nordic constitution day celebration and a late opera photo

I think our emcee was related to Bob Barker




ever have to fight the urge to see what, exactly, would happen if you pulled the plug?














pat pat


feeding the fjord horses babies


closeup

closeup

I keep getting up so early! today around 5:45am. why is it that when one is obligated to something, 5:45 seems so early, but when one is not obligated to much it's a treat? perspective has an effect on almost everything.
today is the Norwegian Constitution Day celebration in Ballard. I'll post pictures later today. there are fjord horses involved, I am going to find them and pat them and feed them. and photograph them. that is my goal.

Day 1

Tonight, thanks to Cindy who works there, I'm going to a nearby university to attend an informational meeting about their MPA program (masters of public administration). to gear up, I woke up this morning and couldn't decide what to do so I shifted into default and went to TJ Maxx. this made me feel better and I had time to think on the drive over there. (sidenote- my rattling tailpipe stopped rattling on the ride over! this would be a huge relief, except it began rattle-mode again on the way back).
the program in question is probably way out of my budget- possibly in the 27,000-a-year league since it is a private university- but hopefully the experience will merit the trip. as part of resigning I had to give up my treasured and much used bus pass, and now am on booklets until june, so each trip via bus has taken on added significance.
mostly things are good. little rainy this morning, but now it's late afternoon and the sky is sort of that hazy blueish-white that means it would be sunny if there was just a little more day left. not bad as far as days go.

I can do hard things

I had my last team meeting today. it was fun and educational as it always is, but while I was sitting there I looked out the window (we're pretty high up) and saw the blue puget sound, with sailboats and ferries coasting along, and islands in the distance. it looked like a scene from a Vacation Getaways series, all blue sky and sun. I just thought "I can't wait to get out there!".
After the meeting ended and I came back to my desk, my boss marty called.
"so, ron was just wondering if you'd be available for 3D work. I told him I thought probably not since you want to go into management."
"oh, do you mean today or tomorrow?" I said.
"no, you know staying on a bit to do the 3D work, he's scrambling to find someone who can do it."
"oh, yeah. probably not."
"that's what I though, I just wanted to ask."
this has been happening frequently this last week, different job options keep appearing and I have to make a decision about them in the few seconds I'm talking with whoever is giving me the option. just a few months ago working part-time doing 3D work would have been my ideal! I normally would spend at least a few days sorting out the pros and cons of such an offer, and now two or three times lately I've had to push my decision-making into high gear when random offers are made. it's a little scary and I have had moments of wondering what it is I'm doing, why I keep turning down these otherwise perfect options. the only answer I've come up with is that I feel ok about it. when I wanted to put an offer in on a house a few months ago, I felt exactly the opposite, so I trust this ok feeling. but as feelings go, it's got very little strong data backing it up, which makes saying no a hard thing.
but as ward's family says, I can do hard things. :)

Moab

thanks Vanya and Dainon for the pictures!-

Opera!

last night I went to the opera with Joseph and the Halls, it was my first non-college opera. and you know what I thought? it was short! La Boheme has four acts, all ranging between 17-25 minutes. I was expecting a long, drawn out draining kind of sensory overload, and instead I was entertained and wowed by the sets and then it was over! very strange. but a very good experience. Joseph was the perfect opera date, he came and picked me up and he looked great, and we went to dinner and had potent lamb pot pies at an irish pub. then he graciously spotted me the cash to get my favorite lip balm at the Bartells, cause who can sit through an opera with parched lips? not me. or him.
The Halls were great, they are so intelligent and open which is a good combination. it wasn't all lip balm and lamb though, we went to a pre-opera lecture expecting one of the great lecture-givers, and instead we got 26 yr old who plays a waiter in the opera and wanted to give pre-opera lecturing a shot. Joseph would have rather that he BE shot (a little to over-earnest in his presentation, though I thought the bits about art and ernest hemmingway were nice), then it was off to the main show. I'd picked up an opera dress for a whopping $15 at the Rack before-hand, sort of gold/copper lace with cindy's borrowed gold jewelry, and it was a success because old ladies kept complimenting me, and let's face it, they are the opera. sorry I failed to get any photos! except one of me I took when I got home, maybe I can post that later.
but, as opera nights go, it was a success! next time I'm bringing moleskine for my feet though. operas are harder on feet than hiking havasupai. no one tells you these things.

