Jenny's Blog

Biking in Luxembourg

2010-08-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Getting settled in Luxembourg has been going mostly well, but definitely more difficult than moving within the states. There's a lot of little differences. A good tip someone gave me was to make no assumptions! For example, almost all apartments don't come with a washer and dryer (and most don't have hook-ups in the apartment, only in the basement). Actually most people don't use dryers.

And getting internet is a mysterious process that takes 2-3 weeks. I'm crossing my fingers we'll have our internet in our new apartment on Wednesday. I'll write more about some of our learning experiences later, after we're mostly settled and got everything to work out ;)

There's also some pleasant differences. My favorite so far is discovering what a bike friendly city Luxembourg is. In the US, Seattle is considered a bike friendly city with a bike tunnel and lanes on our bridges, and extensive biking trails.

But Luxembourg takes the cake. One of the biggest differences is that the city planned bike routes through the city with actual bike lanes. I find it silly when cities paint bike symbols on lanes that are just wide enough for one car. It helps to have a completely separate lane, that's not for driving or parking (with opening car doors). I think it also alleviates frustration from drivers stuck behind cyclists.

I also love how sometimes there are traffic lights and red painted lanes in intersections for cyclists. The differences makes biking around the city much easier and safer. So we've been thankful that we got our bikes in the air shipment, and have been able to bike to work almost every day. It's good to have daily exercise :)

Oh, another fantastic biking related aspect of Luxembourg are the bike rental stations (Veloh!) all around the city. It's a bike sharing program, where you can pick up a bike from any station and return it to any other station. We haven't used it yet since we have our bikes. But I see people using it quite a bit - it's a bit funny to see guys in suits biking around on them to get to work.

There's also extensive routes planned around the country. We tried National Cycle Route #1 last week, and according to our GPS it was 48 km. This is the route we took - http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3925623. The first part of the trail was my least favorite as it uphill on gravel and dirt through the forests. But then it got much better as we biked through wheat and corn fields, cow farms, and cute little towns around Luxembourg. It was a fun way to explore the surrounding areas of the city. I'll post pictures to flickr soon.

General biking info:

Veloh! stations
Info about biking in the city
Bike maps - for trails around the country

Living in Luxembourg

2010-08-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's official! We received our Luxembourg residence permits in our passports, Lux social security cards, and signed a lease to an apartment. I still feel like I'm in limbo since we're in temporary housing and living out of our suitcases (it's been 1.5 months since we've slept in our own bed), but in one week we'll be moved in our new semi-permanent home. We'll get the keys to our new apartment next Monday, and our sea shipment will arrive next Tuesday. Very exciting!

Thankfully, getting settled and adjusting to Luxembourgish life has been going smoothly. Our jobs are interesting and challenging, and we bike to work almost every day. And it's fun discovering the little differences of living here with respects to home design/appliances, how bike friendly Lux is, grocery shopping, food, and communication. However I do miss my family and friends, the beautiful Seattle summer, and the comfort and conveniences of living in the US.

Here's a couple pictures from our 48 km bike ride around Luxembourg last weekend. This is the route we took - http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3925623

Seattle Things to Do

2010-07-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Since there's quite a few friends and family moving or visiting Seattle, I put together a list of recommendations on things to do. I'll update this post as I remember more suggestions. Definitely let me know if you have any questions!

General Things to Do in the City

Pike Place Market
Woodland Park Zoo
Aquarium
Washington Park Arboretum
Kayaking and canoeing around the Arboretum or Lake Union
Underground Tour

Tour of the streets below Seattle, and a funny brief history of Seattle

Space Needle
Columbia Center

Panoramic view of Seattle - I like the view here better than the space needle, it's also much cheaper :)

Theo Chocolate Tour

They're the only fair trade, organic, bean to bar chocolate factory in the US.

Farmer's Market

There's a few around Seattle, but the biggest one is in Ballard on Sunday

Ride the Ducks - its kinda cheesy, but it might be fun for kids
Exploring the neighborhoods of Seattle - each of the neighborhoods around Seattle usually have a main drag that have fun local restaurants, coffee shops, bars

Areas I generally recommend is Fremont and Ballard for families
Seattle Pi website of neighborhoods

Visit the wineries in Woodinville

While you're up there, there's also Maltby Cafe and the Redhook Brewery

Rent electric boat on Lake Union

I haven't tried yet but heard many good things

Scenic Parks

Green Lake

Large lake with a walking/bike path, near Woodland Park Zoo

Sculpture Park
Ella Bailey Park

Big open areas, BBQ, and a big park with views of the sound & Mt Rainier

Golden Gardens

Beach in Ballard

Gas Works Park
Kerry Park

Another great view of Seattle

Great Trips around Seattle

Hiking - there's lots of hiking within a couple hours of Seattle, where you're walking through old growth forest, meadows, and creeks, and arriving at alpine lakes, waterfalls, or mountain views

Pictures of hikes I've done (mostly in Seattle)

Ferry rides

There's a few islands with small towns west of Seattle - you can also go out to the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula

San Juan Islands - has cute towns with hiking, camping, whale watching, biking activities
Whale watching around Anacortes
Olympic Peninsula

This is west of Seattle and has wide range of activities, you can get here with a ferry ride
There's a mountain range with great hiking, beaches on the Pacific coast, rain forest

Leavenworth

Small touristy Bavarian town couple hours east of Seattle
Its fun to walk through town (only a few blocks though), we mostly go for the activities nearby - hiking, camping, water tubing, etc

Vancouver
Portland - only a few hours away
Mt. St. Helens
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

Wildlife Park - I haven't been but have friends who highly recommend it

Events

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival - April
Cheese Festival - in Pike Place market, May
Seattle International Film Festival
SEAFAIR - lots of activities from June - Aug
Bite of Seattle - delicious food booths set-up in the Seattle Center, July
Chocolate Salon - July
Bumbershoot at the Seattle Center - Labor day weekend
Fremont Oktoberfest

Music

There's a lot of great music in Seattle
Some locations:

Ever year, there's Bumbershoot at the Seattle Center
The Gorge, a few hours from the city has a number of shows. Below are 2 I consider ever year:

Sasquatch
DMB

Latest on Seattle Weekly

Snow in Washington - what makes the winter fun!

