Gingerbread Men

Yeah... I baked these. I had my last team meeting at Boeing and decided to go above and beyond the usual snack bringing duty that I bestowed upon myself as a co-team leader.

Feeling festive I bought the gingerbread mix at Trader Joes. I followed the directions for cookies and as I rolled the dough out, I suddenly realized the potential of the thin dough in from of me. Without cookie cutters on hand, I grabbed a knife and started cutting - completely liberated from the conformity of standard cookie cutters I was able to make mix and match gingerbread men.

Pick a hat - top hat, baseball cap, or beanie

Choose arm position - normal relaxed at the sides, one hand up waving to a buddy, or the both hands up fist pump!

I then noticed my ginerbread men we basically shirts and pants with heads, so I decided to add some arms, legs, feet, and hands... making a much more realistic gingerbread man (far left).

I finished it off with the running gingerbread man (upper right corner)

Merry Christmas!

Whistler!

With only two weeks left in my great internship at Boeing, I decided that I had to visit Whistler before I depart the Northwest. We drove up Thursday afternoon, which quickly turned to night as it gets dark around here at 4:30pm. Thus I arrived at Whistler with no idea of the views around me.

We woke up with this view from our hotel room... that's the gondola that takes you up the mountain! I couldn't see much due to the clouds, thus at this point, I felt as though this would be just another mountain with groomed snow. We jumped on the Whistler gondola and headed up.

We then hit a nice warm up run and jumped on another lift, going up even higher. As we climbed the sun started to show through the clouds more and more until we climbed above the clouds! It was breathtaking!

At this point, just look at the pictures, because my description doesn't do the view justice!

It looks like a different planet up here!

I'm on top of the world!!!

We spent most of our day snowboarding literally above the clouds on snow that hadn't been touched by anyone else this season (they just opened the lift that goes to the peak for the first time this season). I had to completely re-learn how to snowboard in all of the thick fluffy powder snow. It was so nice to cruise silently through the soft stuff... and when I fell it was like falling into a soft cold bed.

Then we had to ride all the way down to the valley. We'll just say, it's was a long way with lots of breaks. Here's a view from below the clouds with the sun lighting up Whistler Village below.

Day 2 on the mountain was perfectly clear! Here's the group in front of the Olympic mascot!

The valley on a clear day! Awesome snow, awesome view.
After an awesome weekend, I had the privilege of driving us home on a beautiful afternoon. I now see the sights that I missed on the drive up due to the darkness. We were greeted back into the county with a lovely sight to our right.
Whistler... a really amazing place to ski!

Mohawk vs. Mohawk

You be the judge, who can rock a better mohawk...

My nephew...

Or me!
Cast your vote by leaving a comment! Uncle Brad or Nephew?

The Snow Continued

The snow continued to fall that afternoon and into the evening. As you can see in the pictures below the snow was thick enough to completely cover the downtown skyline and was collecting on the roads, which on hills like the ones around Seattle, can only spell trouble.

I walked to the grocery 2 blocks away to pick up an obscure item for pad thai. On my journey, I helped unstick two cars. On my way back, I detoured to one of the main roads (Queen Anne Avenue) that goes up a steep hill, just to see the icy situation. This youtube video of cars sliding is an excellent example of what I witnessed (although not the same location). Once again, I helped push a car out of the road into a parking lot.

The snow continued to fall. My roommate Kevin got home and asked me if I heard the screaming coming from sledders on Queen Anne Ave. I said "Let's Go!!!" and out we went at 10pm to join in on the fun. The street had been shut down to cars and taken over by winter weather enthusiasts!

Here's Queen Anne Ave going up the hill.... it's a VERY LONG HILL!

People sledding!
Kevin and I about to sled on our sophisticated sledding machines - trash bags filled with pillows. These sledding machines ended up being the fastest on the hill!
Those with old "beater" snow boards and skis were out cruising down the hill. These hills were long enough to make it almost worth while! I didn't dare take my board out due to the portions of exposed pavement, rocks, and sticks!

While the snow was fun, I was a bit concerned about getting to the airport the next day for a flight home for Thanksgiving! Luckily, things cleared up for a beautiful sunny day and public transportation was running smoothly to get me to the airport.

Seattle Snow

The day after I drove to the mountains for snow... snow came from the mountains to Seattle. I recall my first week in Seattle, as I looked at the steep hills I asked the locals "Does it snow here" thinking of the treachery of icy hills. They said it rarely snows in Seattle... I guess that means I'm lucky!

Downtown disappears in the snow except for the Space Needle.

