It was unbelievable - I don't know if I've ever had so much road rage. Yesterday, I made the terrible mistake of trying to get on I-5 south from downtown Seattle around 5 pm. It took almost a hour to drive (mostly sitting in frustration) less than 1.5 miles. OMG. So frustrating! Mostly, I was upset at myself for being late to meeting someone. But I learned that it's infinitely better to stay in the middle lane, otherwise you get stuck at a light for multiple changes watching the traffic from the other direction merging in. I also got to read a little bit of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
I guess it wasn't that bad, and my evening got much better afterwards. The view of Mt. Rainer driving down I-5 is incredible. Seattle is so beautiful. I met a cool guy who I'm helping out with some math tutoring... I bought a cute tank top... Jason made us a delicious dinner... and we started the third season of Battlestar Galatica :)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
I love reading
Recently I finished reading an amazing book - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Ishmael Beal shares a crazy story of how he became involved and survived the war in Sierra Leone. Even though I was fairly familiar with the stories about child soldiers, it is eye-opening to hear someone's experience firsthand. Prior to reading the book, I saw Ishmael Beal give an informal talk; he is a charming, happy 26 year old guy. I am so impressed of how he overcame so much. And it certainly reminds me that I lead a very charmed life.
Other recent reads are Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Darfur Diaries (the book) is three Americans' experience documenting the atrocities in Sudan. Jen Marlowe does a fantastic job of explaining the political and social factors of the war, and the state of the area today. But most interesting for me, Jen shares stories and hopes from the people they met along the way. I also highly recommend this book - it's light (compared to Long Way Gone), engaging, and not long at all. I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I look forward to watching it soon. Moving onto lighter books, Blink is pretty entertaining. There are curious ideas about how we make snap judgments, gut feelings, and unconscious biases. It's fun and easy to read - good for an afternoon in the park or relaxing plane ride :)
Now I'm reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Yes, it seems to be a very odd book. But what can I say? I think human bodies are interesting, and the introduction is witty :)
Other recent reads are Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Darfur Diaries (the book) is three Americans' experience documenting the atrocities in Sudan. Jen Marlowe does a fantastic job of explaining the political and social factors of the war, and the state of the area today. But most interesting for me, Jen shares stories and hopes from the people they met along the way. I also highly recommend this book - it's light (compared to Long Way Gone), engaging, and not long at all. I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I look forward to watching it soon. Moving onto lighter books, Blink is pretty entertaining. There are curious ideas about how we make snap judgments, gut feelings, and unconscious biases. It's fun and easy to read - good for an afternoon in the park or relaxing plane ride :)
Now I'm reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Yes, it seems to be a very odd book. But what can I say? I think human bodies are interesting, and the introduction is witty :)
Monday, July 16, 2007
awesome weekend
This past weekend was awesome :) On Friday afternoon, work sponsored a team outing to go dragon boat racing, which was sooooo much fun! I really enjoyed the team effort (of 20+ people) required to race competitively. Sadly, my boat didn't do so well... but I guess you can't win it all. I would definitely try it again.
On Saturday, Jason and I prepared a delicious brunch of chocolate chip pancakes and open-face egg, salsa, mozzarella, and avocado sandwich. I did the easy part of making the pancakes. And Jason's latest breakfast creation is definitely my favorite. So after stuffing ourselves, we hiked Rattlesnake Ledge.
I'm embarrassed to admit that the hike wasn't as easy as it should be. I need to go gymning more often. Regardless, it was wonderful to get out of the city, get some fresh air, and enjoy the outdoors. I can't imagine living in another city... it'd be hard to beat Seattle's combination of city and outdoors. We then capped off our day with Ethiopian food and drinks with friends. I couldn't have asked for a better day :)
On Saturday, Jason and I prepared a delicious brunch of chocolate chip pancakes and open-face egg, salsa, mozzarella, and avocado sandwich. I did the easy part of making the pancakes. And Jason's latest breakfast creation is definitely my favorite. So after stuffing ourselves, we hiked Rattlesnake Ledge.
I'm embarrassed to admit that the hike wasn't as easy as it should be. I need to go gymning more often. Regardless, it was wonderful to get out of the city, get some fresh air, and enjoy the outdoors. I can't imagine living in another city... it'd be hard to beat Seattle's combination of city and outdoors. We then capped off our day with Ethiopian food and drinks with friends. I couldn't have asked for a better day :)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Summer is here!
Right now, its in the mid 90s! I'm so happy that summer is here to stay :) Up until July 4th, the good weather has just been a tease. But since then, I've played tennis, soaked up the sun during lunches, and gone hiking :)
On Sunday, Val and I hiked to Snow Lake. I've had a tiring last couple weeks, so getting out was a much needed break. The hike had a combination of things I love outdoors... incredible views of the cascades, waterfalls, streams, interesting flowers, rocks (I like rocks :), snow, and a beautiful alpine lake. The trail was 3 miles on way with a 1700 ft elevation gain. I'll post pictures to my flickr site soon. Thanks Val for being so awesome :)
On Sunday, Val and I hiked to Snow Lake. I've had a tiring last couple weeks, so getting out was a much needed break. The hike had a combination of things I love outdoors... incredible views of the cascades, waterfalls, streams, interesting flowers, rocks (I like rocks :), snow, and a beautiful alpine lake. The trail was 3 miles on way with a 1700 ft elevation gain. I'll post pictures to my flickr site soon. Thanks Val for being so awesome :)
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