Checking conditions

Sign up for Larry's Powder report
Cascade Crud - aggregate of the various mountain conditions
WSDOT - road conditions

Skiing or Snowboarding

Crystal Mountain - 2 hours south of Seattle
Stevens Pass - 2 hours northeast of Seattle
Mt. Baker - 2.5 hours north of Seattle, nearby has great cheap cabins for the weekend
Snoqualmie Pass - 40 mins from Seattle, good for night riding after work

Snowshoeing

More Activities and Ways to Get Involved in Seattle

DiscNW - ultimate frisbee community

Lots of leagues and teams for all skills and commitment levels

Indoor Rock Climbing at Vertical World

If you're new to rock climbing, they have a great deal for beginner lessons and a week of free visits. I haven't been, but I heard Stone Gardens is better if you prefer bouldering

Dancing at the Century Ballroom

Great classes and dance nights for salsa, swing, etc

Washington Trails Association

Their website has useful trip reports of recent hikes and trail/road conditions

World Affairs Council

Local non-profit that hosts lots of interesting talks, language tables, etc

Public Transit

Some Places (mostly food) I Like in Capitol Hill

Sushi Maki

Best priced and good sushi in Cap Hill

Stumbling Monk

Great selection of Belgian beer, and they don't mind if you bring food (like Sushi Maki which is just down the block :)

Than Brothers on Broadway

Delicious cheap pho, and they give you a free cream puff :)

Bleu Bistro

Love their caprese appetizer and pasta dishes

Indian Express

Really good Indian food, and you can do take-out

Bikram Yoga at the Sweatbox
City People

Not really Cap Hill, but close. If you sign up for their newsletter, you'll find out about their classes (went to one on chicken farming) and get a 15% coupon every month

Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant

Also not really in Cap Hill, but close and worth trying if you like Ethiopian food

4 Months of Married Life

2010-05-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

It seems so long ago, but it was only 4 months ago today we got married at Mohonk! Maybe it feels longer since married life isn't much different from before. On the other hand while Mohonk seemed so long ago, it's still strange to think of myself as a married person. Probably because I don't feel grown up yet. Well despite how strange it is to think of myself as a wife, I'm lucky to have such a loving husband, friends, and family (old and new!).

2009 in Pictures

2010-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

REI Adventures: Costa Rica Trip Report

2009-06-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's a couple months overdue, but better late than never! In mid-February, I was experiencing a serious case of wanderlust. Thankfully, my friend Cindy was also itching to travel and have also been drooling over the REI Adventure brochure every year. So after much discussion between Belize and Costa Rica, we finally decided on the Costa Rica Jungle and Sea Escape trip on April 4th.

This was my first trip with an adventure company, and I would definitely consider taking another one with REI. The trip was extremely well coordinated, the guide was awesome, and I met lots of fun and interesting people.

Jimmy - our fantastic guide

Some highlights of my trip:

San Jose - Cindy and I arrived a day earlier to settle in and walk around San Jose. Our hotel, Don Carlos was great. Although if you arrive at night, its good to know that its in the red light district. (This seems to be a recurring theme from my Luxembourg accommodations.) Our cab driver recommended us to stay in the hotel in the evenings. So we waited until the next day to explore the city. In the morning, we ate some delicious mystery bun at a bakery and wandered around the city. We went to the Central Market and parks, which was fun to see. There were quite a bit of hustle and bustle. However after a half day of walking around, we didn't see much else to do. So we spent the rest of the day reading by the hotel pool. Unless it's convenient with your flight times, I'd recommend skipping a tour of San Jose.

Tortuguero - From San Jose, we drove a few hours to the Caribbean coast to the town of Tortuguero. Here we spent two awesome days kayaking through the jungle. We saw howler and white-faced monkeys, blue morpho butterflies, and a variety of birds (herons, toucans, parrots, etc). Kayaking through the jungle was fun, and our kayak guides (Ray, Jonathan and Andrea) were knowledgeable about all the wildlife. After our days of paddling through the jungle, we spent our evenings at the Mawamba Lodge. The food there (as with the rest of entire trip) was tasty - lots of rice and beans, fried plantains, fresh fruit, chicken and fish. Oh, something odd we saw were starving cows. Most of the cows throughout the country were skin and bones. Apparently, Costa Rica has been experiencing extreme weathers (global warming?) of droughts and excessive rainfall, both times that cows aren't able to feed enough. Pictures here.

Quepos - We took an exciting (and bumpy) charter flight from Tortugero to Quespos, where we saw most of the countryside. It was amazing to see all the coffee and banana plantations, some of which are on steep hills. The pilot circled around the Irazu Volcano's crater lakes on the summit. Once we got to Quepos, we went straight to Titi Canopy Tours for treetop zip-lining. This was lots and lots of fun. Afterwards, we spent the afternoon in the Manuel Antonio National Park. The "hike" to the beach was a pleasant 15 minute walk. We saw more white-faced monkeys, sun bathed on the beautiful beaches, and did a little bit of snorkeling.The next day we drove to Los Campesinos and hiked into a remote village in the mountains. This was probably the favorite part of the trip. It was a moderate 2 hour hike. It was also great that we only saw one other tourist group. At the village, we snacked on delicious banana pancakes and relaxed in a natural waterfall and pool. Our hike out involved an unnerving suspension bridge and rural aerial tram. We also stopped by the Los Campesinos guide's house to sample cashew fruit and learn how to make sugar cane juice. Pictures here.

On the third day in Quepos, we went whitewater rafting on the Rio Savegre with Iguana Tours. The river was low this year, so our guides worked extra hard to make it more exciting (running the rafts over the rocks). I loved floating along the river in the pool areas. The accommodations in Quespos was the La Mariposa hotel. Cindy and I really lucked out with a (honeymoon?) suite. Our room had amazing views of the jungle and coast, and the hotel had pool overlooking the ocean. We definitely enjoyed our stay there.

Jaco - On our last day in Costa Rica, we went outrigger canoeing in Jaco. After we canoed to a beach, we snorkeled (in not very clear waters) and the tour group prepared an elaborate lunch. Although the kayaking and rafting were more exciting, this was also quite fun. Pictures here.

After Costa Rica, Cindy and I took our own trip for a few days to Belize. We figured it was on the way home :) We went to Caye Caulker, and enjoyed lazy days hanging out on the beach. We were there over Easter weekend, so it was packed with locals from the city. The highlight was snorkeling with sting rays. Definitely better snorkeling than in Jaco, and exciting to be so close to sting rays!

Lots of ultimate in the news lately!

2009-04-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

It's great that ultimate is making the headlines! Although, not all the stories are favorable of the sport ;)

Seattle Capitol Hill fire

2008-10-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

My last apartment on Bellevue and Pine! Poor Ed :(

Man dies in Capitol Hill fire

1 dead in apartment building fire

Is the Age of Prosperity Over?

2008-10-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Yikes!! If the weather isn't getting you down, just read the paper. The Wall Street Journal has been reporting plenty of doom and gloom lately. The latest today is that the financial mess is hitting the oil rich gulf region, GM and Chrysler is facing bankruptcy fears, and an op-ed about the end of prosperity.

In the op-ed, Arthur Laffer gives his perspective on the current financial crisis and how panicked government interventions usually worsens the problem...

When markets are free, asset values are supposed to go up and down, and competition opens up opportunities for profits and losses. Profits and stock appreciation are not rights, but rewards for insight mixed with a willingness to take risk. People who buy homes and the banks who give them mortgages are no different, in principle, than investors in the stock market, commodity speculators or shop owners. Good decisions should be rewarded and bad decisions should be punished. The market does just that with its profits and losses.
No one likes to see people lose their homes when housing prices fall and they can't afford to pay their mortgages; nor does any one of us enjoy watching banks go belly-up for making subprime loans without enough equity. But the taxpayers had nothing to do with either side of the mortgage transaction. If the house's value had appreciated, believe you me the overleveraged homeowner and the overly aggressive bank would never have shared their gain with taxpayers. Housing price declines and their consequences are signals to the market to stop building so many houses, pure and simple.

But here's the rub. Now enter the government and the prospects of a kinder and gentler economy. To alleviate the obvious hardships to both homeowners and banks, the government commits to buy mortgages and inject capital into banks, which on the face of it seems like a very nice thing to do. But unfortunately in this world there is no tooth fairy. And the government doesn't create anything; it just redistributes. Whenever the government bails someone out of trouble, they always put someone into trouble, plus of course a toll for the troll. Every $100 billion in bailout requires at least $130 billion in taxes, where the $30 billion extra is the cost of getting government involved.
If you don't believe me, just watch how Congress and Barney Frank run the banks. If you thought they did a bad job running the post office, Amtrak, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the military, just wait till you see what they'll do with Wall Street.
...
The stock market is forward looking, reflecting the current value of future expected after-tax profits. An improving economy carries with it the prospects of enhanced profitability as well as higher employment, higher wages, more productivity and more output. Just look at the era beginning with President Reagan's tax cuts, Paul Volcker's sound money, and all the other pro-growth, supply-side policies.

Bill Clinton and Alan Greenspan added their efforts to strengthen what had begun under President Reagan. President Clinton signed into law welfare reform, so people actually have to look for a job before being eligible for welfare. He ended the "retirement test" for Social Security benefits (a huge tax cut for elderly workers), pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress against his union supporters and many of his own party members, signed the largest capital gains tax cut ever (which exempted owner-occupied homes from capital gains taxes), and finally reduced government spending as a share of GDP by an amazing three percentage points (more than the next four best presidents combined). The stock market loved Mr. Clinton as it had loved Reagan, and for good reasons.

The stock market is obviously no fan of second-term George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Ben Bernanke, Barack Obama or John McCain, and again for good reasons.

These issues aren't Republican or Democrat, left or right, liberal or conservative. They are simply economics, and wish as you might, bad economics will sink any economy no matter how much they believe this time things are different. They aren't.

Read the rest here.

