A Night at the Talkies

In keeping with the theme of "we (heart) West Seattle", Lindsay and I wandered up into the core of West Seattle to what we hope will be our new neighborhood (the Junction) this time next year, for some outdoor cinema. The movie of the night was one of my favorites, Best in Show, and accordingly there were a few dogs there to watch as well. We brought our lawn chairs, ate pizza (and pie!), even slurped down a few beers while snuggled up under a blanket - in the parking lot behind Hotwire Coffee and watched a movie. Tons of fun, and close to home. There was even a band before the feature, and heck, they even tossed in a cartoon as the sun went down. Good times were had by all. It was inspiring too. Maybe when Lindsay and I are in Dallas our potential BBQ party could instead be a movie night for 50 of our closest friends?

Next Career Move

I was just down at the BMW motorcycle dealer picking up parts for my bike and thanks to the friendly service tech, Neil, I was able to poke and prod both ends of the motorcycle spectrum. First there were a pair of WA State Patrol BMW bikes (ChiPs pictured here), in for their service. Cool. Cool. Cool. The mystique of a cop car with the power of a motorcycle - so yeah, I was all over it. Neato flashing LED lights, even a holster for the radar gun.

On the other hand Neil showed me a pair of bikes (1200GS Adventures) that had just come back from a trip across China. They were still dirty, spare tires still stacked on the back, scrapes and bumps accumulated from the other side of the planet. All very inspiring bikes. BMWs are clearly the choice when you need the best motorcycle available. ...and of course I'm checking out Craigslist and doing envelope math to see how I can trade in my 650GS a new 1200GS.

Who's Burning What?

Last night we heard quite the ruckus of sirens. I looked it up on the Seattle Fire Department's real time fire dispatch site (we're so wired here) and apparently it was just down the street. I'm on 107th and 35th Ave and the report said the fire was at 108XXth St. Interestingly on my way to the bus stop this morning, that happens to be on 108th I noticed this rather ominous sign freshly posted. Strangely I wasn't able to see any fire damage anywhere. I spun around and looked at the houses, the utility poles, but didn't see a thing. Weird. Still, creepy to think that some nut case tried to burn something, anything around here. Anyone know more about this?

Hi Yu Doin'?

As reported Lindsay and I spent Saturday morning at the West Seattle community event called the Hi-Yu parade. West Seattle is really great at keeping that small town feel, even though we're only a few miles from downtown Seattle. Anyway, I dragged out the big camera for this one and got a lot of great pics. There were so many photogenic people and things to shoot that I only saw the parade with one eye, though the lens of my camera. Enjoy the pics.

Prodigal Sun

After a few weeks of warm and dry the rain has come back like a prodigal son to Seattle. Today though, the sun managed to pop out for the morning, just enough time for the West Seattle Hi-Yu Parade (more pics from that to come later) that Lindsay and I watched. All the plants are greener and spurting up as they get their deep watering from a few days of rain, and a little sun. I took this pic, of a plant in my front yard that reminds me of the rain vs sun battle.

6 Hours in Seat 30C

I'm back from Boston, and fully rested up. I can see why people love it over there, I already want to go back. I didn't get too much time to explore the city, most of the time was eating and meeting with the vendor. The vendor was great and it's always nice to see them and the food was exceptional (I had the roast duck, with the mango salsa just like the GEICO caveman!). I got back from a dinner in Concord about 11pm and after being inspired by reading the Wikipedia (smartphone!) on Boston in the car on the way back I had to explore, so I walked along Boston Commons, all the way to Fenway and back. It was mind blowing to be at the State House where the Boston Massacre took place. I really didn't know much about all this (being from Texas they kind of gloss over it in favor of Santa Anna and the Alamo) so it was riveting to learn - and actually be there. I was particularly struck by the Crispus Attucks story. The humid night of my wanderings made for a dramatic way to see the city and I could have wandered for hours more. I wish I could stay there longer but I was to be the occupant of seat 30C on the 6 hour flight back to Seattle.

