Hello from Seattle

Hello from Seattle!

We got to Seattle yesterday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous all day. The skies were blue, not a cloud in the sky - where was this gray Seattle I'd always heard so much about? (Not that I wanted to see clouds, we have enough of those at home during the summer!) It was back today - completely overcast in the morning - and all the news stations were saying AM fog but that it would burn off by noon, and then when it didn't, someone in the hotel said it would burn off by 4 pm. It did, while we were at the gym. Decided not to go to visit the Space Needle in the cloudiness since the hotel is a good 40 minute bus ride away from downtown and we had a dinner to go to tonight.

It's been a nice couple of days break so far. Did some sightseeing and took a lot of photos at the Pike Place Market. Since the weather was so great yesterday, we also took a nice boat cruise around Elliott Bay. It was a great day to be on a boat, just relaxing, taking in the sights and listening to some stories and history. Relaxed a lot today and finished reading Harry Potter 7. (Quite content and I think it's the best one of the series). Good family time. Excellent shrimp rolls and good salmon and nice clean air.

Need to be up early in the morning. Good night!

Sigh

Packing for trips is such an ordeal.

And I should be working right now! Argh. Too much to do, too little time.

Pouring Rain

It is pouring outside.

 

As I walked to work, the rain just got harder and harder each block.  It splashed off of every surface, caused huge puddles and floods at every corner and drain and came from every direction, making my last minute decision to not wear my raincoat seem awfully stupid.

 

I was at the door and decided that I probably didn't need the raincoat.  After all, it was just going to make me really hot on my walk and it wasn't raining that hard...

 

Well, during the time between my leaving the apartment and my stepping outside, it had picked up significantly.  Sigh.

 

I learned a couple of lessons though:

 

1.  Leave earlier.  I was awake earlier but I was reading Harry Potter (I'm not done yet, please no spoilers or I will have to have someone hex you...) because the book is seriously magnetic, but I really should have left when it was not raining as hard.

 

2.  Look around before you shake out your umbrella.  This is just common sense and I always try to follow it, but some other people just shake their umbrellas out onto other parts of the sidewalk without paying attention (one person in particular was still in his own iPod world) and people (me..) get splashed.

 

3.  Wear a raincoat even if you think you'll be too hot.  At least your skirt will be dry and you won't have looked like you just got out of the shower.

 

4.  Don't congregate on narrow sidewalks if the space between you and the next congregation is less than an umbrella width.  Again, common sense, but it seems a bit difficult sometimes...

 

5.  Carry a bigger umbrella.  I'm in the market for a larger sturdy umbrella with a push-button open and close.  Anyone have any suggestions?

 

I wish it would get brighter outside.  This is just so... gloomy.

Not Happy

If I didn't enjoy watching dance shows so much, I would stop watching So You Think You Can Dance right now. Really not happy with the outcome. I almost don't want to watch tonight's episode.

Pad Woon Sen

I like the pad woon sen from Aceluck (9th Ave in the high 30s - do they really call this area SoHell or was that just New York magazine?). It's flavorful, a good mix of vegetables, good texture. I'm a big fan of pad woon sen, but some places can make it a little bland. This one was excellent. The delivery isn't the quickest, but they weren't too far behind the estimate, and they made up for it with the great pad woon sen :)

Falling asleep, going to bed. Good night!

Creepy

I'm putting together a packing list based on this checklist I got from the travel agent, and it lists "mosquito repellent (the farther north, the larger the mosquitoes)." Mosquitoes get bigger the further north you are? Ewwww.

Dishes

I love getting lunch from Dishes.  Unfortunately, it is pretty expensive for a daily habit.  But today's Thai style tofu and Japanese eggplant salad and 5 cheese mac & cheese and Moroccan style salad were sooooooooooooo good.

Random Thoughts

Very random thoughts:

1. The song "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's sounds like it came out of The O.C. Was it ever used there?

2. World Series of Pop Culture is great. I am quite upset with myself for not getting all of the American Idol questions correct. Where was my brain during that? The lyrics questions are usually hardest. Do the contestants get to read the questions? (Doesn't look like it). It must be so difficult if you can't read it.

3. NBC and Fox are both coming out with reality shows this week that have contestants trying to fill in missing lyrics in songs. I think in the past it always seemed like Fox would copy a show and then put it out first, but it looks like NBC beats them by a day this time. The Singing Bee was entertaining. Especially singing at home...

4. Today's weather could only be described as sticky, gross and disgusting. Ick to 90s and high humidity. It was unpleasant to be outside for too long.

5. The apartment needs cookies.

6. Tai Shan's birthday was yesterday. Happy 2nd birthday Tai!

7. The Traveler IQ game on Facebook is unbelievably addictive...

8. If you leave a voicemail for someone, should you tell them the reason why you are calling if you want them to call you back (that is, if you don't already have some sort of ongoing business or if it's not obvious to the person being called who is calling)? Or should the voicemail recipient be obligated to call back every person who "has an interest in speaking" with them?