Fun around Seattle

2008-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jason and I have been lucky to have family come visit in town. With Connie, Kay, and Noah, we've gone hiking, taken weekend trips, and just hung out around town. Mostly eating out quite a bit... Kay took a billion pictures to prove it :)

Then last weekend, Jason surprised me with a seaplane ride to the San Juan Island and a whale watching tour. It was awesome! The plane stayed pretty close to the ground, so we had amazing views of Seattle, Mt Ranier, and Mt. Baker. More pictures coming soon :)

After brunch and hanging out at Friday Harbor, we went whale watching. The weather was perfect (rare in this unseasonably cold and rainy summer), and we got to see a ton of orcas! The naturalists on board said that two pods were meeting and probably mating. No, I don't know what it looks like for orcas to mate - it happens underwater. But we did see some orcas breach, and got to hear them talk through hydrophones.

Lots of family in town!

2008-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind of guests for the past month... Connie for a week, Kay for three, and Noah for a little over a week. So we've been up to tons of fun stuff, and now we're sad that everyone is gone.

Here's Noah, Kay, Jason, and me at Golden Gardens :)

Shi Shi Beach Trip Report

2008-06-23T23:46:00.001-07:00

It's a bit late, but here's a summary trip report of hiking and camping out to Shi Shi Beach over Memorial Day weekend. Bob, Joy, John, Jason and I went out for a long weekend of beach camping and relaxing.

Getting there

Ferry and drive: The ferry and drive over was smooth, but that's easy to say because I fell asleep most of the way. I was pretty wiped from being up late packing... let's just say packing is not one of my strengths.
Lunch on the way: Once we were nearing the trail head, we were looking for a good lunch place. But after the last big store, we didn't see many businesses. So we decided we'd eat after hiking in.

Parking, permits, rules, etc.

Parking: Overnight parking options were mostly in the yards of locals for about $5-10 per night. There's only day parking at the trail head.
Permits: You need a Makah Indian Reservation permit, and a backcountry camping permit for the group. We didn't know about the backcountry permit, which wasn't good since there were quite a few rangers around checking for the paperwork.
Bear buckets: Another rule we didn't know about was about having bear buckets. The same ranger we saw at the trailhead, kindly waited for us to hike in before asking about our bear buckets. Two of our more nature-friendly group members hiked all the way out to get a "bear" bucket - it was just a normal bucket. Anyhow, it was pretty funny since we hid our bucket in the sand instead of hanging it up on a tree. We felt like squirrels digging for our food in the morning :)

Highlights

Hike... It was a nice muddy hike to the beach. The trail was easy, but jumping over muddy patches with your pack was a bit of a challenge. I'd recommend hiking poles or a finding nice walking stick on the way. I'd also suggest high-top boots for walking through mud.
The beach was gorgeous. I was a bit sad to see quite a bit of washed-up trash, so Jason and I tried to do a mini-beach clean-up. But otherwise, it was great to be hanging out on the beach :)
Water... There's a nice stream close to the beach, so bring your water filters.
Crowd... There were quite a few people around when we were exploring the arches along the coast during the day. It was probably a bit more crowded than usual since it was a holiday weekend, but we still had space to set up camp away from other people.
Beach fun... we occupied our days with tossing the disc, playing hacky sack, making a super big fire, building a beach bench from driftwood, and exploring the coast :)
Camp fire and cooking... at night, we cooked dumplings (yes, we are an ambitious bunch to make beach dumplings!), bratwurst, and corn. And of course, we had delicious smores.
Sweet coast... the arches and sea stacks are pretty cool. I also learned that mussels grow on rocks. Hmm, we also looked at lots of sea anemies and star fish.

After heading out from Shi Shi, we stopped by Cape Flattery for lunch.

Cake from Amy :)

2008-06-15T23:44:00.001-07:00

In another news, Jason and I got ANOTHER cake from Amy! She's so sweet :)

Lake Annette Trip Report

2008-06-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Our hike turned out to be much more of an adventure than we anticipated. Lake Annette is a 7.5 mile, 1700 ft elevation gain hike up to an alpine lake. Bob, Joy, Suor, Jason and I started our day early with a hearty breakfast at Julia's. Then after a gorgeous sunny drive out to exit 47, we started off on our hike. The first half of the hike was great - lots of gushing streams and fun bridges. I particularly loved the refreshing air of the streams, and the sound of water rushing down the mountain. However as we started getting closer to the lake, we were hiking on 3 foot of icy snow. We scrambled up snow/ice fields for quite a while, until we lost the trail. But we found a sunny spot in a snow alcove for lunch.

After deciding that trying to find the lake would probably be a bad idea, we started to head back. It was pretty tough getting down on icy snow fields. And we were slightly concerned when we lost the trail. But at the end, Bob found the trail and saved the day :) So while it was fun adventure, we learned a few lessons:

hiking poles is a really good idea, especially if you think there might be snow
having a GPS is handy
hike Lake Annette in July... and maybe not until late July to avoid the muddy trails after the snow melts

Kay visits Seattle :)

2008-04-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Jason and I are having a blast with Kay. We've been busy hiking, bikram yoga-ing, movie-watching, and dumpling-making. Don't worry if you want to know everything we've been up to, because Kay is crazy with the camera. She's taken a second by second play of all our fun, so you can check flickr. You'll even see Jason eat his entire brunch on Saturday. It'll just be like you're there with us :)

A highlight of the weekend was hiking Rattlesnake Ledge on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. There was an amazing view, and we Loraxed almost every tree stump :) Jason got extra credit for the hard-to-get ones.