Boston Bound

Twas the night before travel and all through the house not a thing was getting done, not even a, um, ah, well...packing my blouse? Hmm, I'm not really packing a blouse. I'm leaving for Boston, to go talk GPS, tomorrow. I'm excited about going to bean-town, never been, but because it is such a long flight (I'll sit in the dreaded middle seat on the 5 hour flight out there) I sure wish I could stay a while and see it all. My time there is booked. Breakfast meetings, day meetings, and the night out. I'm lucky that I get travel paid for my my employer so I'm not taking it for granted, just thinking maybe I can get away and explore a bit. I hope to, as usual take some pics, and put them up here. I'll tell you how the beer and Lobster is (that's Boston good eats right?). How funny is it that Boston's album is called 'corporate america'?

The Long Way Down

I spend a lot of my time living vicariously through other motorcyclist's blogs. I'm not exactly sure why, the easy answer is it's a hobby and I like the feeling I get when I ride, but specifically what about it is so appealing? I'm not sure, but I think it's the optimism that motorcyclists have, possibly the introspection too. Not sure. Whatever it is it's got me wanting to take an epic ride. Recently I had a mini epic ride with my buddy JP, and it only stoked my interest in covering big ground. I'm talking across the US. Canada to Mexico might be nice. What about going big and heading off to NYC from Seattle? But then the reality. The logistics for one. Lindsay for two - I'd love to take her along with. Anyways, the long ride bug is there. Anyone want to take bets on if it'll happen this year?

Back to the Gym!

Oi! Just watched the British movie Shawn of the Dead, so I'm all about bullocks and oi. Anyways, that's got nothing to do with today's post. I've just returned to working out, from a month away. I'd been sick (still am a little) an entire month and just didn't want to work out for fear of not healing faster. Not that I was healing fast anyways. Plus it was a nasty cough and didn't want to nasty up the gym with my hacking. So I'm back at the gym. Been swimming a bit, lifting a little too. Ouch. Sore. Still, you gotta start somewhere. Somewhere might be in Boston though. I leave for a business trip tomorrow, hopefully the hotel has a pool or something to keep my promise to keep working out intact. Pics of buff me to come in a few months (don't hold your breath).

Kawasaki (Motorcycles) Make Great Ads

It Floats!

While Texas is soaked to the core from gallons of rain, Seattle is sunny and hot. Ok, all you Texas people will laugh when we say that it's hot, we mean that it's 80. Stop laughing. Really, it is hot, for Seattle. Yes that's hot.

Anyways, because it was hot and sunny we went to the annual milk carton derby on Seattle's Green Lake. The rules to entry are basically, build something that's interesting, and hopefully floats, out of milk cartons, and you're in. We had a great time watching them, some fast, some elaborate, some nearly sinking, but all creative and a very festive summer time good time.

The duck float (pictured) was stunning and huge - maybe 7 feet tall. There was a bug float (the black and white thing in the other picture) that I liked a lot too because it had googly eyes, and wings that moved back and forth. We'd both like to have been out on the water with them so maybe next year we'll enter this ourselves. Start saving those milk cartons!

Kids These Days

Apparently there's something in the water. Both Lindsay and I have friends that are having kids recently. Well, I think I've found the perfect gift for them when they get a little older. If you want one too get it here (only $11.99!). The customer reviews are the best part.

Painted the Bedroom

We finally got around to painting the bedroom today. It's been needing some TLC for some time now. Lindsay picked out a perfect color and after a few coats of primer the paint went on. Love it. Also happen to really love the stillness of this picture, even though it looks a lot darker here than it does in real life. It's more of a mint color than a sage. Anyways, more shots of the room as it evolves. I'm swearing to Lindsay that I'm going to refinish the hardwood floor in there too, sometime this week. Never done that. Time for some research.