My snowy hill... hopefully the road doesn't get covered. The snow is still falling!
to be continued...

*Note, this post was composed at 11am on Monday November 21st,

Show Shews

It was my first time snow shoeing was with my climbing groups friends (thanks to Abbie who organized and snagged extra shoes from her work). We drove 45 minutes east of Seattle into the Cascade mountains. As we climbed, the snow started to fall and continued to get thicker and thicker as we approached our destination... Alpental.

We jumped out of the car into about 12 inch of snow (since the last time the plow came through). We dressed in our winter gear, strapped on snow shoes, grabbed the trekking poles and headed out into the snow! At the trailhead we were greeted by this snowman!

It was beautiful! Snow was falling at about an inch per hour as we hiked the trail!

At one point, there was a little mouse bopping along atop the snow. Organizer Abbie brought her dogs and they went NUTS over the mouse. One even snatched the mouse up in her mouth and trotted off. Luckily we were able to get the mouse back from the jaws of the dog unharmed and sent him happily on his way, but not without one last epic save as I dove head first down hill in the thick snow to prevent the dog from once again capturing the mouse.

Here's the mouse prior to release!

We grabbed a chilly log to sit on for lunch and then headed back to the cars.

Snow shoeing was a lot of fun, although I think I would prefer cross country skiing... mostly for the opportunity to coast. It was great to get out in the snow and enjoy the mountains!

Chevy Volt

I had the incredible opportunity to drive a Chevy Volt, the new electric car from GM, while visiting the Detroit facilities for interviews. My day started early, as I was personally picked up from the airport by Mike and as we approached an unfamiliar car, I rubbed my eyes thinking that red eye flight I just took was causing me to see things. After an enthusiastic inquiry, I was proudly told that the car was a Volt!

I jumped in the car and was immediately surrounded by the futuristic interior. Mike then hit the ignition button, there was no key but instead a fob that he kept in his pocket, when the car senses the fob, it will unlock/start at the press of button. Even though no engine started, the car roared to life as lights flashed and video screens came on, punctuated with a simulated start up sound that resembled an engine but had a computerized enhancement that clearly left an impression that "this is the future".

The car cruised along the highways to the Volt manufacturing facility where we parked it under a solar canopy and plugged it into the charger. As a passenger, the car was comfortable, smooth and silent!!! A very enjoyable ride! There was plenty of room for four people!

After a tour of the Volt manufacturing facility, I was figuratively thrown the keys (remember, there's no key!). I couldn't believe it! I was about to drive a Volt!

The car was very smooth to operate and drove... well... just like a car. I would have had no idea that the car was electric based on it's performances. There were subtle details that discerned the Volt from a typical automatic transmission on an internal combustion engine (ie, no shifting, no torque converter, etc). These details were no more significant than the difference between a manual and automatic. On top of it all, the car had been averaging 80+ miles per gallon of gas put into the car!!!

Overall, awesome car! I commend GM for pushing the consumer automobile past the typical hybrid into the next generation of propulsion. This is a much needed investment and I'm happy to see it coming from Detroit. Combine the Volt with the recently launched OnStar Mobile App and you have a serious technology combination that brings the future to your finger tips today.

If you are looking to buy a new car, I would highly advise you check out the Volt!

Getting Wiggy With It

I was invited to my friend Allison's Birthday Pub Crawl on Saturday. But this was no ordinary Pub Crawl... or the famed Red Line Pub Crawl... she had the genius idea to make it a wig pub crawl. Everyone was responsible for securing and wearing a wig for the duration of the evening. As you can see from the picture below, the styles and colors (and facial expressions) varied tremendously, making our group VERY easy to find.

Due to the large number of people who turned out for this spectacle (30+), the pub crawl turned into more of a pub stall. Not that I'm complaining because the company was great and the beers were MUCH cheaper than Boston ($2 vs $5-6). Looking back at the pictures, I find it hilarious to see how many times people switched wigs. I'm pretty sure I saw my friend Nicole in 3 or 4 different wigs throughout the evening.

While a wig would be fun, I opted to use this opportunity to cut my annual mohawk. I needed a hair cut and a wig, why not both?!? The only problem... no wig switching for me.
Who knows what will bring out the mohawk next year.

***Please note, the title of this blog "Getting Wiggy With It" is not my original work. I stole it from from the title of Kristina's online photo album for the evening.

Sunday Hike

Wallace falls was the destination for a Sunday Hike... rain or shine. Weather this time of year in Seattle is hit or miss, and that Sunday it hit! The sun was out, the temperature was perfect, and I was pumped for a hike.

