Seattle Swift

The Weird Gets Weirder: A Follow-Up

2009-09-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

A photo follow-up to my previous post The Weird Gets Weirder. The photo of my grandmother is a photo of a photo, so the quality is not great but hopefully gives you an idea why I did a serious double-take.

Go Dawgs!

2009-09-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

The University of Washington Foundations of Legal Study two-week introductory course and orientation starts Monday. Just three days and I will be a student once again. Today I turned in my locker request form, bought my school supplies (lots of highlighters), and got my student ID. It was a very exciting day and I can't wait to start classes and meet a whole bunch of intelligent, motivated, and interesting people.

Kendall Katwalk

2009-09-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Kendall Katwalk has been on my must-hike list for about two years. After my last day of work on August 31, I finally had time to hike the Katwalk. It was a beautiful late summer day: blue sky, cool breeze, and fresh legs for the eleven and half mile hike. After hiking the Katwalk, I don't feel much need to hike more around Snoqualmie Pass since the Katwalk gives you nearly 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, including Red Mountain, which is one of the most spectacular mountains I have seen in my limited hiking experience. The Katwalk is a short stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail, which means the elevation gain was not too brutal and the trail was well defined. Definitely worth hiking!

Area: Snoqualmie Pass
Distance: 11.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 2700 feet
High Point: 5400 feet

Candy corn-looking fungi. I was tempted to eat it. Luckily I resisted.

Early view of Red Mountain. I had no idea we would be eye-level with its peak later in the hike.

I like the juxtaposition of the two mountains in this photo.
Looking west. Snow Lake is just over the mountains in the foreground.
Panorama view from the Katwalk looking east.
Gray jay - or camp robber - eating out of my dad's hand.
The Katwalk!
View down into the valley from the Katwalk. Some wobbly knees here no doubt.
We finally made it to the Katwalk.
My dad strolling along the Katwalk.
Full view of Red Mountain (aptly named, eh?).
Marmot keeping watch of his scree. His shrill whistle hurt our ears. So loud!
Marmot keeping an eye on us as we slowly pass.

Seahawks Preseason Game

2009-08-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

I went to the Seahawks - Broncos preseason game at Qwest Field on August 22nd with a group of friends. I'm an opponent of preseason, but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed sporting my Hasselbeck jersey, hanging with my friends, tailgating in the sunshine, and getting excited for a new Hawks season with new possibilities (i.e., Mora, Curry, Houshmandzadeh). Foam fingers up!

Boston Harbor

2009-08-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't end up taking many photos during my Boston trip - mostly because I was having a grand old time with my best bud. But here's one from Georges Island across Boston Harbor towards Boston. Prior to my trip, I was unaware that Boston even had islands in its harbor. So we spent some time exploring Georges Island, which is home to Fort Warren, a nineteenth century fort built during the Civil War. We also took a day trip to Salem, learned about the Salem Witch Trials, gallivanted around Cambridge, toured Harvard Yard (or Haaarvard Yaaard) and Harvard Square, ate delicious food, and went to the Museum of Fine Art. In Cambridge Square, G pointed out the law offices of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. Hilarious.

The Weird Gets Weirder

2009-07-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I was flipping through a photo album my mom put together a few years ago after my grandmother passed away. It is far and away one of the best gifts I have received, with photos of my grandmother as a young twenty something newly transplanted to Seattle (Capital Hill area) through her celebrating my high school graduation with me.

I flipped through the album once and on another pass, did a classic "holy shit" double take. In one of the early photos, probably from the late 1940s, my young grandmother is standing in front of a house that not only looks close to exactly like the one I live in now but, by God, has the same house number. Shit you not. (Sorry for the profanity in this post, it's mostly necessary under the circumstances.)

So I took the album outside to compare the photo with my current residence. There are some slight differences: the wooden steps leading up to the porch are now cement stairs, the windows on either side of the front door has different glass details, the front door is different, and the house numbers are in a different location.

But there are significant similarities: the upstairs window details are the same, the door location the same (with an obviously updated front door), the brick apartment building behind the house the same, the siding and roofing the same, porch details the same, the upstairs drain pipe is in the same location, the tree to the right of the porch the same type of tree, and to top it off, I found holes drilled in the front pillar where house numbers used to be that matched the old photograph.

Could it possibly be that I am living in the same house my grandmother lived in 60 years ago? Some serious sleuthing is in order to solve this one... but I do very much hope I can get to the bottom of this. What a small world it is.

Mount Pilchuck

2009-07-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

I hiked Mount Pilchuck finally on Friday, July 17. Getting a semi-late start, it was already hot out (it reached 90 degrees in Seattle). But the sky was as clear as one could ask for on a summit hike. Despite the hot weather, Pilchuck was a fantastic hike with breathtaking views almost the entire distance of the trail. At the top, we scrambled to the defunct fire lookout tower with 360 degree views of Mount Rainier, Central Cascades, Glacier Peak, Three Fingers, North Cascades, Mount Baker, Puget Sound, surrounding lowlands, and everything in between. Standing on the rickety fire lookout tower gave me the willies, but the view was worth any shaky knees. Definitely worth the climb!

Area: Mountain Loop Highway/Granite Falls
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2300
High Point: 5340

View from the fire lookout northeast.

Fire lookout tower with daring people scaling surrounding rocks.
Glacier Peak.
View east from the fire lookout of Glacier Peak and Central Cascades.Mount Baker to the left under some clouds; Three Fingers to the right.
View North from the fire lookout.
View west towards Puget Sound.
View southeast from fire lookout.
One peak of Pilchuck.
Our future destination!

Las Vegas 2009

2009-07-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed my first Vegas trip in May. Highlights of the trip: lounging in the desert heat by the wave pool at the Mandalay Bay (our hotel), seeing the Treasure Island show, breakfast buffet at our hotel, riding the XScream at the top of the Stratosphere 866 feet above the Strip, seeing the Las Vegas lights from the top of the Stratosphere at night, riding in a stretch hummer down the Strip (Vegas is awesome), and spending time with five fabulous ladies.

View from the Stratosphere.
MGM Grand lion.
New York, New York.
Ballys, the Paris, and the Vegas strip.

Blogging Fail

2009-07-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

Some of my loved ones have pointed out my blogging fail as of late. I have a lot of legitimate excuses, but mostly it just comes down to laziness. I do apologize - I will try to post some photo updates. I've been occupying most of my time with work, hiking, seeing friends, Northwest activities, naps, reading Digg, and some latest TV show addictions (Entourage, True Blood, and Weeds).

Biggest update: I made my final decision recently to go back to school this fall. I will be entering the University of Washington Law School this September. I'm excited, nervous, and apprehensive all rolled up into a compact knot in my stomach. Needless to say, my life will change dramatically over the coming months as I transition from young professional back to starving student. Hello again my old friend, Top Ramen.

Denny Creek to Melakwa Lake

2009-07-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

I hiked Denny Creek to Melakwa Lake on Friday, July 10. It was warm outside and the hike was beautiful. Melakwa Lake has been on my list to-do for about two years; it was gratifying to finally check it off my list. The same morning of my hike I finished my final session of morning boot camp (up at 4:45 a.m. to exercise for an hour) so I was pretty exhausted on the way up but still thoroughly enjoyed myself. At boot camp that morning I managed to decrease my mile time by 20 seconds. Hike and boot camp win!

Area: Snoqualmie Pass
Distance: 9 miles
Elevation Gain: 2300 feet
High Point: 4910 feet

The trail passes under floating I-90 about a half mile from the trail head.
Hemlock Pass - the high point of the trail and passage way to Melakwa Lake.

Needle in the Sky

2009-07-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

I was leaving an IMAX show of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and had a great view of the Space Needle. I love the color of the sky in this photo. And seeing my first IMAX movie (aside from those exploring the oceans, etc. IMAX films) was a lot of fun as well.

Fremont Solstice Parade

2009-06-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed the Fremont Solstice Parade for a second year this year. With horrendous parking around Fremont and Wallingford, we arrived after the start of the parade. I was disappointed that we missed the famous naked bicyclists' ride at the beginning of the parade. To our surprise however, we stumbled upon the entire cadre of nude bicyclists gathered on the large hill in Gasworks Park and mingled amongst the crowd at the end of the parade route. Quite a different atmosphere than a usual Saturday afternoon.

The rest of the parade was enjoyable as usual with fun, festive, funky, and just plain weird floats and people of all shapes and sizes (including a flying spaghetti monster float with a slew of pirates). I snapped just a single photo this year - our view of the parade route. The wolverine costume was pretty funny.

Lake Serene

2009-06-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

I hiked Lake Serene on Sunday, June 14. The weather turned out to be a little discouraging since the trail and lake were almost completely socked in by thick fog. We couldn't see any more than 100 feet of the lake from our lunch spot. Nonetheless, Bridal Veil Falls along the trail was a highlight. A side trail allows you to climb right next to the waterfall and cool off with the spray from the falls. The trail itself climbs very gradually for the first mile and half; it gains most of its elevation in the final two miles which were two of the tougher miles I have hiked thus far. I would definitely like to return to Lake Serene for views of Mount Index and the lake itself.

Area: Index, Stevens Pass
Distance: 7.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2000 feet
High Point: 2521 feet

Boston Bound

2009-05-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's official, I finally booked plane tickets to visit my best buddy who currently lives in Boston. It took me two years to get around to it, but Boston, here I come! I can't wait to spend some quality time with my friend and see the great city of Boston!

Seattle Summer

2009-05-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times posted their Seattle summer guide last week, which includes all the local area events for May through September. I've already picked out some must-dos and am all aflutter thinking of Seattle summer and the incredible amount of activities available in the Emerald City. Though I'm trying a little to suppress my Type A planning tendencies, it's nice to know your options! I mean, how could I miss naked bicyclists at the Fremont Solstice Parade? It would be a true outrage.

Check it out: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/travel/summerguide.html

Little Si

2009-05-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

A few Fridays ago I headed out to North Bend (a mere 45 minutes from Seattle) to hike Little Si, Mount Si's smaller cousin. The hike was relatively easy, though still a reasonable workout with nice views of North Bend and Mount Si at the top. I also saw rock climbers along the way, which was neat. Here are a few photos.

Snapshot of the trail.Rock climbers below Little Si.

A view of North Bend from Little Si.View of Mount Si from Little Si. The top of Si was shrouded in clouds, so I was happy I opted for Little Si.

Oyster Dome

2009-05-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I haven't posted for an entire month! Between work, weekend activities, a Vegas trip, major life decisions, and plain ole laziness, I just haven't been in the mood. My apologies to all of you who still check regularly... I will be better!
Anyway, back to the title of the post. Oyster Dome. Yesterday, I hiked Oyster Dome in the Chuckanut Mountains (cool name, eh?) just south of Bellingham by Lake Samish. I have been eager to hike Oyster Dome for some time since it is usually clear of snow year-round and instead of the usual Cascade range hike, you get sweeping views of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Ergo, sunny Saturday... Oyster Dome... with ulterior motives to also visit the Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham for some Northwest goodness in the form of microbrew.
Oyster Dome is approximately 6.8 miles round trip with an elevation gain of around 2,000 feet. So it's easier than Mount Si but not a walk in the park. There were parts of the trails that were, how do I say, steep. And I forgot my hiking boots to boot so I was operating with no tread, mud, and a genetic penchant for clumsiness. However, with only a few trips and slips, we made it to Oyster Dome for a great view of the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound. Some high overcast made Olympic Mountain views limited, but nonetheless, it was impressive and worth the climb.
Below the Oyster Dome itself, there are a series of bat caves (for the winged mammal, not the bat mobile). We stopped for a short peak into these, though the entrances were small and cramped so we opted not to go spelunking this time. After tromping our way back down the trail, we set off north on Chuckanut Drive with Boundary Bay on the brain.

