Mishmash

You'd think that with all the free time I have, I'd be better about posting with a semblance of regularity. Well, apparently you'd be wrong. So here's a quick rundown of some of my recent doings:

* Ratatouille: Excellent movie. Great soundtrack.

* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Good movie. Reasonably good adaptation of the book. Great soundtrack.

* The Book of the Dun Cow: Excellent book. No soundtrack.

* Isaac Asimov: Excellent writer. Musical preferences unknown by me.

* With August quickly approaching, I hope to be able to start subbing before too long. Unfortunately, this will entail 5-AM wakeup calls whenever I want to work.
*In addition, I'll be starting classes at Biola on August 23, and I'll be commuting.
*With these two factors in mind, I have reluctantly joined the ranks of the Owners of Cellular Phones. I'm still working out some kinks with it; reception seems pretty lousy around my home, which would defeat the purpose of having the phone to receive my work calls (thus saving the rest of my household from premature awakening).
Cell phones: Good idea. Hope it works out. Soundtrack limited.

* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Wonderful book. An outstanding conclusion to an outstanding series. Jared, if you read this: Thank you, thank you, thank you for introducing me to the series.

* Finally, following in the footsteps of several friends, I've started a Picasa account, the better to foist my photographic foibles on my unsuspecting friends. The album with most of the pics from my Seattle trip can be found below (soundtrack up to you):

Seattle '07

"Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen"

I have returned from my trip to Seattle, and it's about time I posted about it. The trip was great, and I'm already looking forward to visiting again. The real reason it's taken me so long to post is that I've been unable to decide which pictures I want to post. I took almost 500, and there's no way I'm uploading even a tenth of them

I feel I should correct an error from the previous post: My uncle didn't actually move to Seattle. Rather, he now lives in Federal Way, which is just south of Seattle. Not that that's a bad thing by any means; Federal Way is beautiful, and it's certainly better than Phoenix.

At any rate, here's a quick list of some highlights from the trip:

*When we were loading the U-haul in Phoenix, it was about 110 degrees outside, with no breeze to speak of. When we were unloading the truck in Federal Way, it was about 73 degrees outside with a very nice breeze. That was about when we knew it was going to be a fun week.

*Seattle's Space Needle is very impressive. The sky was a little too hazy for us to see Mt. Rainier clearly, but the views of Puget Sound and downtown Seattle are incredible.

*Pike Place Market is quite an experience. Droves of people, all kinds of shops, fish flying through the air...definitely worth a visit.

*Seafood is almost ridiculously cheap in Seattle. In many places, salmon isn't much more expensive than chicken.

*Federal Way boasts a bonsai museum (with more than 100 trees) and rhododendron garden (with hundreds of species of rhododendrons alone).

*The University of Washington (where my uncle will work) is very pretty. Lots of old buildings in a variety of architectural styles. As a friend of mine would say, "It looks like a real university."

Finally, to give the curious something to see, here's a sampling of photos (click for larger views):

Myself atop the Space Needle:


Pike Place Market on a busy Thursday:


Yes, it does occasionally rain in the Seattle area:


But when it's not raining, the skyline is pretty impressive:


My uncle's new apartment is close to a very nice lake:


A bonsai tree from the Federal Way museum:


A library at the University of Washington: