Ok, so I’ve been a little lax on the blog updates lately, but these long, hot August days have really sapped my ambition to write anything new, not to mention bathe at regular intervals. Anyway, I finally got around to doing something that actually merits a post. Yesterday I took my friend Faye, who is Korean and studying in the United States, on a hike in Mt. Rainier National Park. My friend Katherine, a hiking aficionado, joined along. After gathering up our snacks and putting gas in the car, we were ready to go. I took advantage of the 2-hour car ride to teach Faye some new swear words and also deconstruct the differences between the phrases “kicks ass” and “kick your ass” (the meaning is in the details).
After driving through some heavy clouds and a few foreboding rain showers, the three of us made it to our destination: The Naches Peak Trail Loop, a 3.5 mile circuit filled with pristine meadows, shimmering lakes, and spectacular mountain views. We were fortunate that the rainy weather subsided and gave way to sunshine and a light breeze, perfect conditions for a Saturday hike. Take a look:
Dewey Lake
Katherine is an expert berry picker. She filled up an entire Nalgene water bottle with wild blueberries.
Wild blueberries are smaller than the regular variety you find in grocery stores. They also have a pear-like taste to them. If you ever hike this trail, make sure to give these a try. They are amazing!
The Sound of Music?
I really wanted to frolic in this meadow, but unfortunately there were several signs strictly prohibiting such actions.
It was a little cloudy on our visit, but they managed to break just enough to give us a glimpse of the peak.
I don’t go on many hikes (mainly because it requires that I put on pants) but the Naches Peak Trail Loop is definitely a must-do. It’s overwhelming scenic, easy and short enough for all ages to partake, yet very rewarding when you get to see a majestic Mt. Rainier waiting for you at the end of the trail. Plus, there are wild blueberries to eat along the way! Hooray for blueberries!!!
No summer is complete without a trip to a county fair. These annual gatherings are an American tradition; the perfect mixture of greasy foods on sticks, barnyard animals, rigged games, and creepy people operating rickety old rides. After hearing that our friend Bill was hosting a logging-sports competition, my sister and I headed out to Whidbey Island to check the sights and sounds at the 2009 Island County Fair.
Log rollers compete at the “Bunyan Busters Log Show”
I think this is how loggers tow cars.
Tool of the trade.
The axe toss
Loggers are pretty badass.
The guy who carved that eagle was the same guy featured in the Pemco Insurance commercial as the “Roadside Woodcarver Guy.” He was good.
This is what it is all about.
These goats had some really life-like bleats. Kinda like this.
My last post had a bunch of pictures of Seattle taken in the late 70’s, but there were many other great photos that I found while scavenging through my parent’s old albums. Here are a few of my favorites:
I really like this one because of all the activity in the background and then the stillness in the center. Also, I like how the photographer’s identity is obscured, though if I had to guess, I’d say it’s my dad at a party in NYC.
The caption said this one was taken on the Whidbey Island ferry. That’s all I know about it, but I like how the separation and contrast created by the frames of the windows enhances the colors of the sunset.
My older sister, Rebecca, running through the front yard. Must have been around 1983 or 1984. I like her facial expression in this one.
Caption on the back reads: “Rafe’s Nikes, 1980.” This is now my computer’s desktop wallpaper.
That’s my grandmother (reclining) and my grandfather sitting in a park somewhere in NYC. Don’t know who the lady in the middle is. Part of the fun of looking at old photos is trying to fill in all the missing pieces.
People were such sharp dressers back in the day.
I really like the color of the water in this one. Also, fat rolls.
There’s a closet at the bottom of the stairs in my parent’s house that’s filled with nothing but old family photos – real, actual pictures you can touch and hold in your hand. What a novel idea! Every now and again, when I’m feeling a bit nostalgic, I like to open it up and sift through the many albums. I found a lot of excellent pictures this time around (my mom with a perm, or even worse, my dad with a perm) and also a few clunkers that are probably best left hidden in the closet. Bar miztvah pictures are never flattering.
In addition to all the pictures of my parents wearing bell bottoms and questionable eye-wear, I also managed to find some really interesting shots of Seattle looking equally awkward and unfamiliar in the late 1970’s. As someone who has only known this city as a place with shiny high-rises, sparkling condos, and modern architecture, it was quite a surprise to see it looking so barren. If the fuzzy photo quality doesn’t convince you that these photos are old, then just look at the lack of traffic and abundance of available street parking for proof.
