair thing, because it's just too painstaking, and I'm way too impatient. I'm also fickle, so I could change my mind about this tomorrow. But as far as feeling different as a blonde or brunette, yes. Ultimately, I feel as though blonde truly suits me. My real hair color is somewhere in between blonde and brown, but I have pretty fair features, save for the ultra-brown eyes, so blonde seems to lend itself to my overall look. I do know that Roth prefers me blonde, but I have friends who said they really liked me as a brunette, so I don't know. This last time when I was brunette, my hair was also at its longest, and I had a hard time doing anything with it. I've never been able to braid my own hair, or put it in hot rollers, or do anything beyond a ponytail, so I just wore it straight, and thus, I felt as though it weighed me down, made me look heavier than I really was. So in that regard, I felt my worst when it was long and brown, no matter what that Love and Rockets song would have everyone believe: I did not feel alive. 18. What was it about Seattle that made you move there? Is there anywhere else you'd like to live? After Roth and I were engaged, had picked a wedding date and knew for sure he'd be graduating from college the weekend before our nuptials, we started making covert plans to move. I had lived in San Luis Obispo my whole life, and while the Central Coast of California is a fantastic place to grow up, I felt I needed to be somewhere else. Roth agreed. Seattle was pretty much the only place on our list. We wanted to live in a bigger city, but not so big as to feel small or insignificant. We visited Seattle for a long weekend in February 2003 and let the idea of living there take root in the back of our minds. For some reason, it just felt right, knowing our desire to remain on the West Coast in a big(-ish) city unlike LA or SF. So we made it happen. Now that we bought a house here in Seattle, it's hard to imagine living anywhere else, but I feel like we could be happy in a place like Portland, or maybe Vancouver. Wherever we end up, though, I need to be (relatively) close to the coastline. The idea of being utterly landlocked really scares me. 19. I have never been to Seattle, but I would so love to visit. What types of things do you recommend to first-timers? Of course, you gotta see Pike Place Market, the Space Needle (though I wouldn't recommend paying the $17 to go to the top unless it's an absolutely brilliantly clear day), Gas Works Park, Kerry Park and the Fremont Troll. Those places are truly fabulous to visit on a first trip. But if you had more time and had a proper guide (ahem), I would recommend spending a couple hours in Ballard, downtown and at the Locks. Check out the Olympic Sculpture Park, or take a ferry across Elliot Bay to visit any of the myriad state parks on the coast side of Washington. See a movie at the Cinerama. Eat a burger from Dick's. Walk around Greenlake. Those are my favorite things to do now that I'm a true Seattleite. 20. Have you been able to get into a sewing class yet? Ultimately, what would you want to be able to make/do with your new skill? As previously mentioned, I did get into the sewing class, and I'm in total denial that it starts this Sunday. I'll have more to say about that tomorrow. Ultimately, I decided to take this class because I was embarrassed that I wasn't able to sew a button back onto a coat. Surely I could've asked my mom to teach me how to do that when she was here a couple weeks ago, but I was also hankering for a challenge, and given my love of Project Runway, learning to sew seemed to fit the bill. For the class, I have to pick an easy pattern to start. I could choose a simple a-line dress, or maybe a pair of pajama pants, but for some reason, I really want to make a cute retro-y apron. If that goes well, perhaps it'd be the next logical business venture for me, given my love of food and cooking? But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first: buy a pin cushion, along with 17 other little things I must have before Sunday's first class. Gah.