For a Seattle girl, I do so enjoy Bellingham. It has a much more relaxed vibe, with younger, easier going folks and wide, empty streets. Boundary Bay was fun with lots of great beer, good food, and some ridiculously spicy Thai vinagrette salad dressing for a ginormous small house salad. It was a good end to a good hike and great day. Once there is a bit more snowmelt, I'll be back up north for camping at Baker Lake and hopefully rafting on the Nooksack River.

My First Mariner's Game of the Season

2009-04-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

I went to my first Mariner's game of the season last night, and what a game it was. Griffey is back and scored his 400th home run as a Mariner. Late in the game Ichiro hit a grand slam to help bring the Mariner's to a final score of 11 to 3 over the Anaheim Angels. Not to mention it was a beautiful spring day in the Emerald City. I will add a photo or two to this post in a few days.
And speaking of Anaheim... I will be off soon enjoying the California sun (for the first time since I graduated in 2007) at Disneyland. Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder, here I come!

Second Beach Camping

2009-04-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago I camped on the beach at Second Beach near La Push on the Washington coast. The weather was amazing and Second Beach spectacular. I explored tide pools, marveled at offshore sea stacks, saw gray whales at First Beach, enjoyed the sunshine, sat by the campfire roasting hot dogs, saw a shooting star, and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean just 15 paces away from my tent. On the way home, we stopped at Lake Crescent to look at a little slice of temperate rain forest. It was a great weekend, and despite having sand just about everywhere, camping on the beach is probably one of the coolest things I have done. Here are some photos...

Wallace Falls Hike

2009-04-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning, I woke up reasonably early to hike Wallace Falls in Gold Bar, Washington, on Highway 2. It was raining lightly as I drove out the trail head, but I was prepared with my hat, rain coat, and waterproof boots and happy the rain meant the trail wouldn't be crowded.

I hiked about five miles round trip, seeing lower, middle, and upper Wallace Falls. There is about 1,300-feet of elevation gain to the upper falls, so the hike is not terribly strenuous. But I will say that when the trail goes up, it is steep. This also means there are nice flat spots to catch your breath though as well.
The hike was great, with views almost the entire way. Hiking by myself, I set a fast pace and ran back down the trail to keep my heart rate up. Wallace Falls drops 265-feet within the state park, a height comparable to Snoqualmie Falls. It was very impressive to see and I really enjoyed the hike. The rain gave a very Northwesty feel to the hike as well. Wallace Falls is definitely a must-see for all you locals!

Vitamin D Levels Return to Equilibrium

2009-04-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

I hope all of my fellow Seattleites have been enjoying the sunshine. Though the weather is going to turn chilly again tomorrow - we've been enjoying sixty and seventy degree weather here in the great Northwest. It's absolutely glorious. Reliable sources on Wikipedia report that 20 minutes of UVB exposure can return vitamin D levels to equilibrium for people. So for my health and well-being, I spent the afternoon yesterday sitting in the sunshine at Gasworks park doing nothing except people watching and restoring my dangerously low vitamin D levels. Ahhhh sunshine. Raise your hand if you forgot how wonderful the warm sun feels!

Last weekend I also camped on the beach (yes, like 20 feet from the ocean) at Second Beach near La Push. More on that soon once the weather turns crappy again. For now, my free time will be spent outside. TTFN!

Off to a Good Start

2009-03-31T16:26:00.001-07:00

Well the Seattle Sounders are off to a great start. First of all, they are one of only two Major League Soccer (MLS) teams to still have zero goals scored against them. Second of all, Sounders forward Fredy Montero was MLS Week 1 Player of the Week and Sounders goalie Kasey Keller was MLS Week 2 Player of the Week. Third of all, Montero is first in the running for the Budweiser Golden Boot award. AND the Sounders are currently first in the Western Division.

If you ask me, that's just about the best start for a brand new team as we could have hoped for. Keep it up, Sounders!

Closing Washington Parks

2009-03-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times reported today on the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, who identified more than 47 state parks that could be closed temporarily or transferred to different governance to cut costs. Washington state legislature has suggested similar cuts to parks and recreation in the past.

Lawmakers eye $5 car-tab fee to keep state parks open
Seattle Times - March 30, 2009

I understand that these are tough economic times for everyone, especially state governments. But there is not much that infuriates me more than closing areas of recreation - most of all during a recession. If there is a time people have need for access to free recreation, it is now. Some of the parks they suggest closing include St. Edwards Seminary, Wallace Falls, and Fort Ebey - all parks that include constructive and free activities like camping, hiking, and mountain biking. These activities can help keep kids out of trouble, provide weekend getaways for families, and define Northwest life.

All I can say is cut costs elsewhere; do whatever it takes... do not close parks.

Pix from my Weekend

2009-03-29T17:22:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the second Sounders game, in which they beat Real Salt Lake two to zero. Undefeated! Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, and though my hiking plans were thwarted due to heavy mountain snowfall, I still got out to walk around Discovery Park and cruise Alki. Here are some pix from my weekend (in Seattle Times spirit, which often posts reader photos).

Hiking Mount Si

2009-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Mount Si is the most-hiked trail in Washington State. Over 80,000 people per year hike the 3,400 feet to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, many consider it a sort of right of passage for Washington hikers. Just outside of North Bend, Washington, it is a short drive from downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

This past Saturday was my first experience hiking Mount Si. Two friends were visiting from out of town so we along with a coworker and friend took our chances on the partly sunny day to get outside and climb a mountain.
I've been on a fair number of hikes, but I will say that Mount Si is steep. It's up, up, up the entire four miles to the top (except for maybe 100 yards). But as such, it is an incredible workout. Needless to say, two days later - I'm still sore. About two miles in to the hike, we discovered snow still packed on the trail. With three of the group in tennis shoes, we waffled a bit about turning back or continuing to the top.
Luckily, we decided to press on and after a little slipping and sliding, we made it to the top for a view of the Cascades, Mount Rainier, the Olympics, Puget Sound, and downtown Seattle and Bellevue. I was happy I brought my binoculars. We sat for a quick lunch, but it was pretty chilly and snowing lightly so we didn't linger long.
Though we had been nervous about coming back down on the snow (most hikers we encountered on the way up were wearing crampons and using hiking poles), the way down turned out to be the best part of the hike. We set off gliding down the snow in a sort of mesh between sledding and cross country skiing. We made excellent time. Minus a few icy spots - it was a blast coming down the mountain.
As we drove away from the Mount Si parking lot, looking back at the mountain we realized how impressive it was that we just climbed an entire mountain. As I visited with friends later that evening, I made sure to tell them I climbed a mountain today! Hiking Mount Si was a great way to spend a Saturday in March. Hopefully next up within a few weeks: Wallace Falls.

Seattle Sounders Inaugural Game

2009-03-22T20:33:00.001-07:00

On March 19, 2009, I was lucky enough to attend the Seattle Sounders FC inaugural game, which was also the Major League Soccer season opener. The Sounders played the New York Red Bulls in front of a packed house.

Season ticket holders received their inaugural game tickets attached to a bright green Seattle Sounders scarf with the team logo and Sounders in huge letters. As a result, the crowd was awash with lime green. Others were festooned with similar lime green Sounders paraphernalia. The crowd was great - everyone excited and anxious to see the brand new major league soccer team. But the crowd was also much less rowdy than your typical Seahawks game crowd, so there was no worry of a fight two rows in front of you or beer spilled down your back from the drunk fan behind you.

I love sports - especially the camaraderie of hanging out with friends watching your team battle against a rival. But I must say, as much as I like football or basketball and sometimes even baseball - soccer is the only major league sport I ever myself played competitively for a long period of time. This makes the game SO much more fun to watch. I know the positions and what they do; what a header feels like; what fancy footwork can be used to trick the opposing team; and simply how awesome and exhausting soccer is. I really enjoyed the game and cannot wait to see more games in the future.

Our fantastic goalie Kasey Keller keeping good care of the Sounders goal. He saved our butt a couple times this game and proved he's dynamite.
The Sounders got off to a great start and beat the New York Red Bulls three to zip. In soccer, this is by all means a good solid route. And what a great beginning to our brand new major league sports team. I see a bright future for these guys (though my crystal ball is not always accurate). And how cool is it that the Sounders have sold more season tickets than any other major league soccer team in the U.S. ever? Wow. Pretty incredible.

The Sounders outplayed and outran the Red Bulls. The Sounders beat them to the ball almost every time; took more shots on goal; and played tougher throughout the game.

Goal! Third goal of the game was a spectacular one - and the crowd went wild!

Support the Swift Walkers!

2009-03-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Last year two of my fabulous cousins organized a Swift Family Relay for Life team, called the Swift Walkers for a Swift Cure. Relay for Life is put on by the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and funding for cancer research. The event takes place all over the country at parks, playgrounds, and other outdoor areas. Teams relay continuously for 24 hours (actually only 20 hours this year) after spending months raising money and helping spread the word about the event.
Last year, we took turns walking for an hour at a time. We spent time throughout the day decorating luminaria for a candlelight walk to remember all of our loved ones affected by cancer. Teams camp overnight with someone always walking to support the cause. Our team captain last year blogged about the event.

Last year, at the Green Lake Relay for Life:

The entire Relay raised almost $90,000 to benefit cancer research.
Swift Walkers for a Swift Cure raised $6,633 to benefit cancer research.
This made us the #2 fund raising team!

Now, it's that time again, and I have taken on Swift Walkers for a Swift Cure Team Captain duties for the Green Lake Relay for Life 2009! I am very excited to get the team organized and motivated for another year of Relay. So one of my tactics is to get you Seattle Swift readers to support our cause.

For my family members and friends, join our team! Or if you can't make it to the event, donate to the Swift Walkers. Or if you are not in Seattle, consider starting your own Relay for Life team or getting involved with another team. Most of us have loved ones who lost the battle to cancer... so show your support for their memory and future generations!

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/swiftwalkersrelay

Let's Relay!

Sounders Countdown

2009-03-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Next Thursday - March 19th - marks the Seattle Sounders FC very first regular season game. The Sounders will play the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer opener at 6 PM Pacific.

With the positive swing in Seattle sports recently following dreary baseball and football seasons (the UW Husky men's basketball team just finished first in the Pac-10), I am hopeful for the Sounders inaugural season.

Go Seattle!

Feeding an Addiction

2009-03-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I did a bad thing on Saturday... I bought books. For the past year and half or so I've been trying to curb my book buying. Books are getting more and more expensive and the Seattle Public Library system is fantastic. Ergo: no need to buy books. Not to mention I already have way too many books on my need-to-read shelf.

BUT I was enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon meandering around the University of Washington Bookstore and simply couldn't help myself. The U Bookstore is such a nice environment for book lovers, and they have used books mixed in with their new books. The used books are marked with a little yellow sticker on the spine - so I browsed around some of my favorite authors (Margaret Atwood and Tim O'Brien) and found some very reasonably priced used books.

Another one of my favorite things about the U Bookstore is in the basement are class books. I love browsing around the English class reading lists, seeing what people are reading, and imagining the classes and the types of discussions they will have in class. This is also a great area to find used books as well.

Alas, I miss Santa Clara English classes... maybe it's time to join a book club.

Let the Sunshine In

2009-03-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

I just realized one of the best days of the year is this Sunday! Daylight Saving Time begins. That means instead of the sun setting at 6:00 PM it will set a whole hour later - giving us daylight after work in the evening for play time. Then less than two weeks after that is the first day of spring! Yippee! Time to stow away those parkas and kick that seasonal affective disorder to the curb.

What will you do with your extra hour of daylight in the evening?

What Happens in Vegas

2009-03-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

So it's official, I bought my plane ticket last night to Las Vegas for this spring! Plane tickets were ridiculously cheap and I will be staying with three friends in a suite at the Mandalay Bay. I have never been to Las Vegas before... I cannot wait. I can't think of a better way to visit Vegas than with girlfriends in a suite with cheap airfare on top of it!

For you Vegas Veterans - what are must-sees and/or must-dos?

