Netflix!

Mark and I recently joined the multitude of subscribers who have navigated to Netflix rather than run to the movie rental store every weekend. Lately, I've taken to starting conversations with the question, "What's on your Netflix queue?" I've learned that this can be a sort of touchy question, as some friends will respond with "Uh... don't judge me..."

Apparently Netflix has taken its toll on relationships too... funny.

Those poet dreamers...

Have you ever had a dream that you were flying? I used to have these dreams periodically when I was a kid. They would usually begin at my aunt’s and uncle’s house in Greeley, where a ramp led to their front door. I would start at the front door and run down the ramp, and by the time my feet reached the end, I was running on air and taking off into the sky. I was afraid of heights as a kid too, but that fear never seemed to surface in my flying dreams. I remember looking down at treetops and fields and thinking how green they were. I always knew when the dream was about to end because I started to float back down to the ground. I would try and kick my legs to get back into the sky, but the sense of buoyancy was gone.

Eventually (I think it was middle school), I became disillusioned with these flying dreams because I knew I would never be able to fly in real life. Before I went to bed, I would tell myself that I would not dream about flying, because the disappointment of having to wake up without that ability was too strong. I don’t think my imagination has been the same since. Dreamers sometimes drive me crazy. I want to shake them and say, “Snap out of it! Pull yourself together man!” But I think I’m going to start daydreaming more. There’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? And I think my imagination needs the practice.

The lay of the land

Mark and I are trying to live up to our outdoorsy city, and made the most of our quasi-spring weather this weekend. Yesterday we went to Discovery Park and hiked around, making it to the beach and the lighthouse. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we got some good pictures out of it.



Today, we went to Gas Works (not quite as outdoorsy, we know, but still outside!) Our goal was to fly Mark's kite, but when we got there, no wind could be found...



Finally, enough wind came around so we were able to get the kite in the air! Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height...

Sounders FC is here!

Seattle bleeds a new blue and green, as shown by the thousands of fans who packed into Quest Stadium last night to welcome the Seattle Sounders, the newest expansion team of Major League Soccer. Mark and I weren’t as lucky as those attendees, so we took ourselves to The George and the Dragon, a popular Ballard pub that usually shows British Premier League games, and was dedicating at least two of its screens to the Sounders’ home opener. We arrived a mere 30 minutes before the start of the match, and all available chairs and benches were already taken. We were lucky enough to acquire a couple of bar stools, which we parked in front of one of the main screens. Front row seats!

You would’ve thought we were actually at Quest Field by the roar of the crowd in the pub. I could barely hear myself! The mood was rewardingly optimistic, as the Sounders soundly defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-1. Here’s to a new season that we’re looking forward to supporting! We even jumped on the bandwagon and bought partial season tickets. Soon enough we’ll be joining the fans at Quest Field wearing blue and green and waving Sounders scarves!

And congratulations to our neighbors to the north and to the south, Vancouver BC and Portland, who were both awarded MLS teams! The Vancouver team name will be up for debate, but Portland's team name will remain the Portland Timbers, the same name as their USL franchise. Move over, land-locked America... the Pacific Northwest is on its way.

Photo credit by Mark Harrison of The Seattle Times

Farewell to the P-I

Click here for the full story of the P-I's history. Here's to the transition to being a one-newspaper city... we'll miss the competition.

Illustration by David Horsey, Pulitzer Prize winner for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Caller identification?

This actually registered on an incoming phone call on our caller ID at work:

REAL ESTATE A**

I laughed. (I won't spell it out, use your imagination).

Favorite SNL cast members (in order)

Kristen Wiig: Kristen is without a doubt my favorite SNL cast member. She plays the weirdest characters and pulls them all off without a hitch.



Seth Meyers: I wish he did more than Weekend Update. He has great timing.
Darrell Hammond: Better than the real Bill Clinton.
Abby Elliott: Abby’s still fairly new, but she’s great for only being 21! And she was a dead ringer for Jessica Rabbit on Saturday.
Michaela Watkins: Great impressions. I thought Joan Rivers made a cameo the other night until I realized it was Michaela.
Fred Armisen: “I Ran So Far”… need I say more?
Will Forte: Not a big fan of MacGruber but he’s a natural in a mullet.
Jason Sudeikis: I most love his appearances on Weekend Update as a washed up rock star or songwriter. He’s a good Joe Biden too.
Casey Wilson: Typical all-around American girl next door.
Bill Hader: Meh whatev. But he played a great alien on Saturday.
Kenan Thompson: I still can’t get past his Nickelodeon background…
Andy Samberg: He’s too silly for me.
Bobby Moynihan: Sorry Bobby. Not so much.

Favorite cameo appearance: Justin Timberlake

Track this!

I’m a goal-setting person. I have to set an achievable goal in order to get anything done. When I decide to put on my tennis shoes and go for a run, I can’t just “run until I get tired”. (I’d quit in five minutes!) My running has to be defined by a time limit or by a distance limit, something I can tangibly measure. Enter http://www.joesgoals.com/! The look of the site isn't too pretty, but it gets the job done by allowing me to place checkmarks next to the goals I set on the days I accomplish them. For example, one of my goals is "Half-Marathon Training" and I can check off the days I run. You can also create a journal that supplements your goal: I use my journal to note how many miles I ran that day. The site allows you to run reports to track your progress on a graph -- you can see how well you did or if you really fell off the wagon.

The site runs off a point system, and you get positive points for each goal you check off. You can also add negative goals, i.e. bad habits you want to get rid of. If you put a check mark next to the negative goals, you’re assigned negative points. The whole idea is to stay in the positive and achieve your goals! I love it. Here’s to happy goal-setting. :)

Happy birthday Richard! :)

The great thing about being a twin is you get to share your birthday with a cool person!