Random.

Random quote overheard at a bookstore:
"I'm sorry, I was thinking about Sudoku and Pootie Tang."

This disturbs me.

{Hostess Twinkies Sushi}

The twenty-year old me.

The twenty-year old me discovered Supergrass while studying abroad in London. The thirty-one year old me rocked out to them last night at the Showbox. Woo! Luckily, they looked like they're aging a bit, as well. ;)

{Above photo taken in 1995 at my swell friend Neil's house outside of London}

A l'arte show.

Last night we attended the premier of a Lichtenstein exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery on the UW campus. It has been a while since we've been to an exhibit, and owing to the impressive array of great works (not to mention complementary beer and wine) it really hit the spot.

The highlight of the event for us, however, was a video installation called "Sniff". It consisted of 7-and-a-half minutes of a wonderfully tranquil cat being given various objects to smell, offered by a disembodied hand. It was simultaneously strange and cute, and we couldn't tear our eyes away. Take a look at a portion of the video, by Canadian Kelly Mark.

A new take on exhibiting art.

While at the Henry Art Gallery last night, we were able to explore the entire museum. Another temporary exhibit, 150 Works of Art, was ending its run. Its unique exhibit design was so intriguing to me. Each piece was displayed on a stand backed with (what appeared to be) plywood stenciled with the artist name and title. Not only was this layout a clever use of space (they never could have hung 150 works of art on the walls!), but it encouraged a new way of interacting with the art itself.

I walked forwards through the room, first admiring each piece for its subject matter or technique. Heading backwards into the room, I looked at each one based on name recognition, and realized there were actually some well-known artists on display. Some of it was good, some of it belonged in the Museum of Bad Art (as Shawn noted). Either way, I enjoyed the feeling the gallery created in the room most of all...

{Hoping this isn't read as the most pretentious post ever!}

Taking it one ride at a time.

My bus was hit again this morning. So, I was dropped off a few blocks short of the point where I catch a transfer. So, with dislocated tailbone and all, I had to hike a bit to get there in time for the next leg of my trip. More efficient public transportation is generally a positive aspect of living in Seattle, but it has recently become a bit of an annoyance. A few recent incidents include:

1. I spotted a dude with a stream running from him. He was drunk. The stream clearly originated in his pants.
2. I nearly got tangled in a cat-fight at Third & Pine waiting for my connecting bus. The bad part? The fight was between two extremely haggard, toothless women.
3. A couple days later, everything seemed to be going okay. I was happy, realizing the bus was full of respectable professionals... until I noticed the man in front of me had a giant bogey hanging out of his nose.

C'mon, people! Act normal.

It lives on!

So, so happy today. I faithfully download and listen to The Ricky Gervais Show every Tuesday to help endure a long, dreadful bus ride to work. Today's episode was supposed to be the last in a series of twelve. Fortunately, they announced that the podcast is so popular that they've decided to continue! It won't be free any longer, but who cares about money when you get to listen to the little-known, but highly entertaining Karl Pilkington!

As a sidenote, all of the original, free episodes will be available on Ricky's site starting March 7th. Woo!

On homesickness.

It's funny how the weather can either exaggerate or stomp out my bouts with homesickness. A few weeks ago, Shawn and I had a simultaneous breakdown, convinced that moving here was the worst idea we've ever had. It had been raining non-stop and we were feeling cold, wet, and alone.

Then, days like the ones we experienced this past weekend happen. Saturday was gorgeous, nearly sixty degrees, and everybody was outside enjoying it, happily walking their dogs and enjoying the city. We walked all the way around Green Lake, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we drove around nearby neighborhoods afterwards trying to figure out where to buy our next home. An extreme high.

Today was a little mix of both... the snow-capped mountains were out in full view. But, a couple of chats with friends back home, and a sweet package from my mom, can knock me right back into missing everyone.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Ouch.

Snowboarding hurts. It's official. We took a short one-hour drive to the Summit at Snoqualmie today for lessons and some boarding. Realized pretty quickly that this isn't easy stuff. Shawn managed to get control of his board pretty quickly, while Nathan and I proceeded to struggle with it for the rest of the afternoon. I'm not totally convinced I didn't break my arse in the process...

The highlight of this trip was definitely seeing the snowy mountains in 43-degree weather. It was sunny and not too cold. Just lovely. The mound on the left side of the photo above is not a snow-covered hill, either... it's a drift!

Our cool-as-heck library.

When Jes visited us this past weekend, we visited Seattle's downtown library. I have had mixed feelings about the building since first clapping eyes on it, finding it to be a bit of an eyesore. Stepping inside, however, changed my mind in an instant. The library is a wide open space, with interesting features like a neon green escalator and an entire floor painted red from top to bottom. Glass walls and grass-print carpeting bring the outdoors in. The library is a major success. I guess it proves that you can't judge a book by its cover? ;)

Pretty again.

After a disgusting amount of rain and numerous blog posts griping about the weather, we are given this... several days of clear, blue skies only broken up by mountains on the horizon. Was the groundhog wrong? I hope so!

Enticing visitors.

New photos to entice thee... Including random scenes of Seattle and the surrounding area. Hoping to update this gallery at random points in time.

Who doesn't have spirit?

This city's so pumped that even our donuts have spirit! Strangely, the most common fan phenomenon seems to be writing "Go Hawks" in the dirt on the back of cars. That's truly lazy.
{ Overall, it's pretty subdued here. }

...and Happy Birthday to my mom!

The ongoing battle with Mother Nature.

Yet again, it's a new day and a new weather phenomenon for us here in Seattle. Today, we're getting rocked by some heavy freaking winds... 60-70 mph gusts that haven't been seen around here since '99. What confuses me about this: on the coast, the winds are hurricane-force gusts (according to Accuweather). Here in Seattle, they are apparently tropical-storm force winds. What is the difference?

{A giant log falls next door on our street}

Really? Six more weeks of this crap?

Happy Groundhog Day! How cute is this little fella? Too bad the little fluffer-nutter saw his shadow again this year. I need sun!!!