9. If the pharmacy says on its website that it closes at 8, it should close at 8. A customer should not arrive at 7:52 to find the gates up and the people walking out the door not wanting to let the customer get her prescriptions. This is especially true if you tell said customer that your register says it is 8 and you are closed, yet by the time the entire transaction has been rung up, the register receipt still only says 7:58. If you are going to fib about something, maybe it should be something that won't be contradicted in writing afterwards.

10. July = Harry Potter month!! (for me)

Uh Oh

I am addicted to Seekadoo and getting tickets. Uh oh.

Hot Dog Update

To Chestnut after winning, "To win this in your home nation..." Because, they do the Nathan's hot dog contest elsewhere??

I'm still rolling my eyes at the commentating of this thing.

Hot Dogs

I realize it's July 4th and a patriotic day and all, but the commentators at the Nathan's event were really driving me crazy. Between the whole "free world" watching this competition and the idea that Joey Chestnut would "change the course of American history" by eating hot dogs... I realize that they want the honor of winning to come back to the US, but seriously. They were making me crazy.

Italian Restaurants

We went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant tonight, and I am left with a few questions:

1.  Is it customary for the server to offer you fresh pepper and/or parmesan cheese once the dish is brought to the table?

2.  If the chef/owner comes out to see you at the table, are they usually there to say hello and see how the meal is going, or are they usually there to ask you if there is anything else you want because the kitchen is closing?

3.  If the meal is overall good (but not "wow"), do you go back and try more things, or do you go someplace you like better?  Does it make a difference if you have read good posts about the place?

4.  With respect to #1 and #2, if you only noticed these differences in service because the table next to you had different service, does that make the service you got bad?

Just wondering.

Fruit and Toothpaste

I was thinking earlier that I should write more posts about things I like. For example, we go to a lot of restaurants and get a lot of delivery/take-out (mostly due to the nature of the job and grocery shopping), so I should write more about things I like. Also, I used to go to the grocery store and Walgreens so often, and would go aisle by aisle, noticing every new product (yes, I went to the grocery store that often and paid that much attention). I had posted about this sporadically (usually things I didn't like!) and was thinking that maybe I should do it more, even if just for my own records.

So today I'm going to start.

(And for the things I don't like... I may or may not name them. Meaning that I might describe it instead of name it, because maybe I just had one bad experience that's not representative of the restaurant or product or whatever that I'm describing. I think the line I'm drawing at the moment is between national corporations and family owned businesses. For example, the "don't like" below, I'm willing to name Colgate, because really, this isn't going to hurt them. However, talking about delivery from one of the Thai shops in the neighborhood, which I think I posted about a long time ago, I'm not going to name names. You could always ask me elsewhere, but I may not name them here).

I like...McDonalds Fruit and Walnut Salad - Snack Size

This afternoon I went for a walk/run in Central Park (the "run" part didn't happen so much since I am still getting over being sick and just could not take it) and then walked home. I was in need of a snack, since the only thing I had all day was a tuna sandwich and a Fruitabu, so I intended to stop at McDonalds (mostly because I only had a credit card and they reliably take credit cards). I figured I would end up getting a snack wrap or a hamburger, something small, so I could still eat dinner when Alvin was done with ultimate.

My plans changed when I walked in and saw a sign for the fruit and walnut snack size salad. I remembered hearing about a fruit and walnut salad before, but I had thought it was like a green salad with fruits and walnuts as some of the toppings and I had never really paid attention, because I'm not a big fan of walnuts. The snack size package looked good though, good enough for me to drop the hamburger/snack wrap idea and try it.

It's perfect for a snack. (I googled it and it sounds like people had some issues with the original size, but I really liked it). It appears they have replaced the original size with the snack size. It had 3 compartments - one with apple slices and grapes (I don't mind that it's only apples and grapes, I used to buy the packages of apple dippers, so it's pretty much the same), a smaller compartment with candied walnuts in little pieces (I had thought the salad had big walnuts, so this was a plus), and a compartment with lowfat yogurt. All combined I thought it was great. The fruit and yogurt were refreshing after having walked about 9 miles and it was a good size for a snack. Does anyone know if they serve this or the fruit & yogurt parfait for breakfast? It would be a lot healthier than that sausage biscuit I get in the morning...

I don't like...Colgate Sparkling White Mint Zing toothpaste

Sigh. I wanted to like this. I think I got this on a Walgreens rebate (like so many other products, this is how I try them out), and since I like mint toothpastes and whitening toothpastes, I did want to like this.

But it burned my mouth. Literally!

Granted, I had been trying this when I had been undergoing a bit of dental work, but still. It burned the insides of my cheeks! How can you want to brush your teeth knowing it's going to sting and burn so much that it would make you cry?

Now, Alvin has no problem with this toothpaste, so it's clearly not burning everyone. But after using it for like a week, I can't bring myself to use it again. That's why I'm naming it as a "don't like."

Off to go read more Goblet of Fire!