If You Are Having a Bad Day...

2009-03-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

It could probably be a lot worse... For instance, I saw this poor lady who had her window smashed out and a Honey Bucket (!!) pushed over onto her car today in Fremont! Talk about a really shitty day in more ways than one...

Omelettes, Scrambles, and Potatoes, Oh My!

2009-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

I have told a number of people I could eat breakfast foods for every meal of every day. This would probably be rather unhealthy, but breakfast food is just about the best thing ever.

Needless to say, one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning (or early afternoon) is go to brunch with a friend. Today I went to Blue Star in Wallingford - one of my favorite breakfast grub spots. I love their potatoes and huge amount of choices for scrambles, omelettes, and various types of eggs benedict. I usually order the Eggs Seattle - basically an Eggs Benedict except the ham is swapped with smoked salmon.

Friday afternoon after trying to sleep away a nasty cough, I enjoyed breakfast at the Coastal Kitchen - a local favorite on Capital Hill. The Coastal Kitchen is unique because they regularly update their menu with foods influenced by various regional cuisines. On Friday, there were a number of dishes influenced by cuisine of Tunisia. They also serve breakfast till 3 PM daily, so it's my kind of place.

Other breakfast spots I have been known to frequent include Hales Ales (Fremont/Ballard), the Hi-Life (Ballard), Atlas Foods (U Village), 14 Carrot (Eastlake), the Varsity Inn (a total greasy spoon in Wallingford), and Chandlers (South Lake Union). I've been anxious to try brunch at Peso's in Lower Queen Anne - I certainly love their dinner.

For my fellow Seattleites - any favorite breakfast/brunch spots?

Punxsutawney Phil

2009-02-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

I noticed two wonderful things yesterday: birds were chirping in the morning outside my window and crocuses had begun sprouting in yards around the neighborhood. A few weeks ago on Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter... but it seems spring is on the way.

Raise your hand if you're excited and already making summer weekend plans!

Cross Country Paradise

2009-02-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Over President's Day Weekend, I went to Sun Mountain Lodge in Eastern Washington with my family. As I have written previously, Sun Mountain is one of my favorite places. It is a cross country skiers playground and I always return home relaxed and rejuvenated.

Days at Sun Mountain consist of skiing the circuit of easy, medium, and expert trails around the lodge. Nights consist of reading, relaxing in the room's jetted tub, eating great food, and playing games. There is no television, Internet, and only spotty cell phone reception. It's the ultimate getaway.

Sun Mountain is in the Methow Valley (pronounced Mett-how) - known for it's dry weather and sunny days, making it perfect for cross country skiing. Some friends thing I'm weird that I enjoy XC skiing so much since it requires a lot of physical work for very little gain, unlike downhill which is all gain and hardly any work. But that's just what I love about it - you have to work for your reward and in the process you are exercising and getting winter wonderland views of the peaceful Methow Valley. It takes skill, endurance, stamina, and patience. And then when you do get to go down hill, you don't have to work hard - just step in the groomed tracks and propel yourself downhill.

I felt quite confident this ski trip - though I did fall once on the first night due to icy conditions and it being Friday the 13th and all. But I successfully skied some expert trails and reached a max speed of 20.6 miles per hour and skied over 30 miles (slow in comparison to downhill skiers I'm sure). On the final day of the trip, I tried snowshoeing for the first time as well. It was fun and also great exercise - not to mention I look super cool in my gators, snow shoes, and big bird ski jacket.

I was sad the trip was over so soon! And just one full day after returning, I was off to Portland for work. I'm back now and enjoying my first weekend at home for a few weeks.

Welcome Home, Griffey!

2009-02-18T21:57:00.000-08:00

The news is today: Ken Griffey Jr. decided to come home to play for the Mariners instead of the Atlanta Braves. What fantastic news! Griffey is past his 1990s glory days, but this is the exciting kick the Mariners' needed - I can't wait to see him play for us at Safeco Field this summer since now I so have to go to a game.

WELCOME HOME, GRIFFEY!

The Kid comes home: Griffey picks M's
Seattle Times, February 18, 2009

Checking In, Checking Out

2009-02-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I'm checking in here on my New Years resolutions and other goings-on. The New Year started off a little slow and stressful with some car issues and a few tiffs along the way. But boy has the pace picked up and I feel pretty much on top of the world right now. I've been gallivanting around - traveling, doing Irish dance, taking a design class, and spending a lot of quality time with my fantastic friends and family (e.g., La Push). And I received some amazing news just a few days ago... but more about that later once I'm a little closer to a decision about my future endeavors.

I'm currently in the fourth week of an Elements of Design class at the School of Visual Concepts. I love it so far - much more than the drawing class I took. We are studying the fundamentals and theories behind design and do practice exercises each class that help us consider elements of design like balance, proportion, space, value, and contrast. I love how focused I get when working in class or on homework assignments - a focus that allows me to relax, be productive, and still let my mind swirl around with hundreds of non-stressful, random musings. I will consider scanning in some of my work and posting here in my blog.

This next weekend I will be off to cross-country skier paradise and playground in the Methow Valley of Eastern Washington. No TV, computers, and no cell phone reception. Which means blissful days of skiing in sunshine and cozy nights of reading, eating delicious food, and relaxing by the fire. Soon after I return I will be on my way to Portland for the Northwest Council for Computer Education Conference. I will have a little time to sight see in Portland - any recommendations? Powell's is definitely already on my list.

I haven't been quite as diligent about exercising and eating healthy as I would like - but I'm working on it. For those of you who manage to exercise regularly, how do you keep to a routine? For me, pub quiz on a Wednesday night or dinner with friends always seems to take precedent over exercise and I just don't know how to remedy that.

Anywho, no posts will be coming for at least a few days. When I return I am considering following suit with a blog I follow (My So-Called Life) and starting alphabet blogging. Stay tuned!

La Push Weekend

2009-02-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went with seven friends to La Push, Washington. A friend organized the trip in lieu of the Twilight books, which take place in Forks and La Push, Washington. I had never been to the Northern Washington coast, so I was very excited for the trip.

We started early on Saturday morning, leaving from Edmonds on the Kingston ferry and stopping along the way for a little wine and chocolate tasting and to take some photos at Crescent Lake (which looked pristine in the winter sun). Some of you may have heard of Crescent Lake from the Lady of the Lake story where a young woman disappeared in 1937. In 1940 her saponified body floated to the surface of Crescent Lake, still showing signs of being violently murdered. Since Crescent Lake is so cold and so little light penetrates its depths, her body had turned to soap. Very very creepy.

We arrived in Forks early in the afternoon to see the town, then headed out to La Push. Forks is the rainiest spot in the continental U.S. - and amazingly, it was sunny. Locals said this was the first nice day of the winter so far. Pretty awesome luck if you ask me.

We walked the beach, marveled at the sea stacks, saw two seals hanging about in a sheltered bay, took some fun photos, and enjoyed the sunny afternoon on the beach. First Beach in La Push is gorgeous - sandy with sea stacks and rocky needles surrounding it. Huge trees lay strewed about the beach from winter storms.

Later that evening, we made s'mores at our beach campfire. A few of us even dipped our feet into the frigid ocean water.

We enjoyed breakfast the next morning, packed up, and drove to nearby Rialto Beach. The tide was high so we didn't get a chance to walk to the beach but we enjoyed seeing the immense waves crash against the rocky beach and toss huge trees around like driftwood. And we had more fun taking jump shots (see below). It was a great trip, though I am sad it was over so fast!

First Beach at La Push.
La Push Harbor and marina.Some serious waves and lots of beached trees at Rialto Beach.
Yay for a fantastic girls weekend in La Push!

The Birds Lose Again

2009-02-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Superbowl XLIII: the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Arizona Cardinals. Two historic teams with vastly different histories. The Steelers have now won a record setting six Superbowls - more than any other NFL team. This was the Cardinals very first appearance in a Superbowl. And though it was sad to see another unlucky NFC West team lose to the Steelers in football's biggest event (*sigh* for the Seahawks losing 21 to 10 in 2006 in much more unevenly matched game) - it's hard to be terribly disappointed because BOY what a game it was. Hard pounding, fast-paced, evenly matched, with dynamic game-changing plays and some of the best football players ever like Larry Fitzgerald.

I can't quite decide if this year or last year's Superbowl was better. Seeing the true underdog Cardinals give the Steelers a serious run for their money was pretty incredible. But was it really better than seeing the wild card Giants beat the undefeated Patriots? Was there a play this Superbowl better than the third down-Eli Manning-somehow-escapes-sack-throws-thirty-yards-then-Giants' David Tyree-catches-football-on-his-helmet play?!?! I'm not so sure...

Thoughts? Which Superbowl has been your favorite?

More Bad Car Karma

2009-02-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

My jaw dropped this morning as I walked out to my car and the BMW parked next to me had the driver's window smashed out. As I drove down my street, every fifth car or so had a window smashed out, including my roommate's car. What is the deal with all this car vandalism? Are there just really nasty, cranky, spiteful people out there whose purpose is to mess with other people's stuff? Until now I've always felt fairly safe in my neighborhood, but this certainly makes me think twice about that - and it definitely makes me nervous parking my car on the street.

Feel free to share car stories here, especially if you live in Seattle neighborhoods and have seen this type of thing happen often...

In West Philadelphia, Born and Raised...

2009-01-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

For you children of the 1980s, you may recognize the title of of my post. Whenever I think of Philadelphia, I can help but chant the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap "...in West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days..."

So last week I traveled to Philadelphia for work, and needless to say, Will Smith and his über-cool 90s flat top was in my head for much of the trip. It was a whirlwind trip: we flew all day Thursday, trained on Friday, and flew home Saturday.

The National Girls Collaborative Project is bringing in new regions to help implement our project, so we trained them on the elements of the project and how to get started. We have been preparing for months, so the training was very gratifying and I felt a huge wave of relief after it was over. My coworkers are a lot of fun, so I enjoyed being in Philly with them, as well as sharing a couple nice dinners and free happy hour at the Embassy Suites.

I didn't do much sightseeing in town - but our event took place at the Franklin Institute, which had a nice view of the surrounding museums. Luckily the East Coast cold spell broke for a few days and Friday was actually quite warm and sunny in the City of Brotherly Love. And it was also fun to laugh to myself that less than a week earlier the Arizona Cardinals kicked some Philadelphia Eagles' butt... go NFC West!

My room was on the 27th floor of our hotel, so I had a great view of Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The other photos are from the roof of the Franklin Institute.

The Coolest Photomerge Ever

2009-01-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

So you returning Seattle Swift readers have probably already seen some of my photomerge photos. Well the one below is the ultimate photomerge.

David Bergman merged 220 images of President Obama's January 20, 2009, inaugural address, creating a 1,474 megapixel image. I've included a screen shot below - but it's worth viewing in full at http://gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374.

You can zoom in to incredible detail. A coworker and I even found Denzel Washington standing among the crowd (he's in the front section standing in an aisle in a blue cap). You can practically read the sheet music of the musicians. Onlookers stand in the windows of the Rayburn building across the Capital. And the expression on Bush's face is priceless.

What an incredible photo (merge) to capture the event. And let me know if you find Oprah somewhere in the crowd!

Bad Car Karma

2009-01-21T09:32:00.001-08:00

So I need to rant for approximately two minutes. Friday I was rear-ended on the freeway. Not much damage - just a huge hassle with insurance companies, claims estimates, accident reports, and all that jazz. Then today, I run out to my car to grab something I need for the office... and I notice that someone sometime over the weekend keyed my car. Yes, took their key and ran two giant gouges down the side of my car. Seriously, who does that?! Nothing I could have done deserved my car being keyed - believe me, I am so careful around other people's cars. Someone has some serious anger management issues. And I would like to say for the record: I have never rear-ended anyone and I have never keyed a car. So karma actually cannot be to blame. So is it just plain bad luck?

So aside from my stinking bad luck, the next few months have some exciting events coming up for me, including: a work trip to Philadelphia; a girls trip to La Push, Washington (where I've never been!); a weekend of skiing and relaxation at Sun Mountain Lodge in Eastern Washington; the Lion King at the Paramount with my mom; and Disneyland!!! So hopefully my bad car/life luck will cease and I can sit back and enjoy the next few months.

Exploring Eastlake and Beyond

2009-01-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend and Martin Luther King, Jr. day were absolutely gorgeous in Seattle. It was clear, sunny, and crisp outside - great for walking. So Saturday and Monday I ventured out for some neighborhood exploring. On Monday I walked for nearly two and a half hours, up to Volunteer Park, over to a record shop on 15th (Sonic Boom for a much-needed CD), back over 520, over to Portage Bay, then past the University Bridge and along Lake Union.

There are some incredible early-1900s mansions tucked away on Capitol Hill sides streets - houses you can really only appreciate on a walk. Some have incredible ornate windows, others have detailed brick chimneys and siding, some have turrets, others have solariums, and most are just plain gigantic. Not to mention I found two new parks - one of which is a public beachfront along Lake Union, and the other a minuscule, secluded green patch with a bench looking straight towards the Montlake Cut. Capitol Hill is such a fun neighborhood to explore. The photo above I took from East Boston Street back in October - a great view of Lake Union and beyond.

Thumbs Up, Obama!

2009-01-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today was a monumental day for our nation - Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

Though I've heard skeptics say "wait a minute, don't be excited yet, he hasn't done anything," I disagree - he and the American people who voted have already allowed our country to regain some respect worldwide. He has ignited passion and hope in millions of Americans that yes, we can make our country better. We can revamp our economy, build a working healthcare system, do our part to stop climate change, and help spread peace across nations and peoples. We will be better and we are ready. Isn't that something - something pretty incredible considering our state of pessimism and apathy for the past seven years?

So, Obama, you get a thumbs up from Seattle Swift! I am incredibly thankful I witnessed history today and took my part in voting for change.

And visit http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/ for some Obama poster fun!!

Crisis Situation

2009-01-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

All I can say is, the pilot of the US Airways flight that emergency landed in the Hudson River today is the kind of guy you want around in a crisis situation. All 155 people on board were rescued, not a single person on land affected, and most passengers were even able to walk away unharmed thanks to the pilot's quick-thinking and skillful landing in the Hudson River. Any other action could have been disastrous.

And it's a good lesson to all of us who tend to zone out when the flight attendants run through safety measures for emergency water landings. My dad always said - if you "land" in water, there are probably not any safety measures you can take, but thankfully they do have such measures in place.

All 155 Escape Jet’s Plunge Into Hudson
New York Times - January 15, 2009

President of the Dangling Participle

2009-01-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Strunk and White could create an entire grammar lesson about the dangling participle, based entirely on Bushisms:

I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office. - June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.

I chanced upon Bushisms over the years while browsing Yahoo most popular news stories the other day (what can I say, I read news for entertainment). It's hard to believe that in just two short weeks we will no longer hear made up words like embetter or misunderestimate - or phrases like "more better" from him. January 20, 2009, may just be one of the best days in our nascent millennium - Bush will leave office for good and Obama will take his seat as president-elect. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Though I suppose, for entertainment's sake, I will miss hearing such delightful nuggets as:

Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning? - January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. - Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

Thanks for the entertainment, Mr. Bush, if nothing else.

Victory!

2008-12-31T14:47:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times reported today that Seattle will begin using salt to deice city streets during future winter storms. Sa-weet. Never again will be we completely snow-bound for an entire week of doldrums. I was waiting for Seattle to make the change - especially after ecologists pointed out that sand is actually more detrimental to the marine environment than salt. Booya!

Seattle to use salt in future storms
Seattle Times, December 31, 2008

Retrospect and Resolve

2008-12-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

The year 2008 has been one of the most interesting, terrifying, stressful, and gratifying years of my existence. My life has changed in ways I never expected. All in all, though, I have grown tremendously and I can look back in retrospect and say to myself I did it. I made it through my first full year out in the big scary adult world.

Over the past year, I left a job I held for seven years, applied for and was hired for a new job and love it. I took serious steps towards pursuing my future career. I supported myself financially (for the most part) and learned to buy a little less and save a little more. I am single for the first time in five years. I made new friends. I finally feel settled in Seattle after moving back here a year and a half ago. And now I'm excited for a new year with more changes and more growth.

So, looking ahead to 2009, I have crafted some resolutions:

Be healthy.
Once upon a time in college I exercised five to six days a week and ate healthy. I slept better; I had more energy; I loved the way I felt. So my goal is to get back to that stage, which means exercising regularly and eating better. This will improve my quality of life in so many ways. I will be able to hike farther and faster, and I will feel glorious when I wear my favorite jeans. This resolution will rely on me adapting exercise and healthy eating into my lifestyle as I once did in college. I am not setting a target weight because I believe in sustainability. Which means establishing a lifestyle that I can maintain and sustain over time. Whatever weight that is, so be it!

Read more literature.
Like a lot of word nerds, I have a stack of books in my room on my to-read list. So my resolution for 2009 is to read more literature. I will do so by reading all the unread novels currently on my bookshelf: 35 books total. Some I look forward to reading: Catch-22, Tender is the Night, and The Name of the Rose. Some will be difficult to finish: The Sound and the Fury, Crime and Punishment, and A Farewell to Arms. I plan to record my thoughts about each novel as I finish it. I like this resolution, because even if I don't finish the entire list, I will still have read a whole bunch of great literature. The dormant English major in me is very excited for this resolution.

Try new things.
I already wrote a to-do list for myself in my blog. I have an annoying tendency to be a stick in the mud if I don't push myself to be active. So this resolution is very important to me. I want to try new things like downhill skiing, cycling around the city, yoga, rock climbing, orienteering, taking a design class, and building a Web site. I will challenge myself to step out my comfort zone and try new activities...and hopefully develop some new interests or hobbies along the way.

And...I want to say thank you to all my returning Seattle Swift readers. Thanks for you comments and thoughts over the past six months! I wish you all a wonderful 2009.

Merry Christmas to All!

2008-12-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's no surprise after a week of seemingly continuous snow, I awoke to this on Christmas morning. A white Christmas indeed. Already a foot of snow on the ground and more fat goose down flakes coming out of the sky.

Merry Christmas to all of you, I hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and friends! Stay safe and warm, and happy New Year!

For the Record

2008-12-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

In my Let in Snow post on December 13, 2008, I complained of our conspicuous lack of winter weather. Just to clear the record, I was hoping for snow in the mountains so ski season could begin... NOT for a foot of snow in Seattle that has not melted for nearly a week. Just in case any you are looking for someone to blame for all the snow. I might as well say it: this snow business is just plain awful.

Cheerio!

Happy Winter Solstice!

2008-12-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I'm a few days late. I blame the snow.

Winter solstice is a special time for a lot of reasons. First of all, it means Christmas and New Years are just around the corner - so lots of time spent with loved ones. Second of all, both solstices are exciting for different reasons. Summer solstice means the following two or three months will be filled with sunshine, warmth, long days, and glorious summertime activities. But it also means the days start getting shorter. Winter solstice, on the other hand, means many more months of cold, rain, short days, and even some snow (like now). BUT the days start getting longer - each day the sun rises a little earlier and sets a little later and we get one day closer to those warm summer nights. Now I just need to keep myself occupied in some way until then...

And FINALLY, winter solstice means that my blog is now just over six months old! Happy half birthday, Seattle Swift! Six months ago, I wished readers a Happy Summer Solstice, and here I am, six months later: a little older, a little wiser, a little less diligent about posting in my blog, but nonetheless still posting!

For the past week, the entire U.S. has been pummeled by nasty winter weather - Seattle included. Since last Wednesday night, we have been snow-bound and temperatures have remained mostly below freezing. Thursday brought an entire day of snow, Saturday brought blowing snow and freezing rain, and Sunday brought another four inches on top of that. And the snow is still sticking around, ruining or delaying holiday travel plans for many. Above is a photo from Sunday morning, before another four inches of snow arrived. You can see the snow drift piled up on one side of the steps.

Anyway, I hope all of you are staying warm and safe. Now, if Seattle will just get on the ball and start de-icing those roads with something other than sand - we would be golden. See the Seattle Times article here.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

Intro to Parking 101

2008-12-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

So I have lived in the Seattle Eastlake neighborhood since late September, almost three months. Eastlake is one of the many zoned parking neighborhoods in the Seattle metropolitan area. Zoned parking is designed to help residents by discouraging long-term non-resident parking, making more parking available for residents of the area. So in my neighborhood, cars without the particular zone permit are allowed to park for only two hours during most times, and not at all from 6 PM to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

I have a permit for my neighborhood, so zoned parking doesn't make a big difference, except that it means the Seattle Department of Transportation patrols our neighborhood for parking offenders, including those with zone permits parked illegally to varying degrees. I have learned over the past few weeks that I basically suck at following parking regulations. I'm racking up the parking tickets - one for not being 15 feet from a fire hydrant (when I was about eight feet from the hydrant) and another for parking in an area with no parking 7 to 9 AM (I parked down the hill when it was icy). Not to mention friends and family have been ticketed for parking without a permit since each household is only allowed one guest parking permit.

I understand that zoned parking is in place to help residents - but I'm learning that I am just not used to this downtown parking deal being a North Seattle gal most of my life. Any suggestions for dealing with the parking issue around Seattle or elsewhere? Any complaints?

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

2008-12-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

This morning around 5 AM I woke to intense rolling thunder. Thunder is pretty rare in Seattle, and even more rare considering we were expecting snow to start overnight. I have seen lightning during snow storms a few times - it is an impressive sight - the whole sky lights up like a million fireworks are going off in the thick white clouds.

I woke up later in the morning for work and lay in bed wondering if it had snowed, and if so, how much. My house is a block down from the freeway, so from my bedroom I can always hear the faint roar of cars. It never bothers me since it's such a dull, constant, unobtrusive sound. But this morning I heard nothing. Just muffled silence. Which was one clue it was snowing and snowing hard outside. Then a text from a friend arrived saying "snow snow snow!" That was my second clue so I closed my eyes and drifted back to blissful sleep.
When I actually dragged my body out of bed I immediately looked out the window and saw there was almost two inches of snow and fat flakes of goose down floating from the sky. It's over five hours later and the fluffy flakes are still coming down.
Seattle is both one of the best and absolute worst cities for snow. Since we so rarely get real snow storms, Seattle is totally unequipped - we have very few sanding trucks and plows to clear the streets. Not to mention a lot of inexperienced drivers when it comes to snow and ice (myself included). Add in steep, treacherous hills, it can be a recipe for disaster and chaos. Yet largely as a result of these reasons, as a born and raised Seattleite, I can't help but love the snow.

The holly tree in my yard - it looks so Christmasy with snow!

Almost every instance of a snow storm during in my elementary and high school days meant no school. It meant sleeping in, playing for hours in the snow, snow angels and snowball fights, no homework, eating maple syrup with snow, drinking hot cocoa, and passing out long before my bedtime from sheer exhaustion and excitement. The city shuts down during snow, which means you have to forgo previously made plans and maybe use some vacation leave. But the snow is so beautiful that it's hard to stay mad for long - today I have resigned myself to the snow even though my office Christmas party was rescheduled and I probably won't see my friends tonight. It's hard to be unhappy when the world looks so clean and wintry and peaceful. And, this snow is perfect snowball snow. So... as long as there's no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let is snow!

My Subaru trying to blend in with its surroundings.

Ph.D. in Dodgeball

2008-12-15T20:03:00.000-08:00

Considering the United States has one of the best college education systems in the world and our entrepreneurial, individualistic spirit is supposed to be a defining aspect this great nation... why hasn't someone in our own country tried this? I will say one thing - W. has quick reflexes.