French dip tuesday at the Pig 'N Whistle. Not the best sandwich, but a good time anyway. See cindy's blog for more details and links to other tuesday french dip blogs.


Also, Claire and Brad had their baby- a boy. Can't wait to go walking with him Claire, and congratulations to all three of you. :)

trip to utah

thanks so much everyone for a fabulous trip to utah that included all-you-can-eat Indian food (thanks wendy, jill and emily!), during which conversation actually just served to solidify that IKEA is about the best thing to ever hit utah (I completely agree).

the trip also included challenging my nephew aidan to not only a soccer match (he won 10-7) but a rousing bout of "Red Light, Green Light", I'm trying to decide which he is better at. if they had competition red light green light, he'd be a natural, the boy can hold a position! I also enjoyed seeing my parents in their natural habitat of renovations and re-configurations on the house, they both looked to be doing well and we had a good time talking and watching the nephews be entertaining. we now have a screen porch stone-floored area where our carport used to be, it's fabulous. we can fit the whole family out there, I wish I'd taken some pictures, but it was a cameraless weekend. now all I have to rely on is my memory, I'm putting it to the test since it seems to fail me fairly regularly now.

grandma and aunt corliss visited sunday after dinner and we all sat out in the yard on lawnchairs and discussed retirement homes. hah. I love our family. so far consensus seems to be if one is coherent, one should have a private room, but if one does not tend to notice what's going on due to being out of it, stick us in a ward on a bed and we'll be happy. I suggested we all just move into grandma's house. her yard would make an excellent recreation area for strolls and genteel games of badminton.

william is fabulous. he's got the best imagination. the gazebo turned into the moon and the kids ran back and forth across the Milky Way (the empty creek bed). william's best trait is his sense of decorum- when he feels a diaper event coming on, he hides, then he comes back ready for action! very family-like, give us our space! John helped aidan get really far in Crash Bandecoot, then after he left the game froze and I hit the power button, which was exactly the wrong thing to do and I ruined the game they'd been working on all year. Aidan, bless his heart for real, took it like a trooper and started on Skull Monkeys instead, although I'm sure he fell apart later as any good-hearted 5 year old should when their game was reset. such a trooper. Brother-in-law John is a hoot, he and aunt corliss and grandma crack me up. emily is always great! we have a good time every time I visit and eat good food. thanks emily!

THEN, before all that happened there was two days of camping and hiking in moab and at arches national park. the Shaved Belly Band reunited after a touching although shortened opening set by sam. we were rockin'. Dainon was in prime shape for elvis songs with his low gravelly tired voice, and when ed could stay balanced on his specially-designed "seat" made of firewood (just don't use the backrest! it's apparently for decoration only!), he rocked at holding music and playing songs. ward was a little late with the harmonica, but came in for the big finish. truly a treat for those of us who go waaaaay back. although it was fun to meet new-to-the-group people like vanya (though I'd already met him once when he visited seattle- vanya, it was actually sunny here this weekend! we missed it), jeff the backpacker extreme, leanne, and a few people I never did get enough time to know.

and, deserving of their own line, mark and lynn and sam and ed, the Four Quadrants of Knowledge back together again! sam had us laughing and having a good time on the way back from saturday's Nigh Unto Death hike by starting the Poetry game, which resulted in the best quadruplet poems ever breathed life on this earth. too bad I can't remember any of them. Sacha, who along with Danielle contributed to the best ride up to moab ever in terms of general good times and hilarity (picture this- danielle holding the wheel, sacha filming, and ward who is driving pretending to sleep as we passed by confused commuters going the other way. ha! it was kind of evil but so fun. the video better not show up on youtube, that's all I gotta say....), was going to record some of them in her book but sadly they are lost to the world now. the forgotten poems of may 28th will forever go unread.

