My little Dutch Excursion

Today started out a little rough. I woke up with this strange crick/lump in my neck, forgot my office keys, paid for parking twice because I forgot my keys and had to go back home, and drove around twice as much in twice the normal traffic (UW graduation + road construction + sunshine= yuck) with about half my normal patience due to the previously mentioned aggravations, not to mention the sad frustration of realizing that I lost my phone last night at Golden Gardens. What are the chances of finding your phone at the beach? That run-on was probably about as smooth as the first part of my day.

But then, I got a hold of an individual called Gordon who happened to have gotten a hold of my phone through his brother who had found it at the beach... Things were looking up. I just had to meet him to pick it up. So, as soon as I had the chance, I headed over to Ballard to find Gordon, and my phone. He lived basically under the bridge he said, by the water. So I found the general stretch of the road where his address should have been, but it wasn't really obvious, especially being in the industrial part of Ballard. Then I spotted a bike shop with people, I hoped, who would have an idea where this address might be. The owner of the Holland import bike shop invited me inside to google it.

What was I doing, he wanted to know? I mumbled something about my phone. We walked back out, and I waved and thanked him, thinking we were done. But instead he pointed to his bike and suggested that he was going to give me a ride instead. There was a big wooden passenger box attached to the front, so cool, I hopped in. I felt so Dutch. He asked me again about what I was doing down under the bridge, because he seemed concerned about me, because apparently nothing good goes on there. Do I repair phones? No... I explained that I was fetching mine. He just wanted to make sure I was going to come out alive or something.

Anyway, we eventually made our way down a gravelly path through a chain link corridor and a bunch of ailing cars to the shore. He saw a woman he recognized and asked her if Gordon lived nearby. She pointed down the dock to his boat. Ah, he lives on a boat, he might have mentioned that. Oh well. The bike man said goodbye, and I found Gordon in his boat. He gave me my phone. He was an odd fellow, but quite nice to have called me back about my phone. I thanked him and thanked him and was on my way, thoroughly amused by the entire phone mishap. In a way I'm glad I lost it, because, it was quite a little adventure getting it back.

Guess Who Got Out?

Well, I haven't posted since January, and I bet you thought I'd abandoned the blog now that I have an exciting life in the city. Not so, I was just waiting, building suspense. So this had better be a good one eh? Dog got out yesterday, for his first solo adventure in Seattle. He just wandered away, like he does. One minute there was a large white dog out in the yard, the next there was a black cat staring at me through the window. Not good. Cat presence means dog must be long gone. So the search began. Where would I go if I were a dog? No fresh steaming piles in sight (to roll in, not as evidence). Yes, that's would I would do if I were free for a day, go roll in pooh. At least if I were this dog, that is what I would do. I started meeting my neighbors. Have you seen my dog? Have you seen my dog? Have you seen my dog? I felt like I was living out a children's book instead of real life. The next big thing since, "Are you my Mother?"

Well, turns out about three different people had seen him and two others wanted to know if he was friendly if they found him. One woman wanted to know if he would come if she called him. I didn't really get into how it would depend on her tone of voice. But since she had two small dogs with her, I'm betting she wouldn't have too much trouble. Now, I am setting you up for a very complicated math problem, are you ready?

So, of all these people, how many of them were helpful? Figure it out yet? OK, two women tried to be helpful, and one guy actually ran into his house to ask his buddy which way they'd seen Sayers go. But all in all, nobody noticed which way he'd gone. He's sly.

I got a phone call. He had traveled down the street an entire block, and was at somebody's house. The man told me that my dog seemed very hungry. I pedaled on down to get dog, and when I got there his wife confirmed that he must be hungry. "He keeps looking for food." I didn't bother to ask how she knew what he was looking for, and just left it at, "he's always hungry." I don't know if that reassured them or not.

Anyway, this story isn't that amazing or exciting, it's just the only thing to write about at the moment. So there you have it, the furry beast is back from his jaunt around the neighborhood and he isn't even filthy.

And Now A Place to Live

Yes, it's true. As Ashley so aptly put it, Surefoot no longer runs the risk of doubling as "Surebed." By the way, Surefoot is my trusty car, who you should meet some day. He's really a nice chap. So, if all goes well, tomorrow I sign my life away and will start my new life in a duplex. A first for me. Also a first is experiencing so much wood paneling in one home. It's a little overwhelming, but I like it. It feels slightly rustic. Oh, and get this. It has dark green carpeting. It was meant to be. And if Sayers makes it out, we will slowly begin the uphill battle of keeping that carpet green instead of white ;)

So, I Moved

I know, I know. My blog is barely limping along these days with a few sad attempts lately to keep it alive. This is the latest and greatest. I moved to Seattle. Perhaps I'll have some stories to share soon.

Saunas and Dishwashers

Today our dishwasher died. So we went out and scouted out the dishwasher sales situation around town. We found some high prices and some better prices, but nothing too spectacular. Well, then we were talking to a not-too obnoxious salesman (which is nice) who mentioned that he has a scratched dishwasher in back on clearance. It was the model we wanted. It was a lot less money. Sweet. It has some little scratches in the paint is all.... So today we bought a dishwasher of all things to to do on a foggy Wednesday.

Oh something about saunas. I forget what I was going to say about that. We're listening to Medieval Babes and drinking some delicious Belgian style beers and having a nice evening together. I'll miss such evenings.

Here goes nothin'

Well, my friends, tomorrow is the first day of training. Marathon training that is. It's terrifying. Exciting. Daunting. Ambitious. So uh... for those of you who have done one o' these things before, perhaps you have some words of wisdom?

Snow, snow, snow

We went walking again today. Three big people and a dog inn the snow... it's been falling since about 6ish this morning and it's beautiful. But dangerous. There are some cars out braving the snow and the ice, sliding and spinning their wheels just for fun. I don't know how much their people think it a good sport, but they're all creeping about the town anyway. The world in slow motion. The snowmobiles are prancing about too, showing off I'd say. We got to see all of this on our walk downtown. The dog skated about on some ice sheets and almost pulled me down. When I did fall flat on my back, however, we weren't on any ice sheets. I don't know what happened. I was talking about bad 80's hair styling... I was up. And then I was down. I'm still opposed to excessive hair teasing. And hair spray for that matter.

What a beautiful day! White fluff everywhere.