Tonight, Jason is cooking us quiche :) And hopefully, we'll play Puerto Rico.

i've got bangs!

2008-03-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Snowboarding at Steamboat was so amazing! We had two awesome days of sunny soft riding, a 16" powder day, and then another powder day in the sun. I also had a blast hanging out with everyone there... I can't wait for more trips :)

In other news, I got bangs! I think the last time I had bangs was in high school? It's been weird adjusting to the new do. I wonder how I'd look with a buzz cut :)

Jason and me at our favorite restaurant

more snowboarding and salsa dancing!

2008-02-23T17:59:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to go snowboarding in Colorado next week! This is an epic month of snowboarding - we've already taken two trips to Baker. Next month, we're also taking a trip up to Whistler. We're definitely very lucky. Jason and I have also been doing a lot of salsa dancing... I think we're getting pretty good :)

In addition, we've started volunteering at the Orion center. It's a facility that provides services for homeless youth. I really like volunteering there so far. This week, we went during drop-in hours and dinner. Next week, we'll be helping out with the outreach program. I think its wonderful the center also provides a program for getting your HS diploma and employment training. Meeting these kids reminded me how lucky I was to have grown up in a stable home with lots of opportunities.

Some facts I learned at the training course about homeless youth:

about 60% come from foster homes
25 - 40% identify as LGBT
it's tough to apply for a job without an ID, address, phone #, and prior work experience

seattle winter :)

2008-02-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

It's been beautiful here! I should probably be concerned about global warming, but its been awesome having gorgeous weather at 50 degrees in February :)

View of Seattle from work

Is Obama's fundraising really different from the rest?

2008-02-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

Obama has done an amazing job campaigning. But I'm tired of hearing how he's different from the rest because he doesn't take money from lobbyists. I didn't really start researching until I heard John Edwards state that "Senator Obama has taken more money from the drug companies than anybody" in the South Carolina debates.

Here is an article explaining the real difference of Obama's fundraising.

Jason also wrote an interesting article on this topic - The Obama fundraising myths.

Slate's provocative article - "Chelsea Clinton's Provocative E-Mail"

2008-02-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

Slate published an article a couple days ago titled "Chelsea Clinton's Provocative E-Mail." Her e-mail was a forward of Robin Morgan's essay, Goodbye To All That, on sexism in the democratic primaries.

Like how Chelsea noted in her email, I don't agree with all of the points and phrasing. However, I believe Robin brings up important points. So I encourage you to read the essay, keeping in mind the author and her background. I hope you excuse the language that doesn't agree with you. And I hope you read it reflectively and see if you hear any truth.

shooting in Capitol Hill !

2008-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

I like to describe Seattle as a comfortable mixture of a town and city. It's small enough to feel familiar, but big enough to always find something to do. And very importantly, I feel safe walking around at night. I wouldn't advise some streets late at night by oneself, but I certainly don't worry much. So it was a shock to hear there was a fatal shooting at the corner of my last apartment! Very shocking.

restless

2008-01-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

This past week, I've been constantly checking for great last minute flights anywhere. It's a slightly uneasy feeling of being stagnant and bored. I feel silly complaining of being bored and "needing" to travel. But I was pretty close to flying to Mexico this weekend... and flights to Amsterdam were $260 from Seattle! It was so tempting.

Instead I took a long weekend, which was really good. I took Friday off from work, relaxed, read and cooked. I made Kielbasa and sauerkraut pasta, and clam chowder. Of course, the clam chowder was lactose-free... it was awesome to have clam chowder again :)

On Saturday, Jason and I had a fun time snowshoeing somewhere near Twin Lakes. Here's where we went... we started at the Hyak sno-park (907-1 push-pin), and we went about 1.5 miles along the groomed trail to about the 907-2 push-pin. The directions said to find to go 0.75 miles on the Iron Horse trail, and then turn onto FR 9070. Then about 1.5 miles in, take a sharp hairpin turn into a narrow trail for 0.5 miles to the lake.

We never saw the turn-off for FR 9070. So even though it was a bummer we didn't find Twin Lakes, it was awesome just wandering around the forest. Lots of pictures of snow are uploaded on my flickr page :)

the news

2008-01-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Why do I get the sense CNN isn't hoping Hillary will win the primaries?

On the top banner, here are the stories: Will Hillary nominate Bill to the supreme court? Huckabee up, Clinton down. Seriously, are you kidding me?

I hope people know that this isn't really news.

happy new year!

2008-01-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

It's 2008! I'm always amazed at how fast time flies.

I had a fantastic Snowliday, which is our new holiday celebration of giving, friends, family and snow. To celebrate our first Snowliday, we went snowboarding at Stevens Pass. It was so awesome. Although on one of the backside runs, we were riding right next to giant power lines. You can hear the power crackling. It was very disturbing. I wonder how much radiation exposure we got, and the chances of cancer or an 11th toe. Anyhow, there were tons of powder and fun :) We've also been snowshoeing, which is another awesome way to spend time in the snow.

This New Years eve, we went salsa dancing at the Century Ballroom. It was fun getting all dressed up and dancing to a live salsa band :) Now I'm psyched for more salsa dancing this year. I'm also super excited for another winter of lots of snowboarding. This year, we have trips to Baker, Colorado, and Whistler planned already :) It's going to be sweet.

Although spending the holidays in Seattle was really good, I miss my family and friends on the east coast. My plan of moving people out here isn't going so well. I also miss hanging out with cool girls - working in tech isn't helpful to the cause of meeting women. So I'm really excited to have Amy move out here :)

its winter!