also allison and samuel and gabriel- allison, your dad's book illustrations are great, he's inspiring... and carrey and I spent a good quality 5 minutes guessing about the 6 ingredients in Coca Cola with her husband, it was hilarious, I did good and got at least three of them. and dona, who is caring and refreshing to talk to (hey, emily says you looked great last halloween when she saw you, like a high-end fashion model! if only we could get the I-dream-of-genie costume into mainstream fashion). and of course, veronica, my inspiration in fulfilling dreams and timing, got married to antonio with a beautiful ceremony in spanish.

lots of memories. after writing all that, I think my mind is doing pretty good. if I could just remember what it was I was supposed to be doing instead... oh yeah, work! well, oh well.

too much perfection

I was walking tonight, around 8pm when the light was just starting to fade, but before it had completely gone, up on the nearby hill. there was the magnolia bluff across the valley, next to the puget sound. water, barges, sailboats, clouds, distant Bainbridge Island, a long sidewalk along a beautifully manicured road with a walking path and huge trees and street lights, lots and lots of open air in between everything. the sun was hitting the lawns of the empty mansions, blossoming trees doming the road and stone half-wall along the path. breeze, sun, birds chirping, falling evening. I wish I could describe it. I recently resigned from my job and won't be working again for three months until September, and have been researching places to go for a vacation, places like Honolulu, but I can't imagine it would be more beautiful and peaceful than the neighboring hill in the early evening.

it reminded of those moments of too much perfection that keep popping up in life. that moment when, as a child walking home in the dark 6pm winter night with your nose full of cold air, you get close enough to see the lights in your house, your home, and you know you get to go in there, and it's the most exciting and reassuring feeling. mundanely doing dishes, and you glance out the window, and oh wow the sunset! laying on the grass after spending the day with friends at a music festival, feeling the prick prick of the grass leaves and the dampness of the mud underneath. moments. moments of too much perfection. I've come to trust in them, and whether rich or poor, harried or peaceful, childless or dogless, they come.

at lunch today my boss asked me if, after a certain time, I'd be willing to act as a consultant for the company on occasion. I told him august, I'd be happy to help. to feel wanted and like you've succeeded, even if they forget you by July because the person they hire to replace you is younger and more up-to-date with a exponentially flexible mind and fingers for computer work, too much perfection has already happened in the moment your boss asked that question. that's the best thing about too much perfection moments, they stand alone. it's actually a quote in a movie I like- the leading woman gets a bouquet of thornless lavender-colored roses with a note that says "thank you for a day of too much perfection". I know what that means. and because it's indiscriminate of my circumstances, I think everyone has those moments, it's part of life for everyone. I wouldn't be able to enjoy it if it was just me.

Song of the day

Red Right Ankle - The Decemberists

and, I'm ashamed to admit it, "Indie Weddings" iTunes essentials mix. pre-packaged mixes are usually so shamelessly bland. this one has Cyndi Lauper singing "At Last". I just like it!

The barber of seattle

last night I had a very disturbing experience. I was drunk-cut.

once a year I get my hair cut, afteall it's only hair and usually it looks ok for about a year inbetween when I go to the salon. and it's kinda expensive. after an interesting and kinda sad experience with my last haircutter, last july I sought out someone new. I was at the university mall and just in the mood to get it cut, and walked in to a salon and had the best haircut of my life from a guy named Bill. he'd just gotten back from a trip to hawaii and was fun to talk to and very good at what he was doing, he's around 50 and has been cutting hair for years.

so the time came again when I thought "I need a haircut." last night I went to the same salon, and after waiting a bit, Bill came in saying "where's my once a year client?!" in a joking way that immediately put me at ease. he'd just gotten back from a month in Hawaii again and was in a good mood. I was at ease all through the appraisal, where I sat in the chair and said things like "I like the length, so maybe just a trim and a little bit of shaping?". last time I didn't even give him that much instruction and the results were great. I wasn't worried. I was at ease when we went to wash my hair, and I was even at ease when he first started snipping.