Bush shoe incident catches Secret Service flat footed
December 15, 2008

Let it Snow! Seriously...

2008-12-13T17:09:00.001-08:00

I will say also that Mother Nature seems to be making up for lost time. She was unbelievable easy on us Seattleites this fall with dry, warm weather. But now the National Weather Service says in a special weather statement: "be prepared for an unusually prolonged and intense period of cold winter weather" - which means for the mountains...... SNOW! Good news for all of us winter sports people, finally!

All I Want for Christmas...

2008-12-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I know, I am seriously deficient at posting regularly. My excuse is that there is not always much exciting to do during fall and winter in Seattle when there's still no snow in the mountains. I am guessing you don't want to hear about how I watched three hours of How I Met Your Mother in one sitting...

But! We are now in full Christmas season swing, so I thought I could share my holiday activities with you.

This past week, I made the last minute decision that I needed to decorate a Christmas tree - whatever it took to find that tree. A day of considering options of how to get a live Christmas tree to my apartment, I remembered years ago when I still meticulously left milk and homemade sugar cookies out for Santa Claus, my parents had a small artificial tree we decorated each year. So I called them lickety-split, picked up the tree, purchased evergreen-scented room spray for a whopping one dollar, and decorated the little four foot tree with lights, tinsel, bells, bulbs, and my Seahawks ornament. My apartment now looks rather festive and I am now finally feeling the Christmas spirit.
Some other favorite things about the Christmastime include: my best friends return to Seattle from their lives around the country, quality time with my parents, the hope of snow, peppermint ice cream (actually, peppermint anything), Christmas Eve mass, more turkey, finding the perfect gifts for family, the Mariah Carey Merry Christmas CD, wrapping presents, an excuse to watch Home Alone, time off from work, eggnog, and Christmas lights.

Though Christmas can be hectic and usually means even worse Seattle traffic - I am happy it's that time of year again, and look forward to spending time with my loved ones... while listening to All I Want for Christmas is You of course.

Seattle Sounders FC Coming Soon!

2008-11-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I was fortunate to attend a Seattle Sounders FC season ticket holder event where Drew Carey told season ticket holders about the exciting new team. My dad holds two of the 18,000 season tickets already sold for the Sounders FC - to begin playing at Qwest Field in March or April 2009. The new team is developed on a model where season ticket holders form a member's association that meets twice a year and votes every four years on the team's general manager. We also voted on Thursday to name the team's marching band (I voted for Green Machine) and the member's association.

Currently the team has four players - two of the players were at the event. I got forward Sebastien Le Toux's signature. I am very excited to go to some Seattle Sounders games in the near future. Once upon a time during my CYO soccer days, I watched many a Sounders games at Memorial Stadium. And I think it's great that Qwest Field will be used throughout the year. Go Sounders!

Oh, and I met Drew Carey!

Working Away

2008-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

So I have been working away on checking items of my to-do list. First off, I successfully navigated Baltimore and Washington, D.C. on my own with only a few very minor mishaps.

Last Friday, I hit that gigantic set of stairs by my house - twice! I counted 276 stairs in the whole set, and my legs felt like lead afterward. I discovered that once you start running up stairs, it is more painful to start walking because your legs feel heavy and dead. Now, as far as hitting them regularly, only time will tell. I am not particularly comfortable running past dark in my neighborhood, so the stairs might be a weekend-only activity.

I terms of keeping fit during the long winter months, I invested in the 30 Day Shred workout DVD by Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser. I was sore for a week, and now am training myself to make it part of my daily routine. The workout is only 20 minutes and consists of basic exercises like jumping jacks, lunges, crunches, and squats. I like the simplicity of the workout but it also kicks my butt each time so I know it's working!

I started on Sunday the first lesson in my Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book. Now if I just keep with it, I will be a pro in no time!

I also just joined the volunteer planning committee for the Seattle Expanding Your Horizons event. I have yet to start any work for the committee, but I took the first step for getting more involved.

As far as reading only books on my shelf - I hope that reading books off my roommate's shelf counts, because I have been indulging in the Twilight series since my trip. Next up is Dostoevsky, I promise!!

Twitter Updates

2008-11-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

You returning Seattle Swift readers may have noticed I added Twitter Updates to my right-hand gadget column. Twitter is yet another social networking site where users simply type or text what they are doing or thinking at any time. I decided to add Twitter Updates to my blog to spare my close friends and family from an incessant stream of running commentary from me about what I am up to. I will try to keep my Twitter as up-to-date as possible, so feel free to check out those updates if I don't have any new blog posts!

Exploring Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

2008-11-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

I returned this week from successfully navigating Baltimore and Washington, D.C. (check that off my to-do list!). Last Thursday, I flew into Baltimore and drove to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with coworkers for a site training. On Friday, we returned to Baltimore. Friday night I met with work associates at the famous Rusty Scupper restaurant in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. I ordered the Maryland crab cakes - they were amazing. Pacific salmon is far superior to Atlantic, but I think the East Coast has crab on lock - they were the best crab cakes I've ever had. The evening was very warm, so on the walk back to our hotel, we stopped to listen to a group of singers covering Temptations hits.

Saturday, I talked up the National Girls Collaborative Project at the Society of Women Engineers Outreach Exposition. I always love going outreach events because I get to talk one-on-one with the people we are supporting and I can tell new people about the program. Saturday night I went to a delicious Spanish tapas restaurant in Baltimore Inner Harbor with a coworker. I love the variety at the tapas restaurant, and their sangria was delicious.

Sunday morning I woke to bright, sunny skies in Baltimore, and was happy the work part of my trip was over. I walked the few blocks to the Baltimore National Aquarium. I saw manta rays, sharks, poison dart frogs, dolphins, and other fun marine animals. Below is a view across the Baltimore Inner Harbor toward the aquarium. After the aquarium, I caught a cab to Fort McHenry, a couple miles from Baltimore Inner Harbor. Fort McHenry is a star-shaped fort, famous for the American defense of Baltimore from British Navy attack during the War of 1812 . While the British bombarded the fort during the 1812 Battle of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key (aboard a truce ship in Baltimore Harbor) wrote a poem that he later renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner." The line "bombs bursting in air" came from the British bombs launched from their ships in Chesapeake Bay that exploded in the air above Fort McHenry, leaving the fort largely undamaged. Below is a view of Chesapeake Bay where the British Navy bombarded Fort McHenry in 1812.
After exploring Fort McHenry, I caught the Amtrak to Washington, D.C. I love how easy it is to get from one interesting, historical city to the next via public transportation on the East Coast. The West Coast has mild winters and beautiful summers, but the East Coast has that transportation thing down. I arrived at Union Station in D.C. and successfully traveled via Metro to my hotel. It was already after dark, so I settled in to my room and then went for a brisk walk, seeing the Reagan Center, Department of Commerce, and EPA as I got some fresh air. The rest of the night I relaxed and continued reading Twilight - a guilty pleasure I reserved for my trip.

I woke up fairly early and set out walking to the Capitol Building to pick up a tour pass. After picking up my 3:30 PM pass, I explored the Library of Congress, just behind the Capitol Building. The Library of Congress building is beautiful, with ornate decorations in the main hall.
The Library of Congress holds Thomas Jefferson's library, which was at one time the largest library in the country after a fire destroyed much of Washington, D.C. The Library of Congress also contains original documents from the Revolutionary War, diaries from Christopher Columbus, and a Gutenberg Bible. All in all, it was an English major's fantasy, especially Jefferson's library.
The day was sunny and the air cool with a crisp breeze. After the Library of Congress, I toured the National Gallery of Art, one of my favorite Smithsonian Museums. I traveled to D.C. last October with my mom, and we spent some time in the National Gallery then, but I decided to return to talk my time. I marveled at their collection of paintings from Monet, Rembrandt, and Picasso. I took photos of a few of my favorites (below). A photo of the National Mall looking toward the Washington Monument from the Capitol Building.After the National Gallery, I walked to the Rayburn Building, where all the offices for the House of Representatives reside. You can go to a representative from your state to request a pass to see the Senate and House inside the Capitol Building. I visited Jim McDermott's office, received two signed passes, and ran into a high school classmate who I chatted with for a minute. Small world.Before I toured the Capitol Building, I walked through the Smithsonian Botanic Gardens, which was neat, and something I'd never done before in D.C. The photo above is looking up from the rotunda at the Capitol Building dome. I was a little creeped out by the painting at the top of the dome - it features George Washington sitting like a Christ-figure on a cloud with other influential Americans sitting on either side of him.

As I looked around the Capitol rotunda at eight massive paintings they have displayed prominently, I saw nothing but old white men featured. The few women included in the paintings were in submissive poses - kneeling before a pilgrim, or Pocahontas kneeling before John Rolfe, or other Native American women screaming in terror as Americans pillaged their home. It was all a little disturbing, and though I was standing in our nation's seat of government, I did not feel especially proud to be an American. I was not represented anywhere in the rotunda, except in an unfinished statue of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and one uncarved woman who was supposed to represent all women who gained suffrage in 1920. Yet she was still just an unformed block of marble. Not the glorified George Washington, or the towering marble Lincoln, or even the godly John Rolfe. I looked around the room at all the other women making up more than half the large crowd, wondering if some also noticed this pitiful lack of representation. Nonetheless, however, I enjoyed the tour of the Capitol Building, even though the House and Senate were closed for Veteran's Day so I did not get to use my viewing passes. I like this photo because it is sort of symbolic. There are dark, ominous clouds over Washington now, yet there are blue skies and bright days not far away on the horizon. Yes we can!
A closer-up view of the Capitol Building down and Lady Liberty. Beautiful blue skies in the background.As I left the Capitol after the tour, the sun was setting. It cast a beautiful orange-pink hue onto the Capitol Building and I had to snap another photo as I made my way toward the National Portrait Gallery on the nippy fall evening.After my tour of the Capitol, I made my way up Pennsylvania Avenue to visit the National Portrait Gallery, which is open until 7 PM, two hours later than the rest of the Smithsonians. A coworker had recommended the Gallery, and even though I was tired from a long day on my feet, I did thoroughly enjoy the museum.

They had portraits, paintings, and photographs of many of our presidents and other influential people in American history - including a number of women. One room was set aside for portraits of Lincoln; I found this especially interesting. They featured a large portrait of him around the time of his first inauguration, clean shaven and youthful looking. Five years later, there is another portrait of him that was taken not long before his assassination. His skin his weathered and wrinkled, his eyes tired and exhausted - so much change in just five years time. Looking at these portraits of Lincoln, I did feel proud to be an American, that he stood strong and relentless amidst one of the most difficult times in American history.

Also in the museum were two other exhibits I really enjoyed. One compared photographs from Ansel Adams with paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe. I love both artists, and it was interesting to see their work, style, and subject compared. There was also another exhibit of photograph portraits of influential women of the twentieth century. Their bios were inspirational and I was very happy I made the trek to the National Portrait Gallery.

After the Portrait Gallery, I picked up dinner and headed back to my hotel, with mighty plans to set out again to view the monuments and White House at night. But as soon as I warmed up (it was about 40 degrees and windy after nightfall in D.C.) and relaxed, I found myself exhausted and curled up instead in the giant king bed in my room. Next time I am in D.C. I will visit the monuments first.

So all in all, it was a great trip, and I felt independent navigating and exploring the city by myself. And it was exciting to be in D.C. so soon after such an exciting election. I hope, as always, to get back to D.C. as soon as possible.

Cheers!

Moonrise over Washington.

Color Wheel

2008-11-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

This fall in Seattle has been absolutely gorgeous, up until just yesterday. The sun has been shining most days, and the temperature often hits low-sixties during the day. At work we played a three-on-three basketball game at a nearby court and were sweaty from the sun and warmth. I've read that fall leaf color is maximized by warm, sunny days and cool nights in late summer and early fall. This year's weather likely contributed to the incredible colors seen around the Northwest. The trees below line the streets of the business park center where I work - it makes driving to work quite enjoyable every morning.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Best Buddies

2008-09-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am posting this photo simply because I have two amazing best friends. We parted ways after graduating from Santa Clara, and I miss them everyday. Love you girls! Life is not much without friends to share the ups and downs.