2007-12-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

It finally feels like winter! While downtown has been festive with colorful lights and a carousel, this is the first morning I woke up to frost and a chilling 34 degrees. Not bad weather for the end of December :) I'm also amazed at how beautiful the Olympics are today - it's so bright and detailed.
On more happy news, Judy is coming to visit tonight! She's stopping by for a day on her way to visit her brother. Yay! :)

my new favorite toy

2007-12-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finally caved to my temptation for a labeler. I bought the Brother PT-80 P-touch Electronic Labeling System. Its such a neat little gadget! And it supports a lot more features than I thought it would. I can select various font styles, symbols and framing. Isn't that great? I can add little symbols, and frame my labels with quotes, candy wrappers, wood planks, and banners. Now I want colorful labeling tape. It's so cool :)

holiday fun :)

2007-12-05T19:48:00.001-08:00

After missing the holidays in Seattle last winter, I'm so excited about celebrating it this year :) So far, we've had snow in Seattle! This almost never happens, but last weekend there were giant pretty snowflakes falling hard in the city!! Thanks to the storm, we also got in a our first snowboarding of the season at Crystal Mtn. Although it was a bit blizzardly, the powder was amazing. Hmm... Jason and I have been having fun organizing and decorating too.

And... Amy's going to be arriving in a little more than a hour! She's here on a sell-trip for Boeing and to hang out :) It's going to be a fun weekend.

Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo excited to go back to the east coast for Thanksgiving! I'm out of here in 8 hours :)

Community for Youth in Seattle

2007-10-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I got a glimpse of how people end up in cults. Jason and I spent 3 and 1/2 days at a camp on Vashon Island. The long weekend was a launch course for the Community for Youth program. It's an organization which pairs mentors with at-risk freshmen from three of Seattle's public high schools.

The program seemed amazingly organized and structured to help kids. I was so excited leaving work last Thursday. I thought I was there to get to know 25 high school freshmen, and about 29 other adults who wanted to reach out to kids. And I was going to camp!

There were definitely some good parts - being committed, be your word, and participate 100%. I agree they are important values to instill in children. We also spent a few hours on genuine bonding activities - getting everyone over a wall, trust fall, etc. The usual expected bonding exercises.

But there were also some weird stuff. It was subtly negative. For one activity, we split into two groups by gender. Then each group spent a couple hours together sharing traumatic events. We went around a circle and were asked to share a four-minute story about something we kept secret. We were told not to ask questions, and so we ran through 30 or so tragedies in a couple hours. It was all done to "bond through tragedy" to build a community. (Bonding through tragedy were actually the program director's words). However despite knowing intimate secrets about everyone, I didn't feel closer to the group. For me, it was like watching a series of train wrecks but without actually being there. After those couple hours, I felt so utterly drained and depressed.

The last bonding exercise was to "step outside your box." This entailed the program director publicly breaking some students and mentors down to an emotional puddle. The program director told one mentor "you're just a head on a stick - everything is up there (motioning around his head), nothing in here (motioning around his heart)." When the mentor didn't break down, the program director pushed him further. "You're perfect aren't you? You have it all together." When the mentor laughed and said no, the program director asked him to tell us how he's not. It was clear the program director wanted the mentor to share something deeper.

Another mentor was told "you're an asshole." After the mentor admitted to being an asshole, the program director asked him to share how he's an asshole.

Another guy was told "you hate yourself... feel that." After the guy "who hates himself" broke down, the program director said "we just met the real Joe*." Then everyone clapped. At that point, I realized that this was coerced group therapy. And it was not even therapeutic. It was a public humiliation in front of 70 people he just met: 30 14-year olds, 30 mentors, and 10 staff. 14 year old children.

And the program director scoffed when kids asked repeatedly, "do I have to cry?"

14 year old children. This is how they're teaching children to share, be open, and to get to know people. And I felt betrayed. I signed up to reach out to children, who want a role model and positive influence in their life. This was more of crazy version of group therapy. An interesting note is that the program director is a practicing therapist.

When I left Sunday evening, I wanted to get off the island and run home as fast as I could. I had a fleeting thought of "wow, this is how people end up in cults." Although at that point, I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. There were just too many things that sat very unwell. It's hard to tell when you're in it and emotionally drained.

It wasn't until one of the other mentors who left (5 of the 30 left) mentioned the Landmark Forum in her farewell email. So Jason and I did our research. It's frighteningly similar. While it was not as extreme, there are striking similarities. There are even some words the program director said verbatim. The program executive director admitted that some staff attended the Landmark Forum. The methodology is to publicly break people down, so they can be transformed. This is how they build a "community." From my experience, it is emotional abuse used to create a bond. Maybe Landmark Forum works for some people, but it was terrible to be tricked into it.

Here's an article about the Landmark Forum for those curious: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-10-19/news/drive-thru-deliverance/full

baby orangutans and gorillas!

