Monday, December 29, 2008

Favorite Christmas Carols at 123 "Sesame Street."

Me: Mine is definitely "all I want for Christmas is you" by Mariah Carey.
Julie: I like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra song. You know, the "Carol of the Bells" one.
Mike: What about Wham!?
*Mike sings a bit of it*
Julie: Oh yeah! That's my second favorite!
Dad: I like "If I were a boy" by Beyonce.

... me too?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Snow in Seattle

It's snowing a lot in Seattle, which is a big deal. News reporters cover all the buses that slip up and down hills. They show footage of their cameramen falling while taping a car slide into another. Allegedly, the Safeway truck driver is stuck in a few inches of snow. Foodless. Panic. The most pressing issue in the world right now is how we will rescue the guinea pigs from elementary school classrooms.

I've never known such a small amount of snow could be so dangerous. I've also never lived this far north in my life.

Corner of 41st and 9th in the U-district. It's a snowy sneaker corner!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Food that comes fast in Seattle

Dick's Drive In. Wallingford, Seattle. 7/10 on my bangin' scale.

Decent burgers, shakes for cheap. Open late, 50's drive-in, funny name.
-Oh man, I just tried dicks for the first time.
-Once you try dicks you never go back.
-I wanna go eat some dicks.
Etc.

Thai Tom. University District, Seattle. 8/10 on my bangin' scale.

You're hungry. You're cold. You're wet. You want Thai. You could try one of the other 8 Thai restaurants on the Ave, but you want it fast, and you want it delicious. Throw in some reggae and you've got it made. Your best bet is Thai Tom. They take your order as you wait in line outside the door (the restaurant is tiny; they only have seating for about 20 people), and it's ready once you get in.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Black puffy coat strikes again. And again.

Previously.

Now,

On Thursday, November 20, 2008, at approximately 2:40 p.m., a UW female student was the victim of a robbery .... Four suspects were involved in this incident, two males and two females. One suspect, a female wearing a black puffy jacket, blue jeans, and red shoes, took the victim's cell phone. After taking the cell phone, the female suspects left on foot, and the two male accomplices boarded a bus. The male suspects were later located on the bus and arrested by Seattle Police. The female suspects are both still at large. The victim was not injured.

AND

On November 21st, 2008 at approximately 3:58 p.m., Seattle Police Department officers responded to the report of a strong arm robbery .... The victim (a female) was walking eastbound on the north sidewalk of N.E. 50th Street when two males and one female emerged form the alley. One of the males wrapped his arm around the victim's throat and held her while the other male went through the pockets of her jeans .... The male who had his arm wrapped around the victim's neck is described as being about 5'8''tall, darker complexion, app. 150 lbs and wearing a black puffy jacket with gray fur around the hood, black baseball hat and jeans.


I know I should be more concerned about the hoodlums who wear puffy, furry-hooded jackets. But... FURRY. Is this Seattle's version of the Crips? This city is so fake sometimes.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Breakfast in the U-District according to a UW student

Portage Bay Cafe

(6/10 on my bangin' scale.)

The most popular place for breakfast in the U-District.

I've been to this restaurant a couple of times now, mostly because it is the closest restaurant to my house. Oh yeah, and I went because two of the times someone else was paying. Holler.

The good: Organic food, big servings, open toppings bar (mostly berries and fruit) for your pancakes.

The bad: The food is so-so. I mean, it's breakfast food. (Unless you get one of their specials like pumpkin pancakes). They're all fancy schmantzy about being special and organic and healthy. Also, it's kind of expensive. The wait is usually 1 hour or more on weekends.

I've tried: Omelette (with some kind of goat cheese. I like goat cheese a lot, but their method of serving it was not too exciting). Pumpkin pancakes (absolutely delicious. It's a seasonal thing, though). Migas (Eggs on a tortilla. Unremarkable).

 Portage Bay Cafe on Urbanspoon

Voula's Offshore Cafe

(8/10 on my bangin' scale)

Voula knows where the moolah's at. She's pimpin' it up.