New Digs

2008-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Seattle Swift readers! I apologize for my rather lackluster attempt at blogging lately. I recently moved from Crown Hill to the Eastlake neighborhood in Seattle. I have been a North Seattle resident my entire life - I love North Seattle, especially the nicer streets, better parking, better grocery stores, and parks. But I am very excited now to be moving closer to the heart of things in Seattle. I am within walking distance to some of my favorite restaurants and only a short and mostly flat bike ride to the Burke Gilman. Once upon a time I also rowed for Lake Union Crew in summertime, so perhaps I will see about rowing again in my free time. I can even walk to ride the SLUT if I so desire. Anyway, I will be a little out of touch until I am unpacked entirely, but keep checking for updates - I promise to get back to exploring the Northwest ASAP!

Also, as a follow-up to my Tipping Point post, I will admit my initial enthusiasm wore off quickly, and was completely squelched after Sarah Palin's three "interesting" interviews. For those of you anti-Palinite Facebookers (you like my words there?), you'll enjoy this: Sarah Palin's Facebook Page.

Intro to Drawing

2008-09-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

At Santa Clara, I focused most of my intellectual and creative efforts on English and history, since I loved the professors and classes so much. Now that I am out of the undergraduate grind, I've been exploring different creative avenues, like graphic design (though I still have a tremendous amount to learn). Wanting to branch out a bit, use my brain, and get away from the computer - I decided to enroll in an Introduction to Drawing class with North Seattle Community College. When I was younger, my Prismacolor colored pencil set was one of my favorite toys - I spent hours drawing elaborate landscapes and people. So I am very excited to get creative again, though I can't promise sharing any drawings here on my blog!

Endangered U.S. Destinations

2008-09-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

So my homepage for Internet Explorer is MSN, which is usually a little annoying, but I don't use IE much. Sometimes though, there are useful cover articles with practical tips for saving money or catchy ones like rankings of second-string quarterbacks. Last week, "America's Endangered Destinations" caught my eye. The article features 15 different U.S. sites that are currently threatened by human encroachment and development, sea level rise, and/or global warming. Luckily I have had the opportunity to visit a number of places listed, including Washington's old growth temperate rain forest. The article helped bring the damage we are doing to the environment even closer to home - many treasured areas and ways of life will be destroyed and may be gone even by the time my generation reaches middle age. My children may never have the opportunity to see glaciers in Montana or alligators in the Everglades or the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail in Boston. What will the lives of future generations be like without these places of national identity?

Alicia Keys and Seattle Underground

2008-09-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to see Alicia Keys in concert for the second time this past weekend. She has an amazing voice and even her backup singers sounded great. She is definitely one of my favorite artists - her range, vocals, and songwriting are all superb. Unfortunately, she didn't sing one of my favorites from her new album, but I did enjoy singing along to "I am superwoman, yes I am, yes she is, still when I'm a mess, I still put on a vest with an S on my chest, oh yes, I'm a superwoman." Empowering!

I also played tourist last Friday and went on the Seattle Underground Tour for the very first time in my long affair with Seattle. The underground itself was not very spectacular, but the history of early Seattle was fascinating. Arthur Denny arrived in November of 1850 at the tide flats of Elliott Bay, where he stayed with 29 family members through the Seattle winter without solid shelter. He must have been a pretty tough guy to have stuck around through the rain and cold and wet in the mud along Elliott Bay without a proper roof and no REI to stock up on rain gear.

Early Seattle sounded like a pretty miserable, soggy, and stinky place. For a long time, the city had no sewer system, and at high tide, not only would raw sewage stream through the downtown streets, but if you flushed your new "crapper" toilet, sewage would spew five to eight feet out of the bowl. Our tour guide told us that the newspaper published the tide schedule on the front page every day so people could plan when to flush their toilets. Yuck!

Another interesting part of early Seattle history is Henry Yesler. Most Seattleites will know about Yesler Way and Yesler Terrace (and how they are both good places to use your car alarm, or avoid entirely) and how Henry Yesler ran a saw mill and used "skid road" to skid the logged old growth trees from downtown Seattle to the shores of Elliot Bay. I also learned on Friday that Yesler was a seriously unpleasant man, but Seattle still elected him mayor three times. In his first term as mayor, Yesler instated the first state lottery. He also won that first state lottery. He sued the city of Seattle for a formidable sum, and then the lawsuit, requiring only the mayor's signature to either accept or deny it, came across Yesler's desk - you can imagine he quickly became a wealthier man.

On June 6, 1889, 25 blocks of downtown Seattle were destroyed in less than a day by a fire started from an overturned glue pot. At this point, city planners recognized the need to raise the level of the city to avoid the problem with the tides. However, business owners were quickly losing profit, and began rebuilding immediately at the original street level. But city planners built the street up 8 to 32 feet over the old roads, with the sidewalks and the ground floor of businesses below at the original street level. Eighteen people died falling from the street in the few years before the city filled the sidewalks and finally businesses raised their storefronts to the second story. So what you see on the Underground Tour are the post-fire ground level storefronts from pre-1900 Seattle. The city also decided after a 1949 earthquake they would dispose of debris and trash in Underground Seattle - so it's pretty messy down there.

Learning about the rather unpleasant beginning to my favorite city was very interesting, and made me appreciate living in current Seattle. If you are in the area - the $15 and 90 minutes are definitely worth it for the tour.

Cascade Pass

2008-09-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

I hiked the Cascade Pass trail, and part of the Sahale Arm trail, on Saturday, September 13 with my parents. After a rather dismal hike (or at least muddy) to Surprise Lake, I was excited that the weather was predicted to be low seventies and sunny skies, which was essential for a view hike. Cascade Pass is my first North Cascades hike, which means more driving but also more spectacular views.

After nearly three hours in the car and 23 miles on the narrow, winding Cascade River Road, we arrived at the Cascade Pass trail parking lot. Mt. Johannesburg towers over the parking lot, with its spiked peaks, glaciers, and lofty elevation of 8,200 feet. Throughout much of the hike we could hear the crashing and cracking of ice melting in the hot sun.
As you climb, you get a better view of the Cascade River Valley. Over these peaks some brave hikers scramble to Boston Basin.The Cascade Pass trail is 3.7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 1,800 feet. You have to traverse 34 switchbacks (with views of Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, the Triplets, and the North Cascades on the way) before you near Cascade Pass. The trail levels out less than a mile from the Pass, where you emerge from the trees almost 1,800 feet closer to the peaks of Mt. Johannesburg.
You have to cross an impressive scree on the way to Cascade Pass. Not a place I'd like to be during avalanche season. I was smitten with the fall colors already emerging, and tried to capture them wherever possible.

Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, and fall colors.
Cascade Pass is just around the corner!
As if the views could get any better, we finally reached Cascade Pass looking east towards the Stehekin Valley trail. Cascade Pass was used often by Native Americans as a coast-inland trade route. There was not much snow left this late in the season. We stopped for our lunch break at the Pass - there are a number of stone benches conveniently placed near the 5,393 elevation marker.Fall colors showing in mid-September. These steps climbed to the rather primitive outdoor toilet available at the Pass.The road to Stehekin. Stehekin is 31.9 miles from the Cascade Pass trailhead. It was fun see the other access point of the Stehekin Valley after the Chelan trip. Maybe next year I will backpack from Cascade Pass to Stehekin.
After lunch, we decided to climb part of the way to the Sahale Arm for a better view. The climb and views were both breathtaking. We gained about 700 feet in a little over half a mile, but we also saw views like this one.
Sahale Mountain, Sahale Arm, and Sahale Glacier. Many hikers passed us with crampons, ice axes, helmets, and other glacier crossing tools. Though I wished for more time to travel closer to Sahale Mountain, I didn't envy their trek across the glacier.Sahale Arm trail.Doubtful Lake, about 800 feet below.
Looking back toward Cascade Pass, we spied five mountain goats along the Ptarmigan Traverse trail on the south end of Cascade Pass with my binoculars. The sheer speed at which they moved along the rocky inclines was impressive. I was very excited to finally see mountain goats (since I didn't see any in Chelan), and also happy to use my binoculars! We could see hikers picking their way slowly across the Sahale Glacier as well.I had to crop off the top of Mt. Sahale, but I think this panorama gives an idea of how specular and expansive the views are.Looking toward Stehekin Valley. The strenuous climb was well worth it.

The trek back down to civilization. If you look in the far left of this photo, you can see mountains and a glacier. This photo shows the diversity of the last stretch of the trail near Cascade pass. I had a wonderful time hiking with both my parents. I have to give credit to my mom, who discovered shortly after beginning the hike back to the car, that her hiking boot sole remained attached to her boot only at the toe. She inventively used a zip lock bag from lunch to hold the boot together for the rest of the over three mile hike to the car.

All in all, the Cascade Pass trail was one incredible hike. This was my first real mountain hike - I felt so small yet powerful standing at 6,000 feet looking across miles of mountains and valleys. After such a hike, it feels strange to hear the roar of cars on pavement instead of ice and snow cascading down mountain sides. To smell exhaust fumes instead of crisp mountain air and heather. I am already eager for more hiking and look forward to taking another brief moment from the chaos of everyday city life.

Cool Cat

2008-09-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

There are a number of cool car shows around the Seattle area. Most recently, I went to the small Elks Car Show in Ballard and the Edmonds Car Show - "Hot Autumn Nites" - on September 6. Another one is the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance, which I missed this year since the Edmonds car show was pretty impressive. I love classic American cars, and like to tell stories of my dad's 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS (same color as the one below from the Edmonds car show) he had when I was still a babe in arms. Some other family cars include a 63 Impala, 66 Caprice, and Pontiac GTO. Someday down the road hopefully I will have my own classic car to cruise on sunny summer afternoons. But for now, marveling at car shows will suffice.

P.S. I hiked Cascade Pass on Sept. 13 - it was amazing. I took 300+ photos so I am still choosing the best photos for my blog post coming soon!

Northwest Photos

2008-09-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

These photos are just too good not to share. Seattle Times today has a "Pix From My Weekend" compilation with 99 photos sent to them by readers from around the Puget Sound and Washington coast region. There are some absolutely amazing photos. They really make me want to get a tripod and digital body for my Nikon SLR camera.

Surprise Lake

2008-09-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend, I hiked the Surprise Lake Trail in the Alpine Lakes Region of the Washington Cascades. The Surprise Lake trail head begins a few miles past Skykomish on the way to Steven's Pass on Highway 2. The National Weather Service was predicting "unseasonably cool" weather in the mountains for Labor Day weekend, so we were prepared with warm clothes, hats, gloves, and rain coats. The trail is approximately 4.7 miles each way, with another 1 mile past Surprise Lake to a smaller Glacier Lake.