2007-10-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Baby orang-utans and tigers
... organutans sleep and cuddle just like people :)
@ Bronx zoo

subway monologue

2007-10-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not crazy
Look at you
Sleeping, reading, eating on the train
And you call me crazy
For living on the train
This ain't no train
This is my home
10 car mobile condominium
I have heat, air conditioning, and bathrooms
Just $2 a day
What's your rent
I ran away from home
Because my wife weighs 389 pounds
If you'd see her, you'd run with me
When I packed my bags
The cat begged to come with me
Do me a favor
Please don't leave the paper when you leave
I've got company coming later

-- Tenant of the A subway train in NYC

its good to be home :)

2007-09-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

After a recruiting trip at MIT last week, I've been having fun with my family in Boston and mid-state NY area. Amy turned 21 last week! She's growing up so fast :) I had a really fantastic time hanging out with Amy... having drinks, going out to eat, apple picking, and making apple crisp and sushi! Ah, it'd be so nice if Amy finds a job out to Seattle :) *hint hint*

For the past couple days, I've been at home. Yesterday, my mom and I went to the CIA (the Culinary Institute of America ;) and then watched Kay's tennis match. Kay has really grown as a tennis player! I bet I'd have a tough time beating her now :) Last night, my mom made her specialty pork chop dish. I helped with the sauce, which was made with home-grown apples ;)

Now I'm off to meet Jason and have lunch with my grandmother in NYC. I'm so excited to meet up with Jason. We haven't seen each other for a week - it's felt so long! Anyway, I'm off :)

busy bee

2007-09-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

I love to travel, explore and wander around new places. On the other hand, I want to be a homebody - settling into my comfy couch with a good book, cooking a big dinner, and watching a movie. And I'm antsy to figure out what I want to do next in life. Well, it seems September will be for the half of me that wants to get out. And hopefully October will be for my other half.

Last weekend, I had a fantastic time celebrating Hanna's upcoming wedding... and it was great to meet so many fun sweet girls :) Although it's amazing (in a slightly disturbing way) how much attention a group of 15 girls will attract in Vegas. We spent the long weekend sun-bathing by the pool, and partying the night away.

This weekend, Jason and I are heading down to Portland for a relaxing romantic getaway :) I'm excited - I've never been to Portland. Then I'll be spending the next couple weeks in Boston and NYC... this means I'll only spend 13 days in Seattle this month!

Vegas, baby!

2007-09-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

In less than 12 hours, I'll be in Vegas celebrating with Hanna and friends!

seattle life

2007-09-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

... is good :) It's a perfect-sized city with awesome friends, beautiful backdrops, and fun things to do. But I do miss my family and friends on the east coast a lot. Just this past weekend, I had a sweet time hanging out, rock climbing, ferrying to Vashon Island (twice due to losing my purse again :), shopping, and grilling. I'm so lucky.

Hmm... what else? I'm wrapping up season three of Battlestar Galatica. I don't know what I'll watch after there's no more Battlestar. Maybe I'll actually start reading more :) Any suggestions for more TV shows or books?

Finally, I am so very very excited for Friday! I'll be in Vegas with Hanna and company for a long weekend to mark the end of her single life. It'll be a weekend of fun with girls in the city of sin :)

David Sedaris is coming!

2007-08-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Seattle on October 26th... who wants to come with me?

progress in Africa?

2007-08-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Britain and France announced an UN mandate for a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to protect Darfur. But unfortunately, the resolution has been modified to appease Sudan (and China). The unanimous vote came after negotiations secured the support of China, which has a veto on the Security Council and strong economic interests in Sudan.

Changes to the resolution:

The new force will not have the right to disarm the militias and it does not have the powers to pursue and arrest suspected war criminals indicted by the International Criminal Court.

Deletion of a provision on a threat of "further measures," a code word for sanctions, against rebels or the government if they obstruct a peace process.

I'm still hopeful this effort will bring stability to Darfur, and the rest of the world will continue to push for a political solution.

In other African news... Sierra Leone's UN-backed war crimes court found two ex-leaders of a pro-government militia (Civil Defense Force) guilty of crimes committed during the country's 1991-2002 civil war. A few weeks ago, three senior members of the rebel group (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) were tried and jailed for 45-50 years. Although the focus should be on rebuilding the country, I'm glad guilty people are being held responsible for their actions.

frackin' seattle traffic

2007-07-26T13:10:00.001-07:00

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 :)

I love reading

2007-07-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

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 :)

awesome weekend

2007-07-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

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 :)

Summer is here!

2007-07-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

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 :)

Dancing :)

2007-06-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

This week, I started Salsa 3e at the Century Ballroom. I took a little hiatus from Salsa, trying East Coast Swing and 1920s dance. The East Coast Swing was interesting, but I doubt I'll try it much more. However 1920s and 1930s dance, which just finished last week, was a different story. The memorable dances were the Charleston, The Raccoon, Peabody, Rabbit, Varsity Drag, and St. Louis Shag. The Raccoon was a funny dance, where the lead essentially bear hugs the girl while doing the Charleston. But the most amusing dance was the Varsity Drag, which looks so funny. If you want to see it, you'll have to give me a few drinks first :) Anyway, I'm glad I'm doing salsa again. I forgot how much fun it is :)

Running start for 2007

2007-02-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

After a busy end to 2006, I feel as if I've jumped into another race of doing everything I can. It's crazy that the end of February is the first time I've stopped and caught my breath. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised considering my schedule for the past month and a half. Since leaving Luxembourg, I've spent two weeks on the east coast, 2 weekends on-call, and three weekends snowboarding. Although I've had a wonderful time traveling and snowboarding, I've realized that I prefer a slower pace of life :)

So I'm finally back home and taking it easy; I'm really looking forward to a regular schedule with weekends in Seattle :) To everyone who I haven't spent enough time, let me know when you're free to catch up!

Currently reading - Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Last couple days in Luxembourg!