The good: Greasy, disgusting. Cranky-looking older men (regulars) occupy the stools at the counter. Humongous portions. Original ideas for their breakfast dishes. 1/4 block away from my favorite view of the space needle (from under I-5).

The bad: Also very popular. Service is slower.

I tried: The Hobo. It's basically everything you'd want in breakfast food. Eggs, potatoes, toast with "greek sausage" (aka gyros meat). Smothered in melty feta. Cheese is delicious. They serve you about 3 pounds of greasy goodness.

The moral: Voula's is better. But don't take my word for it.

Voula's Offshore Cafe on Urbanspoon

Saturday, November 15, 2008

UW robbery: terrifying or hilarious?

from: UW Police Department
subject:
Warning Notification of a Criminal Incident (November 14, 2008)

On Friday, November 14, 2008, at approximately 10:45 p.m., a UW student was the victim of an attempted robbery at the corner of N.E. 45th St. and 16th Ave N.E.. The suspect, a female with long straight blonde hair, approached the victim and attempted to steal her purse. The victim wrestled with the suspect, they separated, and the victim ran into a nearby house for safety. The suspect then took off running in a northbound direction. The suspect was wearing a black puffy jacket with fur around the hood. The victim was not injured.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Welcome to HSC/UWMC

The Warren G Magnuson Health Sciences Center/UW Medical Center is a building worthy of at least one post. And that's not just because I spend most of my life there now.

According to the wikipedia entry for list of largest buildings in the world, this m.f. of a building is the 10th largest in the world in area, and 3rd largest in the US. Even if this is just an urban legend, I still respect it. Probably because the building is nearly half a mile long, and I have to walk through it every day.

Note to self: if I ever get sick, go to UW Medical Center. By the time I get out of there, I'd be fit as John Basedow. I mean, those cruel bastards'd probably make me go a 1/4 of a mile just to pee.

To illustrate my point, here's a map of (most of) campus. The red circle indicates the building I'm talking about. My home. Too big to circle. But not too big for my heart.

To illustrate further, one of those tiny T shaped wings on the bottom side of the building includes the whole school of public health. That tiny (in comparison) area includes the most ballin' department (biostat), some environmental/occupational health shit (I don't know what that means either), epidemiology doodizzle, galactical health or something, and "health" "services."

And I'm man enough to admit I've only visited wings J, I, H, F, T, AA, and RR. I've still got lots of exploring to do.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Meet the rOoMiEz: Magggie.

Magggie is the Peter Stuyvesant of the west coast. She's a baller, AND she takes education seriously.






Her impressive resume boasts deriving and implementing a way to live in an apartment in Seattle's U-District for $0/month. More than I could do.




In addition to maybe about three other things, she enjoys saying "hi," crooning like Bonnie Tyler for a treat, and sitting on a cat throne while she stares out the window towards I-5.



She and I have a lot in common.

Monday, September 29, 2008

The Exacto Eraser

My eraser is going on 10 this academic year.

After finishing my first assignment at my new school, I just wanted to take some time to reflect upon my eraser. I've never given it the respect it deserves.

I've had the red beaut for a long time (proof: my middle school catchphrase "How-do?" is written on its base). People think I'm gangsta because it looks like a knife. Its sliding mechanism provides endless enjoyment in sub-exciting classes. It makes mistakes disappear.

I haven't lost it all these years.

Monday, September 15, 2008

No Fried Oreos

, no oranges filled with red slushie, no fried twinkies, no chocolate-dipped bananas, no fried cheesecake on a stick, no orangeade, no sushi.

Instead of having much of the fair fare everyone is used to at these types of events, the Puyallup Fair had scone stands (with jam and clotted cream... the works) everywhere. We had to wait on a line way longer than a scone's throw to get our baker's dozen.