The trail begins under power lines that you can hear hissing and crackling. After a short time, however, you enter dense forest. The air was a crisp 50 degrees and fog lingered among the cedar trees along the trail. After a short distance, the trail converges with Surprise Creek and then parallels the creek for about a mile. At one point, you have to use a fallen tree as a bridge to cross the creek.
The entire length of the trail is green and lush. We also encountered a number of large house-size boulders on the climb to Surprise Lake. Many of these even had trees growing out of the top of them.At about two and half miles along the trail begins steep switchbacks and more difficult climbing. Much of the upper trail is rocky and requires careful stepping and concentration. Also about this time on our hike the precipitation started to turn from a fine mist to real big ol' fat rain, so we stopped to put on our raincoats. We were optimistic that the rain would clear and we'd see some mountain views - but unfortunately the rain only increased in intensity over the rest of the day. We met some backpackers on their way down who said that it snowed overnight at Surprise Lake - on August 31!
After a difficult climb, we reached Surprise Lake just in time for lunch. Surprise Lake is a long lake, so we were only able to see one end. The water was clean and clear - no algae, life, or fish growing in the frigid alpine lake. I was a little disappointed since the fog was pretty much socked in and we couldn't tell if there were any mountain views around the lake. It was a nippy 38 degrees at the lake, so we ate our lunch quickly before getting on the move again. We decided to hike the extra one mile to Glacier Lake, which turned out to be a great decision. After gaining a little elevation, the Glacier Lake trail traverses a boulder field with even larger boulders than the lowland area of the hike. We stopped for a few photos then scrambled down the steep hillside for a view of Glacier Lake. Still raining, we stopped only for a moment, took a few photos, saw a number of pikas, then set off on the journey back the car. The jaunt to Glacier Lake was my favorite part of the hike.
A true mountaineer braving the cold and rain at Glacier Lake.
The hike back down turned out to be tremendously more difficult than the hike up. With the continuous rain and quite a few Labor Day weekend hikers, the trail was muddy and slippery. My summer hiking boots weren't particularly well-suited for the wet and muddy trail, but we took our time and each of us only slipped once (quite a feat considering the condition of the trail). With the extra distance to Glacier Lake, we hiked 10 and half miles in all and were feeling a bit weary by the end of the hike.

Though the weather wasn't great, I'm glad I finally made it on the Surprise Lake hike and pushed myself to do a more difficult trail. Next up: Cascade Pass!

I Heart Number Eight

2008-09-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I went to the Seahawks versus Raiders preseason game at Qwest Field. Though I am already longing for the warm summer nights that I know are gone - I was thrilled to finally pull my #8 Hasselbeck Seahawks jersey from my closet where it has been hanging since that fateful day of blizzard conditions in Greenbay on January 7, 2008.

At Friday's game, I cheered, clapped, shouted, booed, speculated, and hoped this year would be better than the last. Since Mother Nature is taking away sun and summertime, maybe she'll grant Seattle a run game or a stronger offensive line or a healthy receiving corps or a dynamite Hasselbeck. Maybe! And isn't that the joy of the beginning of any sports season? Who knows where we will be in 17 weeks! Ah the excitement... Best of luck to the other doomed teams - I'll see you out there with my foam finger, Hawks jersey, and battle cry!

Lake Chelan Vacation

2008-08-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the week of August 18 in Chelan, Washington with three friends. We stayed Saturday to Saturday and had a great time, though the trip turned out to be a little different than we had planned.

Our first two days in Chelan were hot and calm. We spent Sunday on the water, intertubing, floating, swimming, and going off a neighbor's 10-foot water slide (yipee!). I discovered that I remember how to dive, and practiced the Michael Phelps dolphin underwater swim. On Sunday, we found a water thermometer hanging off a neighbor's dock - it read 72 degrees. Not bad for chilly Lake Chelan - it felt great on a 95 degree day. We also discovered that across and up the lake a bit from our cabin was a smooth rock hanging about 20 to 25 feet over the water. Teens were jumping off the rock in hoards, and the water was incredibly deep at that spot, so we decided we would make it back to jump before our vacation was over. Sunday night we went to Slide Waters, the small water park in Chelan. I felt like a kid again zooming down water slides.

Monday started off warm, but the wind picked up in the afternoon. We rented a wake board but with the wind and our inexperience, no one got the chance to really try it out. By the evening, a thundershower rolled through Chelan, and we felt a little down because it kept us out of the water.

Tuesday we went wine tasting with Lakeside Limousine Tours. We had a blast - and felt very cool being driven to wineries in a limo. Many of the wineries in the Chelan area have some of the best views of the lake and delicious food. Some of the wineries we visited include: Tildio Winery, Benson Vineyards, Nefarious Cellars, and Vin du Lac. Vin du Lac tasting was outdoors under a trellis with gorgeous views of the lake.

Wednesday the weather didn't look great, so we decided to take the Lady of the Lake ferry to Stehekin, the northern most point and source of Lake Chelan. When we arrived in Stehekin, it was pouring down rain, so we hopped on the Rainbow Falls tour (school) bus. After the tour, we bought sweatshirts to stay warm, explored downtown Stehekin, marveled at the car graveyard with license plate tabs dating all the way back to 1991 (that I saw), and enjoyed the views and remoteness of the tiny town. After three hours, we caught the Lady of the Lake ferry back to Fields Point Landing.

Thursday was still windy and cool, so we stayed mostly out of the water and barbecued, played games, and relaxed. It was refreshing to be away from a computer and television. Friday rolled around and we woke to calm waters so we motored the boat to downtown Chelan for a hearty breakfast. The clouds burned off by noon and we made the decision to spend the entire damn day on the water, for better or worse.

We headed first to the jumping rock. Our boat captain stayed behind to take photos of the rest of us daredevils. We swam to shore, climbed the rocky terrain, and prepared to face certain death. Just kidding! But that's what I felt like. Heart racing and nervous as heck, it took me a long time to muster the courage to jump, though I did finally take a measly step off those rocks and plunged into the water. It was so much fun - I'm glad I did it. We spent the rest of the day boating, swimming, and intertubing. The day was incredible and we stayed on the water until the sun dipped behind the hills.

Saturday came and we were sad to have to leave our oasis so soon, especially since it was hot and the water calm. On our way home, we stopped outside of Leavenworth to float down the Wenatchee River - something the four of us have down for three years in a row. We had a blast and enjoyed resting on a sandy spit along the river, though it was bittersweet since it meant our vacation was over.

I love Lake Chelan. I am a bit sad to not have our vacation to look forward to anymore, but the memories and photos will help me get through the dreary Seattle winter. Until next year, Lake Chelan!

Moonrise over Lake Chelan our first night on vacation.

Stehekin Landing and Lodge

Rainbow Falls in Stehekin - 312 feet of cascading waterA view of the beginning of Lake Chelan and the North Cascades shrouded in clouds.We saw bighorn sheep on the ferry back to Chelan. There is so much more wildlife in Chelan than Seattle - we saw the bighorn sheep, fish, bats, frogs, lizards, and a variety of squirrels. Looking north on Lake Chelan from the Lady of the Lake ferry.
Cruising.Tubing buddies.Panorama from the cabin deck. Looking north from our cabin deck.Sunset and floaties.

And to prove I actually jumped. Hopefully you can't see the grimace on my face. And I look like a total dork because I'm trying to keep my arms at my side and toes pointed to avoid slapping the water uncomfortably. Yay for conquering fears.

The Tipping Point

2008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

If I may draw from what I have learned working for the National Girls Collaborative Project, I believe the U.S. has reach a tipping point. Quoting the NGCP Replication Guide: "Gladwell (2000) describes the tipping point as the point at which small, targeted strategies or activities that happen unsystematically become widespread, causing a cultural shift that drives systemic and inherent change" (1).

Today John McCain declared his running mate to be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. No longer is our presidential race simply a competition between middle-aged and elderly upper class white men. There has been a cultural shift - it is now critical for presidential hopefuls to represent more than just these white men. The glass ceiling is not simply cracked: it has been smashed repeatedly with only fragile remains still in place.

Minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups still have more ground to gain, and the wage disparity between these groups and white men still remains significant. But today is an exciting day. No matter who is elected, November 4, 2008 will be a historic time for the U.S. Either way, a woman or an African American will sit in one of the two most powerful positions in the White House, making executive decisions that shape our nation and future. We have reached a tipping point, and I am hopeful and excited for the future.

I'm Baaack!

2008-08-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a week in Lake Chelan. The vacation was great - though a little different than we had planned due to some iffy weather. And there is torrential rain today in Seattle - it seems like summer might be coming to an end already. So sad. I'll post on Chelan with photos soon! Stay tuned...

Seattle Swift

2008-08-14T20:38:00.001-07:00

The logo I developed for Swift Asset Management, Inc. - inspired by an original design sketch from one of my aunties.

Puget Sound Cruise

2008-08-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to spend Sunday, August 10th out on the Puget Sound on a 42 foot boat belonging to a friend's work associate. We left from Salmon Bay on the Magnolia side, traveled through the Hiram Chittenden Locks across Puget Sound around the west side of Bainbridge Island then into Liberty Bay, where we docked in Poulsbo, Washington. This was the first time I have been on a private yacht (that I can recall at least), the first time I have been through the Locks on a boat, and my first time in Poulsbo. Quite a day for firsts!

The Locks are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I discovered like many government operations - efficiency is not one of their primary duties. It took us about two hours each way to get through the Locks. Not that I'm complaining! Despite some ominous-looking clouds, the weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. There was hardly a breath of wind all day. I'll take calm waters over bright blue skies for cruising on the Sound.

I love water and water reflections - so there was a lot of photographic opportunity. I took tons of photos, here are some of my favorites:

NOAA research vessel Miller Freeman. We waited in the locks with this ship. Seems like NOAA is everywhere I go! I waved to the cranky-looking man on the bow. He waved back, totally unaware that I worked for NOAA for seven long years, maybe even edited his writing or research.

Poulsbo Marina. There were a bunch of harbor seals hanging out on the log booms.

Summertime and the livin's easy.

A three hour tour...

Railroad trestle from the opposite direction - heading back to the Locks.

Can you see the great blue heron? Some rude family on a Zodiak motored right up to it, then chased it as it flew away. While waiting for the Locks, we fed the seagulls Doritos and red vines. One of the boat passengers balked at us for feeding them unhealthy food. Considering seagulls eat garbage, I think chips are probably OK.

Here's a progression of sunset shots - you can see we waited for the Locks a while. But the sunset was beautiful! I love the color in the final photo.

Chelan, Olympics, Etc.

2008-08-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Now the countdown to Chelan really begins! Forecasted temperature for Saturday in the city of Chelan: 102 degrees. Sunday: 99 degrees. I can feel the hot sun and icy water already!

I stayed up too late last night to watch some of the Olympic swimming. I have never been really into the Olympics - though they are always fun to watch. But last night I saw the American men's swim team win the gold in the four by one hundred freestyle relay. It was amazing to see - it looked like certain death against the French team in the final leg but American Jason Lezak touched that wall just a fraction of a second before the French team. We did it, won the gold, broke the world record, and Michael Phelps can still potentially win eight gold medals. I felt proud to be an American! And it was pretty cool seeing the beast-men in gymnastics on Saturday night. I hope I catch some of the diving before the Chelan trip.

Salsa Recipe, Upon Request

2008-08-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

A coworker brought this delicious salsa into work, and I requested the recipe from her. I made the salsa for my family party, and had some requests to post the recipe here. Thanks to my coworker for the recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Salsa

1 – 15 oz can black-eyed peas (rinse thoroughly)
1 – 11 oz can shoe peg corn (drain)
1 to 1 ½ large chopped bell pepper (green, orange, yellow or a combination)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium jar pimentos (2 – 2 ½ inch tall jar), chopped

Marinade
¾ cup sugar
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup olive oil (light)
3 – 4 tablespoons of Tiger Sauce (found with the BBQ sauces)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a large bowl, cover with marinade and refrigerate overnight. Scoop out salsa with slotted spoon to reduce liquid. Serve with “scoop” style tortilla chips.

Rebirth

2008-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

...Or maybe just the right ingredients.

Two months ago I planted basil, oregano, and cilantro is some pots I received for Christmas. The seeds began to sprout beautifully, the cilantro grew to over an inch tall. But the June cold, cloudy spell hit right as the seeds were getting going. They wilted and died soon after. Disappointed, I put the pots in the basement, planning to empty them out later.

Last weekend, I decided to use the pots to plant wildflower seeds I received for my birthday (thanks, Galen!). I stirred the soil, watered it well without removing the dead sprouts or leftover seeds, and since the very person who gave me the seeds was in town for few days, I let the pots be to go spend some quality time with a bestest buddy.