2006-12-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's already December 21st. I can't believe I'll be flying back to the east coast in two days! It's awesome that after working and traveling in Europe for four weeks, I'm spending the holidays with my family and friends in New York. This Christmas, I'm especially happy that my entire family is getting together. Time really flies by - Christmas is in four days! And I'm so eager to go back to Seattle for New Years. I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends and a special someone.

For those curious, aside from working the past two weeks, I’ve been exploring Amsterdam and Paris.

Amsterdam:
On the 7th, Rob and I took a six hour train ride to check out Amsterdam for a couple days. It was an interesting city. One of the most hyped aspect of Amsterdam is the red-light district, where prostitution is legal; here's more about De Wallen. This means you can walk along the street, and see women in full-length windows beckoning to pedestrians. It was unsettling to see people advertised like clothing in a department store window. It also seems wrong that tourists (me included) gawked at them like a circus attraction.

For me, the highlights of Amsterdam were the scenic canals and the Van Gogh museum. We also spent some time at the Heineken Experience, which was mostly advertising. Although some of the "rides" were a bit silly, it was fun to check out and they fed us beers. I really enjoyed walking along the concentric canals; the scenery reminded me of a larger, modernized Venice. However, I still love Venice's locale much more. Venice has a unique combination of winding alleys, narrow bridges, and vehicle-free streets. Once you stroll a couple alleys away from the Grand Canal (and tourists), the atmosphere is completely charming, peaceful and private. But back to Amsterdam, the Van Gogh museum was awesome. I love studying his expressive, intense works. Poor Rob had to keep moving me along the exhibits; I could've spent the entire day there. Van Gogh is definitely one of my favorite artists.

Paris:
Last Wednesday, Rob and I took an early morning train to meet Jason in Paris. It was wonderful to spend a few days in Paris, and then the weekend in Luxembourg with Jason. We stayed at a cute little French hotel in the Latin Quarter, which was conveniently close to many of the sights. This was great for exploring the surrounding area. And for all three days, we had awesome winter weather - a bit chilly, but sunny with blue skies. So it was perfect for wandering around the city and walking along the Seine.

On Thursday night, we ate a fun fondue restaurant where they serve you wine in a baby bottle. It had a cozy merry atmosphere. Currently, it’s my favorite Parisian restaurant.

As for the sights, we visited the Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, some famous cemetery, Arc de Triomphe, Champ-Elysses, Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. It was awesome that while we did a whirlwind tour of Paris, it was still a relaxing laid-back trip :)

Brussels, my beer and chocolate heaven

2006-12-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

Since Luxembourg is centrally located in northern Europe, we've been taking advantage and exploring the surrounding countries. Last weekend, Rob, Bob and I went on an adventure to Brussels. And I found out that Brussels is definitely a beer and chocolate heaven. There are delicious chocolate shops peppered all over; Rob and Bob had to drag me away every few minutes.

In addition to all the tempting chocolate, we tried as many Belgian beers as possible. My favorites are the Kwak (which came in an super-cool chemistry glass) and the Belle-vue Kriek. And Belgian waffles are good. On Saturday morning as soon as we started wandering around to find waffles, we stumbled across a waffle truck. It seemed the waffle gods wanted to ensure we got our sugary fix. On Sunday morning, we got fancy waffles. I had a chocolate-covered strawberry waffle; and Bob and Rob had chocolate, strawberry, banana and whip cream on theirs.

I should probably stop writing about food and beer. So other than eat and drink, we explored Brussels by foot. Covering most of the city, we stopped at most of the landmarks; mostly taking lots of pictures of Bob and the statues. Oh, and the Manneken Pis. This bronze statue, also known as "Brussels' Oldest Citizen", is of a little boy urinating. The funny part is that it's only two or so feet tall. It had an entire couple blocks dedicated to him. It seemed like a big tourist joke. However, we did our visitor duty and took pictures of the statue.

I'd say my favorite part is the Grand Place, a medieval square surrounded by tall Gothic buildings on all four sides. This square is especially wonderful at night, when the city lights with color. The lighted buildings and streets lined with wooden huts (selling trinkets, bratwurst, and potatoes) created a festive atmosphere to explore the city.Next, I'll write about the trip to Amsterdam.

Luxembourg!

2006-12-09T00:47:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks, I've been living and working in Luxembourg. I'm here until a couple days before Christmas. Rob, Jacob, Arlen, and I are handling night on-calls for the Seattle developers, and working with the European supply chain business analysts.

These last two weeks have been awesome. It's a fun and interesting change from my life in Seattle. While I'm envious of all the snow they're getting in the mountains back home, I'm excited to be working in the Luxembourg office and explore Europe.

Luxembourg is an interesting place; the country has a population of just under half a million, which is less than Seattle! So needless to say, the city of Luxembourg is pretty small. The city is perched atop a rocky cliff, overlooking rivers and the old parts of the city (where the Amazon office is located).

The Amazon Lux office is a nondescript four story-building in the Grund. Around the Grund are castle walls with underground casements (used as bomb shelters in WWII), a river, cobbled streets, and a medieval village. All in all, it's a pretty charming area.

They speak mostly French here, which was a surprise to Rob and me. Stepping out of the airport, we found a line of taxi drivers who only spoke french. Thankfully, Rob took French in high school; so we weren't completely lost, just mostly ;) I've been told that most people in Luxembourg speak English - so I'm still waiting to meet the English-speakers :)

Bienvenue :)

2006-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

I've finally succumbed to writing a blog - hopefully it'll help me keep in better touch with friends and family. So this blog will be random ramblings of what's going on in my world :)