then I smelled the alcohol. and the conversation started to lead me to believe Bill might not be in his best hair-cutting form. he was telling me about Hawaii:
".. and then the hotel manager came out and said 'You really must try this bottle of (can't remember), it's on the house!' so of course we were all exstatic..." (oh dear)
"uh-huh, wow, that must have been great.." I say.
snip snip snip
"uh huh, and there was this bellboy, with the most AMAZING blue eyes..!" (OH dear)
snip snip snip
"um, that's great.." I say.
snip SNIP snip

by the time we were done he was exstatic about my new look- double-decker hair. there's a distinct ledge across the back of my head near where my neck meets my shoulders. I thought, it might not be that bad, he left my hair in it's natural somewhat curly state, maybe I'm not seeing things right?..
"you look gorgeous! I just saw this same haircut on michelle pfeiffer, I'm so sick of straight hair. it's a masterpiece!"
I'll have to do some research. it seems sorta doubtful that michelle would choose that particular style, but I haven't seen her lately so maybe she did go bi-decker with her hair?
I thanked him and went to pay and thought about warning the receptionists that Bill might not be quite, um, fine. but didn't. today I think I managed to even it out a little after a good long look and realizing that yes, there were definite problems.

this is not the worst thing that can happen to a head, and hair grows out, so it's no big deal really. but if you get that first whiff of alcohol on the breath of your stylist while they are preparing to snip your hairs, remember this story. remember, it's not worth the ledge!


the author this morning

This week

two things of note this week- first, the second monthly French Dip Tuesday is happening tomorrow, feel free to join in. second, pictures are up on cindy's blog of last friday's bowling event with the stake singles. cindy made us pick bowling names, it was brilliant.

my brother is in town for a few days, and one of them happened to be his birthday, so we had a celebration, it was very nice.


food from Kaosamai, my now-favorite thai restaurant here. this is the second time in two weeks I've eaten it! steph and john liked it too. Tom those are your goblets, so you were vicariously there too.

then we went to Cupcake Royale for some cake. John's head is eclipsing a giant stuffed cupcake above the door.


the cupcakes of choice- orange, lavendar, and the "Kate". Katie, I'm not sure why they named a cupcake after you, but there you go, one more sibling included vicariously in the birthday celebration. :) anyway, I'm glad John and Stephanie came to hang out for a while, we had a good time, it was a successful birthday celebration I think.

it's time for a retrospective! friend photos I found in my archive...

the new Sculpture Park

downtown Seattle has a new sculpture park, it's kinda great, in a location near the water and bisected by train tracks. on saturday morning there are more security guards there than walker/jogger/doggers . they've had some problems with vandalization already. anyway, I took a close look at this installation, and I can say with assurance, it's a picture of clouds. claire is standing by her favorite installation, which I think is ships. rusty ships. very cool!

Bridges and popsicles

A friend at work is closely associated with the American Society of Engineers seattle division and helps with a western washington popsicle bridge building contest they hold at the Museum of Flight in seattle. This year he asked me to co-Emcee next saturday, and I said sure! basically the high school teams build bridges and place them in a big crushing robot machine (see MIT, we are cool in the bot world too) until they break. there are awards for things like "Best Estimated Load Capacity". heh. this will be fun! plus, free popsicles. now I just need some bridge jokes to throw into my emceeing.
seattle friends, let me know if you'd be interested in volunteering, we could use help shepherding kids around and getting them all set up. there's a free t-shirt and free popsicles for all volunteers! here are some pictures from last year's event and a website.

saturday mornings

saturday mornings at about 8am I go walking with claire. she's a copyright laywer and she and her husband brad are expecting their first kid. we have great walks, and man it's early, but we have a great time!
today we went to the new sculpture park, these photos are from a previous walk. I stole them. here we are at about 8:30 on a saturday morning! I think claire is trying to duck out of her shot.