Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I carved a pumpkin for the occasion. Hope you're celebrating or at least eating a little candy corn. Halloween and Thanksgiving are two of my favorite holidays because they are so simple yet absolutely enjoyable - good times with friends and family.

Lake Chelan Wordle

I created a Lake Chelan word cloud (with wordle.net) from my Lake Chelan Vacation post. This one is just for fun - I love how "lake," "water," and "chelan" are huge. I cannot wait for my next opportunity to soak in the sun at Lake Chelan.

Left/Right Brain

A coworker shared this link with me today, and I thought it was really cool. It is a very simple test to see if you use more of the right or left side of your brain. Look at the dancer, what direction is she spinning for you? See if you can get her to change directions. It's pretty trippy when you get her to go back and forth (try focusing on her bottom, almost stationary foot).

Left Brain v Right Brain Test

I see the dancer turning clockwise, as does my dad. Most people I have showed this to see her turning counter-clockwise. This makes me feel kind of special (in a good way!). Though I think I fall in the left brain column for some of the qualities, I think I am right brained as far as: imagination rules, present and future, can "get it" (i.e. meaning), spatial perception, fantasy based, presents possibilities, and sometimes impetuous. I am definitely not a risk taker though. Hopefully my to-do list will help me broaden my risk-taking horizons.

My To-Do List

By writing this down and sharing with others, hopefully I'll encourage myself to complete the list below. Below is my to-do list for the coming months. Winter can be a depressing time in the dreary Northwest, so here is a list to keep me motivated, active, in shape, avoid any symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, and keep off that holiday pudge. Some on the list like biking and running are not always feasible in Seattle winter, but I will try my best. Wish me luck!

• Get comfortable riding my bike on the street and getting around Seattle that way.
• Try mountain biking.
• Learn to drive confidently in the snow so I can go cross country skiing anytime I want this winter.
• Start regularly hitting the gigantic set of stairs by my house.
• Try downhill skiing this winter.
• Go snowshoeing for the first time this winter.
• Complete my Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book so I can be proficient Photoshop user.
• Learn to not hate running so much.
• Start reading each book on my bookshelf before I buy or check out more books. This includes Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, so we'll see how long that takes.
• Sign up to volunteer for the Seattle Expanding Your Horizons conference.
• Expand my music interests.
• Navigate Washington, D.C. by myself in a couple weeks.
  
• Visit Gabs and Galen as soon as possible!

One Drop Concert

On Friday, October 17, I went with friends to a reggae concert at the bar Nectar in Fremont. The groups Publish the Quest, Project Lionheart, and One Drop performed. I was there to see One Drop. They are fantastic, and so much fun to hear live. The crowd was buzzing, dancing, and singing along with their California rock reggae songs like One More Night, She's Gone, and Little Black Dress (my favorites).
Their music is so fresh, easy to listen to, upbeat, with great vocals... I had a blast! I love the casual atmosphere of a bar concert - I chatted with the guitarist before the concert and later bought a t-shirt from the band members. I can't wait for them to come back to Seattle! And I am going to start going out to local concerts more often around Seattle.

I sold my bookcase earlier in the day on Friday, so my saleswoman money bought cover, a One Drop t-shirt, and a round of drinks for the group, with money to spare.
I shamelessly pilfered these photos from my friend who took more photos than me at the show (thanks R). I was pretty sure we were going to get smacked in the head by the bassist's guitar, we were that close. These guys rock, literally.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

That's right, for all of you astute returning Seattle Swift readers, I have changed the name of my blog. Or rather, finally synced the title of my blog with my URL. I was unhappy with "The Bluest Skies," though I love the song and wholeheartedly agree, I didn't think it unique enough and it didn't really express my blog's purpose. So now I am Seattle Swift. Cheers!

Snow Lake

In summer 2007, I hiked Snow Lake with my best buddy who was moving to Boston in just a few days. We loved the hike and were amazed at the size of Snow Lake, as well as the craggy mountains surrounding it. I have been eager since then to hike it again, and did so last weekend when Washington fall colors were in all their glory.