Wallace falls reminded me much of Multnomah Falls in Oregon, but not quite as good. Regardless, I enjoyed the hike! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

A Happy Stump!

Water running through a very green forest.
More waterfalls.
A small caterpillar on the path covered in dew.
One of the falls that makes up Wallace Falls.
The view of the valley below!

Gas Works Park

Sometimes a camera can't quite capture a scene as well as what you see with your eyes... and sometimes it does better. I don't recall seeing the stunning colors and contrast of this old coal gasification equipment (ie. Clean Coal Technology) at Seattle's Gas Works Park located north of Lake Union and site of a few scenes in the movie "10 Things I hate about You". Looking at this picture, I must say it's probably one of the better ones I have taken. Enjoy!

Salmon!

Warning... This post contains pictures of dead fish. But it's ok... I promise.

Living in Boston, it was all about lobster. Here in Seattle, it's all about the salmon. A while back, I posted a picture of the fish ladder found at lock at Salmon Bay. This was just the beginning of my education on salmon. The locks/dam/fish ladder represent the barrier between the freshwater inland and the seawater in Puget Sound.

While at the locks, I learned that every year, salmon ready to spawn smell the freshwater pouring down the fish ladder and are attracted to it. They then jump up the ladder and head to the water they were born (they somehow remember the smell) and find a mate to spawn. After spawning the salmon guard the eggs. They end up guarding the eggs until they die (once they get to freshwater they stop eating). The dead fish then feed an entire ecosystem. If salmon were to die off, many other species of wildlife would be greatly affected.

Until a few weeks ago, I had only seen the fish jumping up the ladder. Then, I was walking toward a plane on the flight line at Boeing the other day and stopped on the bridge that separates the storage area from the airport. I smelled something terrible and looked down into the water only to see a bunch of dead fish! I was at first very alarmed to see so many dead fish, assuming something disastrous had happened.

I then remembered what I had learned at the fish locks. This was the natural cycle of salmon. I then looked more closely and saw several live salmon spawning (look for the red fish in the lower right corner).

For someone who has never seen salmon in the wild prior to August, this was a very interesting experience. I feel as though I have now seen the entire salmon life cycle... except for all of the fun they get to have swimming around the ocean.

Lake Cabin

Several weeks ago, The Group made plans to rent a cabin on Lake Wenatchee near Leavenworth. There were various reasons to head to Leavenworth that weekend. There was a hilly half marathon, a big Oktoberfest celebration, and plenty climbing in the area.

Twelve of us ended up going for the weekend. We hung out in the really nice cabin, did some climbing, a few of the group ran a hilly half marathon while others enjoyed the Oktoberfest that Leavenworth had to offer.

The cooking skills that I've been developing were put to the test as I volunteered to organize/cook several meals for the entire group (with the help of many sous chefs. The cabin had a KILLER kitchen which made cooking fun for the entire group.

We had a pasta bar friday night, to prep the runners for the race. Saturday night we made shrimp or chicken tacos. Sunday morning we had breakfast burritos. I certainly enjoyed the cooking and the eating.

Here's the cabin we stayed in.

The view from the cabin looking over the lake.

Here was our view Saturday morning as the sun rose.

Here I am just before rock climbing. I decided to climb a big boulder for a cool picture, but the sun bleached out the blue sky.

Primary colors, cooking in the kitchen! I believe this was taco night! Don't mess with me while I'm cooking!

This is what happens when climbers stay in a cabin with a rock chimney.
Yes... we all took a turn, but the other pictures turned out blurry.
Sunday morning Breakfast Burritos.
Sarah was tired from the half marathon, or the late night... we'll say the half marathon.
Here's The Group on Sunday, not ready to depart!

It's people like these who have helped make my stay in Seattle one that I will never forget.

As usual, more to come.

Goodbye Seattle Summer

Hello Seattle Winter! Well, the Seattle weather up and changed to rainy and cold just in time for my out of town guests to arrive... literally 1 hour before they landed the rain started after a week of beautiful sunshine. Weather forecasts show nothing but rain for many days.

While many see this as a form of punishment, I see it as an opportunity to buy my first rain jacket. I selected the Marmot Precip, a nice inexpensive jacket on sale at REI, in my size and favorite color... RED. I'm now ready for those long walks from the parking lot in the morning rain.

I'll leave you today with the last clear view of Mt. Rainier through the Seattle skyline, as seen from my balcony. I'll be savoring this picture for a long time.