According to my mom these pictures were taken in the summer of 1979. The first three are shots taken from the Space Needle. Check ‘em out:
Looking South. The Alaska Way Viaduct leads towards the Kingdome. Belltown is in the foreground and the waterfront and Puget Sound is on the right. Clearly condos where not popular at the time this picture was taken. Now it looks a bit more like this:
I think this is the view looking Northwest from Space Needle and that lower Queen Anne is in the foreground. The city looks kind of naked without all the big buildings.
This is the view looking towards Lake Union from the Space Needle. Westlake is in the foreground, and beyond that is I-5. That was then. This is now:
The Space Needle as seen from Gas Works Park. Now it looks more like this:
Here are some kids who scaled the support columns on the old Seattle Coliseum (now the Key Arena). As a kid I always wanted to climb up those inviting ramps, but sadly, they are now adorned with lots of sharp nails that keep birds, and people, from perching on them. Damn you liability lawsuits!
Here’s a crappy joke I conjured up that I thought would make for an even crappier t-shirt design. My friend Kevin Devoss did the artwork. This is just an idea right now, but if anyone is actually seriously interested in this, lemme know and I’ll try to figure out a way to print you one.
As my search for employment winds into its second month, I’ve noticed that the language I use to convey my current job status while still trying to maintain my self-esteem has changed drastically. For instance, instead of telling people I live in my parent’s basement, I tell them I’m “living with family friends” (Technically this is true. My parents are family, and they are also my friends, so I think it counts). The hardest word to get around, however, is the dreaded U-word: “unemployed.” Whether it’s meeting with old friends or making new acquaintances or getting harassed by creditors (they can be so persistent), everyone always wants to know the same thing: What do you do for a living? Worst yet is that that the U-word conjures up visions of people loafing around in their sweats and watching daytime TV, their fingers stained bright orange from all the Cheetos they’ve been eating. Sure there may be some truth to this stereotype (just yesterday I ate an entire bag of grapes while watching Real Chance at Love 2) but this image, as anyone who is or who has been unemployed knows, is anything but accurate. Most of the people I know who are searching for jobs are highly motivated and actively striving to get back into the work force or go back to school. But still the image persists, and because of this fact, I have come up with a few helpful terms I like to use when people ask me what I do for a living. Because if my degree in journalism has taught me anything, it’s that a situation is only as bad as the words you use to describe it.
Helpful Euphemisms for the U-word:
1. Occupationally Challenged
2. In between jobs
3. Exploring new opportunities
4. In flux
5. Transitioning
6. Sans Travail (everything sounds so much better in French)
7. Living the dream
8. Working with an open schedule
9. Taking some “me-time”
10. Riding the pine
11. Networking
12. Feeling things out
13. Liesured
14. Freelancing
Well that’s all I can think of for now. If you use any other phrases to get around the U-word lemme know and I’ll add them to the list. Happy hunting!
Related Listening: “The Employment Pages” [Live] – Death Cab For Cutie
A friend and I went to Seattle’s Gas Works park last night to check out the view when what should we see but a huge blast of fire burst out into our peripheral vision. My first thought was that I had witnessed some sort of horrible lighter mishap, but when I got a little closer to investigate, I soon noticed it was no accident at all. To my surprise there was a group of approximately 20 people gathered around a cement terrace, all taking turns practicing some sort of “fire art.” There were fire twirlers and fire spinners and fire jugglers and even a few drunk guys attempting to play the djembe who were most definitely “not on fire” in the musical sense of the term. A crowd soon gathered to take in the spectacle, seemingly undeterred by the fact that amateur pyros were hurling open flames all willy-nilly on the grounds of an old gas refinery. After asking around a bit, I learned that the fire-aficionados were actually part of a group known as Rouge Burn. They meet every few weeks at various locations around Seattle to practice their craft and hang out with friends and maybe drink a beer or 12. I asked one of the performers with the group how a person gets started in the field of fire art. His answer? “A lot of drugs and glow-sticks.” I left it at that and watched the rest of performers do their thing, paying close attention for any errant torches heading towards my face. There didn’t seem to be any real choreographed routine amongst the many fire twirlers, and at times it seemed like little more than a few friends practicing their moves for next year’s Burning Man. Regardless, it was still pretty cool to see some Mad Max-like scenes set against the impressive Seattle skyline.
If you’re interested in finding out when and where Rogue Burn will have their next meet-up, email them at foundnlife2day@yahoo.com.