The Snow Lake trail is about six miles round trip, with a moderate elevation gain. The trailhead begins from Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass. You climb pretty gradually through talus slopes, meadows, and trees before beginning steep switchbacks. After the steep, rocky switchbacks, you crest the mountain ridge and get a spectacular view of Snow Lake, then you descend steeply to the lake. It was cold and windy at the lake - so we ate our lunch quickly, gawked for a moment at the gigantic Snow Lake, then began our way back up to the top of the ridge.

Halfway along the trail, there is a cutoff to the Source Lake overlook. Source Lake is a minuscule lake sitting at the bottom of the valley, feeding into Alpental. We decided an overlook of Source Lake was enough, so began the final trek back to the car.

The Snow Lake hike was fantastic for a brisk, clear October day. The colors, though nothing compared to East Coast falls colors, were spectacular and made the scenery look ablaze and lively. It was a little chilly at the lake itself, but the view was still incredible. This will likely be my last hike for the season. Next up, cross country skiing and trying out snowshoeing!

Me with fall colors, mountains in the background, and my fantastic new hiking pants and boots.

The picturesque view of Snow Lake you get after cresting the mountain ridge.

A view from our lunch spot. It was very chilly at the lake, with a brisk wind and temperatures, we guessed, around 35 degrees. Brrr! We ate lunch quickly...

A panorama of the large Snow Lake.It looks like there are little patches of fire from the autumn colors.

Vine maples trees ablaze.

Another spot where it looks like there are little patches of fire at the bases of trees from the fall colors.

A study in color.

I liked the symmetry of this photo with the waning moon in the center.

Pandora Radio

My favorite new Web tool is Pandora Radio. It's a free, online radio that plays songs you want to hear based on your music preferences. You start by typing in a song or artist and then Pandora picks a song based on similar music types. You rate whether you like the song or not, and Pandora narrows in on what you want to listen to. When you give a song a thumbs down, it immediately skips to a new song. I found the radio is not great for artists you know really well, unless you want to hear only other songs you know really well. But it's perfect if you like a particular group and want to find similar music. You can see below I typed "Third Eye Blind" and got some great music choices from Pandora - all songs that I love. So cool!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I have been thinking a lot lately about my favorite places. I have learned that I am the type of person who likes to categorize - favorites, dislikes, pet peeves. When feeling lost in life, I believe those categories can help keep you grounded because they are something in yourself you can define. Especially the favorites, because they are the most fun.

Of course the home that I grew up in and my home now and my friends places are up there with my favorite places. But besides those, there are other places that are no longer simply locations, but memories, personifications, and significant to who I am as a person. Looking at photos of those places makes me happy to be who I am and happy to have lived my life. So I decided to share a few of those places with you Seattle Swift readers. And I want you readers to tell me some of your favorite places!

Santa Clara University in San Jose, California. My alma mater. And one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have fantastic memories of my English classes, amazing friends, stimulating intellectual conversations, the beautiful campus, and glorious California sun. I grew tremendously in my four years at Santa Clara. Below is the SCU Mission Church and the SCU Mission Gardens - a great spot for laying out in the afternoon sun with friends. Santa Clara has taken on the qualities of an oasis for me - a relief, refuge, haven, and delightful change. It looks like an oasis too, with palm trees and green grass and flowers galore.

This photo comes from the Wolf Creek Ridge trail, one of the trails in the Sun Mountain cross country ski system. Nearly every winter of my childhood and adolescence, my parents and I drove to Sun Mountain Lodge, near Winthrop, Washington, for three days of snow and cross country skiing. This place makes me love winter weather and helps me through dismal Seattle winters. I also learned to cross country ski here. Sun Mountain was one of the first places that helped me set measurable goals for myself. I decided each year I would attempt a more difficult trail to ski, until I reached the point I was skiing two hours uphill to come screaming back down the mountain.

And of course, Cannon Beach in Oregon. My family traveled to Cannon Beach nearly every summer of my living memory. For many of those years, my cousin traveled with us. So Cannon Beach means to me that close relationship with my cousin. Cannon Beach also means sand castle building, body surfing for hours in the frigid Pacific Ocean, exploring tide pools, riding fun cycles down the beach, sunsets, shopping in town, and sand between my toes and in my hair for days. I love everything about Cannon Beach and all the memories I have from there. Below is the castle I built with my dad summer of 2007.

Some other favorite places include: Lake Chelan, CYO Camp Gallagher, Seattle, and Mont Saint Michel in France.

So where are some of your favorite places? Where do you love that has shaped who you are?