In addition to a (hilariously bad) dog show, they had a llama show in which llamas had to walk up stairs, step through a hoop, go backwards, maneuver cones, and scuttle past a fan that made a lot of noise.
A main attraction at this huge fair is Mutton Bustin': the hottest sport on wool. If you've never witnessed this (as I hadn't), it involves four-year-old kids, a huge sheep, and lots of holding on.
Giddy up.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Why I love the internet, and why I'm considering going to Fusion Ultra Lounge.



Posted on the Seattle LiveJournal Community today:

THUG PASSION
hard to believe its been 12 years since tupac was taken from us. po out a 40 and remember the man at fusion 2nite. b4 that, hump up the hill a half block and enjoy chilld jager shots on r porch. servin from sundown til the cops clamp down! sit in the comfy chair, or go buck wild on the boxspring in the yard! bring yer husky boobs! RESPECT







I've already considered going to Fusion Ultra Lounge because I'm interested in the "diverse music selection which includes sexy house." It's also a plus that the place is located at the end of my street, only 2 blocks north of my lovely apartment. Now I think they'll have to pay me to NOT go.

RIP TUPAC.

Seattle embraces its weird. Duh.

I know you're wondering if Elina, one of the crazy contestants on the new season of America's Next Top Model, is representative of Seattle's character (her hooks: animal liberation activist, bisexual, first challenge winner). Based on what I've seen so far, I'd have to say yes.

It all starts with the geography of the city. Seattle's downtown is small, I'd say it's about 20 blocks by 40 blocks. The rest of the city is pretty spread out, and has odd offspring colonies all over the place that are like large, conveniently located suburbs of the tiny downtown. Throw in a few lakes of various sizes, lots of hills, and you've got a big ol' hullabaloo called Seattle.

Photos can help illustrate the strange.

There're stores that house this:

A pickled freak pig with 8 legs, 3 eyes, 2 tails... etc. I don't think Elina would like it, but she'd agree it's weird as rare shit. It's at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a great place.

There's an underground level of part of the city:

It happens when the government decides to make ground level one story higher than it was to improve the sewage system.

One of the most famous pieces of art in the city:

It's a giant m.f. troll under a bridge.

And a zoo with this animal:

I'm not one to normally talk about penises...but check that out. The thing in front of the back leg is not a leg. A city with a tapir is a city with a huge penis to body size ratio.

Or, alternatively, you could say I'm having a good time.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Food Scoring Guide.

Part 1 - Scoring System

I’m giving some of these places scores because I’ve been watching a lot of “Iron Chef” lately, and it looks like fun. The scale is going to be from 6-10 because everything I chose for the list is obviously above average. To help you convert these scores, I’ll use a bangin’ scale analogy. On the scale, you might give a six to Maggie Gyllenhaal. She’s obviously above average—she’s a movie star for God’s sake—but you know, you just couldn’t get that into “Dark Knight” because you couldn’t believe that Christian Bale and that other dude would fight over her (wink, wink, Kate). On the other hand, a ten would be a “Beautiful Liar” combo: hips, booty, and singing. Can’t get much better than that.

Please add to my guide, comment on it, yell at me because I’m wrong.

Friday, August 22, 2008

A city where people know where they are going.

If you're bad at finding your way, you need a guide in this city. Luckily, my third middle name ("GPS") is serving me well.

You think the quarters in DC are confusing? Try ninths. NINTHS, mother f*ckers. NINTHS. I live in NE. But there is also N, NW, Center, W, E, SW, (S, SE = one section that's extra wide). Try figuring that one out.

Or try parking here (thanks to zipcar I've had this experience). The signs read, "No parking north of here." I wonder if they reduce parking fines if you seriously thought west was in front of the sign, not behind it.
A lot of the locals look pretty lost, but I don't think it has anything to do with the layout of the city.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Topics of conversation at a family farewell dinner

Things you'll only ever hear an 80-year-old grandmother say nonchalantly at dinner:

"Guess what I took as a souvenir from the police station today?"

I really can't wait until I'm old enough to make stealing (even if it was only a pen) from the police acceptable.