Last night, a week after preparing the soil for wildflowers, I went downstairs for some ever-exciting document filing. Low and behold... sprouts! All three, the basil, cilantro, and oregano had sprouted and were growing strong. I was especially excited to see the oregano growing well. Oregano seeds are the size of tiny pepper flakes, and the sprouts about the same diameter and partly translucent.

I always forget to turn off the basement lights, but this is exactly what helped my sad little seedlings start growing again! The pots are perfectly placed beneath a compact florescent light bulb, the advice my same wildflower-buddy gave to me! I'll be sure to leave the light on tonight.

So perhaps I will have fresh herbs after all. And maybe I'll use this situation as a lesson to not give up and that sometimes the right conditions are all that are needed to flourish. I should probably not use this situation as a lesson that laziness sometimes pays off though (by me not emptying those pots months ago)...

Neighborhood Night Out

2008-08-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

I attended my first Neighborhood Night Out Block Party on Tuesday, August 5th! The Block Party was part of the National Night Out event, where communities host neighborhood parties to raise awareness about crime and anti-crime programs, as well as strengthen community interaction. Neighbors bring side dishes to share, drinks, and their own food to throw on the grill.

It was fun to see kids riding their bikes up an down the street and dogs lazily traveling from person to person searching for leftover grilled meat. I met a number of my neighbors, and I look forward to being able to wave, say hello, and chat with them in the future.

I also learned that two years ago, the alley behind my street was home to squatters who were dealing crack to their friends. This is quite disturbing, especially considering the quiet and friendly veneer of the neighborhood. Neighbors also talked of the numerous car thefts occurring in the area. Moral of the story: lock your doors, lock your car, be aware of your surroundings, and know your neighbors. I found myself a little more appreciative of our rowdy neighbors who like to party and drink Keystone Light till sunrise on the front porch. Not likely cars will be broken into when they are out there!

The Neighborhood Block Party was fun and I enjoyed the neighborhood camaraderie. I also got a chance to test a new salsa recipe before my family party on Saturday! It was delicious...

Fire Drill

2008-08-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

Maybe my experience was different than most, but in grade school we learned during fire drills to leave all of our belongings behind and in an orderly fashion, get the heck out of the building. During a fire drill at work years ago, I did just that. Except as I stood shivering in the parking lot, I realized how silly it was that I left my keys, wallet, phone, and jacket behind! What would I do if the building actually burned down? Camp out in the parking lot or hitch a ride, I guess. Then begin the process of getting another driver's license, buying a new cell phone, replacing credit and membership cards, and requesting friends' numbers.

I know my life and safety are more important than these things, but considering I always keep my purse right next to me on my desk, it seems foolish not to grab it and other necessities close by on the way out the door. I think that's one lesson school got wrong. And I should make a mental note to not always take elementary school lessons so literally.

Lake Twenty Two

2008-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I hiked to Lake Twenty Two in the North Cascades on Sunday, August 3rd. Lake 22 is one of the many great hikes along the Mountain Loop Highway, east of Granite Falls, Washington (about an hour drive from North Seattle). This trail has pretty much everything you could want on an easy day hike: old growth forest, rivers, waterfalls, wildflowers, wooden bridges, mountain views, wild berries, animals, snow, glacial rocks, towering Mount Pilchuck, and of course beautiful Lake 22.

The trail begins from a parking lot right off the Mountain Loop Highway about 12 miles east of Granite Falls. This was a nice change from the eight miles of gravel roads required to reach Tonga Ridge. The trail is 5.4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 1,300 feet. We arrived at 8:30 a.m. for an early start. For any interested in hiking to Lake 22, I strongly recommend getting started early. The trail was empty on the way up and we got the best lunch spot on the lake. The air felt crisp and refreshing in the morning. By the time we were on our way back down in the early afternoon, we were meeting fellow hikers every 100 yards on the trail and the air was getting humid and warm.

The first mile of the trail climbs gradually through old growth forest and gigantic cedar trees. The trail crosses Lake 22 Creek, and a number of switchbacks follow. As you gain more elevation, there are views of waterfalls and cataracts along the trail. For one of these I stepped a few feet off the trail to get a better view, looked down, and there was a steep gorge that dropped right into the swift-moving creek.

The trail exits the old growth forest, continuing through open talus slopes and a forest of old growth maple trees. We came across a squirrel and pika snacking on their breakfast. Getting closer to the lake, we encountered an avalanche chute where large trees were strewn across the trail. This required some skillful maneuvering and climbing. Once we crossed the tree field, we discovered there was a large amount of snow left on the last stretch of the trail to the lake. Stepping carefully to avoid falling through hollow patches of snow, we made it to Lake 22. I was astounded by the beauty of the lake and the half-mile high peaks of Mount Pilchuck towering over the ice-covered lake.

We traveled a quarter of the way around the lake to a prime lunch spot. From the wooden bridge (seen below) at the end of the lake where the creek begins, it looked like ice was covering only half of the lake. But from our lunch spot vantage point, we realized ice was still covering about ninety percent of the lake. At the far end, debris from an avalanche was still sitting on top of the ice covering. Lake 22 was beautiful. All the alpine lakes I've hiked before Lake 22 have been snow free - so it was fun to see all the snow and ice left, and the snow and cold water contributed to the cool breeze at our lunch spot.

Of the hikes I've done in the Cascades so far (including Snow Lake and Annette Lake), Lake 22 is my favorite. It was not too challenging and offered so much trail variety and incredible views. I will also get an earlier start on hikes from now on, the morning is an amazing time to hike. And the drive is easy and short. I took tons of photos, so here are some of my favorites:

There is a nice wooden bridge across the Lake 22 Creek. But my dad found the old crossing - a large, worn tree that had fallen across the creek.

The first mile or so of the trail is through old growth forest - those trees are gigantic!

The trail was really well-maintained. There were a lot of stairs, which made the climbing easy.

We found this little pika snacking on the fern along the trail. He was probably wondering what the hell we were and why we were interrupting his breakfast. Another bonus about starting early on the trail: this little guy was nowhere to be seen on the way down with tons of people on the trail.

Not as many flowers as Tonga Ridge, but still pretty! A lot of tiny streams crossed the trail, giving the rainy-look seen on these flowers.

At about two miles up the trail are these old mossy maple trees growing at uncomfortable-looking angles. My dad pointed out these maples looked like they came of out Tolkien's Entwood.

Trees had fallen across the trail from an avalanche. This made trail crossing a little difficult.

We made it to Lake 22! There was another newly-constructed bridge.

Lake 22 and Mount Pilchuck (I had to merge about ten photos to get this one).

I read on hike Web sites that there is a trail around the entire lake. This was not accessible with the amount of snow left, unless we wanted to swim in 35 degree water. No thanks! You can also see in this photo how deceptive this angle is - it looks like there is not much ice on the lake.A view of the North Cascades on our way back down the trail.

Now I can't wait to go on another hike since Lake 22 was so incredible. Some I am considering are: Surprise Lake, Cutthroat Lake, Cascade Pass, and Denny Creek-Melakwa Lake. All of these are longer and more difficult than Lake 22, but I am up for the challenge. Anyone have favorite hikes to suggest?

Counting Down...

2008-08-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'll be in glorious Lake Chelan in less than two weeks! I can hardly contain my excitement. So now begins the process of staying focused despite that excitement, along with purchasing such essentials as floaty water toys and sunscreen.

And on another note, the first Seahawks game is this Friday, August 8th! August just may be the greatest month ever. I also bought tickets today for the November 2nd home game against the Philadelphia Eagles for me, my dad, and mom. I am excited for my parents to experience the chaos and excitement of Qwest Field.

Of course the only single game tickets available are in the nose-bleed section. I logged in at 10 a.m. sharp this morning, bought the set of three tickets, and was finished at 10:04 a.m. I returned to the ticket sale site immediately and no more tickets were available for any game! It only took four minutes, maybe even less, for those remaining nose-bleed tickets to sell out entirely. Wow! As my dad says, there are only two seasons: football season and waiting for football season. I'll add two more: summer and waiting for summer.

Blue Angels

2008-08-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are here in Seattle once again for Seafair weekend! I snapped this photo during their practice on Friday.Sorry for the sort of lame photo, they are hard to capture on a point-and-shoot camera when they are whizzing by faster than the speed of sound. I'm glad the sun came out for the show!

LeMay Car Museum

2008-07-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

A lot of people probably do not know (at least I didn't) that the Pacific Northwest is home to one of the world's largest private car collections. The LeMay Museum houses over 2,000 automobiles in Spanaway, Washington on the grounds of an old boys military academy. Local businessman Harold LeMay spent years collecting automobiles - at its peak, he had over 3,000 cars in the collection. In 1996, the LeMay Collection was listed as the largest privately owned car collection in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.

I had the chance to tour the LeMay car collection with the car club, Puget Sound Rally Club. Though I do not know enough about different makes and models of cars to appreciate what makes the cool ones unique or special or fast, I do appreciate the history behind the cars. I like imagining the people who purchased a 1922 Ford Model T to move out to California, or those Progressive Era women who gained a new sense of liberation driving a car for the first time. Cars tell a lot about culture, fashion, and politics. I noted that many of the 1930s through 1950s cars featured hood ornaments shaped like missiles, jets, or airplanes.

Featured in one of the showrooms was the 1906 Ford Model N, a gas-powered car. Next to it on the floor was a 1902 Standard Electric car. The electric car was popular with women because it was quiet and did not need to be hand-cranked. However, it was more expensive than the gas car and drivers needed to ensure that wherever they traveled would have a facility to recharge the car. Due to electric car drawbacks, Ford decided to invest time and money in their gas-powered car. Our tour guide pointed out that if the car industry of the early 1900s decided to invest equivalent time and resources in the electric car, our world would be a dramatically different place.

Cars are such an important and indicative aspect of American culture and history. In many ways, American life has been molded around our use of automobiles. Certainly some of the problems facing the U.S. now are due to such dependence on cars.

But I loved the sense of nostalgia I felt in the LeMay Museum. Many of us have fond memories of cars, and cars can often represent important events or phases in life. I often reminisce about my parent's blue 1970s Chevrolet C-10 pick-up truck because every summer we drove that truck to the beach and I remember my legs sticking to the vinyl seat from the heat. My parents never had to replace the brakes in that truck for the entire thirty years they owned it because it was driven almost entirely on the highway for our family vacations. We also added an extra seat belt so my cousin and I along with my parents could all cram on the truck bench seat for beach excursions.

Anyone have car memories to share? Cool cars you or your family owned?

There were so many cars packed into the two main warehouses that it was difficult to get many good photos. But here are a few tidbits...

1906 Ford Model N gas-powered car. The white tires were unable to hold a tread. Can you imagine driving a car on a rainy day without tread on the tires?

1922 Ford Model T. Ford's production of the Model T dramatically shaped the car industry, car production, and gave the average American tremendous mobility.

The cars increase in date produced from the back right all the way to the back left. It's interesting to see the progression of grills, lights, and bumpers.

The middle lights on this car moved with the steering wheel. Some cars had a single middle light that moved with the steering wheel - called "cyclops" eyes.Let me see ya grill! I think this photo is fun because it shows both a fanciful hood ornament and an impressive grill.
1949 Kaiser Manhattan. This car is quite rare - and the color is copyrighted by Kaiser. That is my kind of car color!I thought the 1930 Ford Model A taxi cab was neat. There was just one seat in the front, with the window divider molded around the driver, giving the passengers extra room for luggage.

1939 Buick Century. A very nice-looking car.

Ambulances have come a long way over the years.

Get in my Belly!

2008-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was reading a review on Yelp of the new Cuban sandwich shop that will be moving into where Gordo's was up until last month (on Seaview Avenue at Shilshole Bay in Ballard). I saw someone's profile that said "I wish I were a picky eater then I wouldn't be so poor." I thought that was funny, and too true for those of us who love pretty much any kind of food except maybe pickled pigs feet. Though I guess some of you might like them too.