Melted Chocolate Heaven

Last night I met friends for happy hour at Twist in Belltown. They have some great food specials, but it was hardly memorable after our next stop. After Twist, we migrated to the late night happy hour at The Melting Pot on Mercer in Lower Queen Anne.

This was my first experience with fondue. We shared the cheddar cheese fondue. The cheese was fantastic, warm and garlicky. They brought apples, veggies, and bread to dip in the melty ooey-gooey cheesy goodness (that sounds a little like a Taco Bell commercial, I apologize).

To follow-up the cheese fondue, we shared the pure milk chocolate dessert fondue. I will say, without hesitation, that this was the most amazing dessert I have had in my entire life. They brought out a plateful of pieces of brownie, pound cake, oreo-covered marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, and rice krispie treats. All to dip in the melted milk chocolate. Ahhh-may-zeeng. Whatever hippie thought up fondue must have a very prominent seat in heaven now. All three of us were giddy and giggly over the pleasure of our chocolate fondue.

I definitely want to make it back to the Melting Pot as soon as possible. And we vowed to start hosting our very own fondue parties. I also really enjoyed savoring each piece of food individually, instead of wolfing down a plate of pasta, or whatever I would have for dinner. Thinking about each piece and savoring it seems to be a better approach to eating than simply snarfing down whatever is available.

So if you have some time and love chocolate - try out The Melting Pot. Great for a girls night. And, Galen, we are so going when you are in Seattle!!!! Or making our own.

New Toy for Bloggers

So the past couple of days I've heard quite a bit about word clouds - programs that take your text and pull out the most commonly used words and create... a word cloud! I discovered a fun one at wordle.net and made one for Seattle Swift. If you are a blogger, or just want to try it out for your Web site or block of text, check it out - it's fun!

Welcome to the Neighborhood

So this might be a little inappropriate for my blog. But dang it, it's just too disgusting and hilarious at the same time not to share with those of you who haven't already heard the story.

So I live with a roommate on the top floor of a duplex - an old converted house. There is a great covered porch out front with a set of steps leading up to it. Along the steps are two wide cement railings with a flat base at the bottom.

Our downstairs neighbors had a party last Friday night. No big deal, they left us a note earlier in the week, and it was Friday, so noise is appropriate. We stayed in and didn't really let the loud music and shouts bother us too much. Saturday morning I slept in and left the house around noon for some errands. The midday sun was shining on our front porch. I walked blithely out to my car and returned about two hours later.

As I climbed the steps, I noticed to my shock, horror, and disgust that there was a pile of poop - yes a pile - sitting squarely in the sun on one of the cement railings. Wondering how a dog could have made it up there and why it would have been possessed to do such a thing, I immediately began to wonder if my roommate, myself, or our neighbors had some enemies. I ran upstairs to tell my roommate. We inspected the poop, thought about potential enemies, and decided due to the location it had to be a casualty from our neighbor's party.

We knocked on his door and let him discover the pile. At that point he said, pretty casually, "Oh yeah, one of my friends said someone pooped on the porch last night." Oh yeah! Cause that is something people do pretty often, nothing to be miffed about. So a person SHIT on our front porch. Really?! Really. I mean, really! This definitely goes up there with one of the more disgusting things I have experienced. But now that it's over and I don't have to see or smell it walking into my home, it is also so disgusting it is hilariously funny. Luckily our neighbor cleaned it up right away, and hopefully won't invite that friend over again.

Yikes!

The Seahawks have now lost four games and won only one, against the Rams, one of the worst teams in the NFL. I'm not giving up hope yet, but our prospects for making the playoffs this year look pretty grim. Our team just can't seem to stay healthy and our defense has had a lackluster at best performance so far this year. And the Giants kicking our butt was nearly humiliating, except for the fact that the Giants are one of the best, if not the best, teams in the NFL. I guess this means I might have more free time on Sundays since watching the games is not quite so exciting when your team is losing.

On a side note, I finally loaded photos onto my computer from the Seahawks - 49ers game on September 14th, the Seahawks season opener. It was a warm, sunny Seattle September day, so it was hard to be too depressed even though Seattle lost. Mother Nature perhaps decided to grant Seattle a beautiful September because she knew the Seahawks would bomb this year. So here are a few photos.