Life In The Pacific Northwest
Came across this article and thought it worth sharing, even though I won’t be going into the city and sharing in the misery.
onthemove.seattle.gov – Sue Romero – Apr 27, 10:17 AM SDOT advises travelers that on Monday, May 1, a number of demonstrations and rallies are expected to significantly impact traffic around the city throughout the day. Please plan ahead for delays due to larger than normal crowds along demonstration… |
I’m pretty excited that the good folks at Cinerama are hosting their first Anime Movie Festival. They’ll be featuring twenty-three genre favorites including Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Paprika and Cowboy Bebop.
If you like Studio Ghibli, they’ll be heavily featured including ten masterpieces from famed anime grand master Hayao Miyazaki. These titles include Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro.
Also included in the festival is 2017 Oscar-nominated The Red Turtle.
All movies will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles (the choice for discerning anime geeks). One exception:Â Ponyo, which will be dubbed in English, and The Red Turtle, which is dialogue free.
It’s hard for me to choose one, and the time/commute to Seattle factor makes things painful. Dream world: I’d take next week off, stay in a nearby hotel and binge. However, that’s not to me.
Which is your favorite? Are you going? Which films are you going to see?
Anyway, all the details are here, with the schedule and reservations here.
​Inside these blank walls
Rain falls upon the skylight
I stare at a screen
We wandered around campus last weekend. Stunned by the masses of tourists…I heard that there were tour buses. Very cool l guess. But out wasn’t the most lovely thing. Still, the blossoms were a lovely site. I always enjoy walking campus while they bloom.
Another thing I enjoy about the U district: food. An interesting blend out food types, styles, ethnicities. No matter what you like, some one the ave, most likely, serves it there.
I experienced so much life there, learned so much. A let part of development centred there. And I didn’t study there much. Yet I still love it, and expect I says will.
My life has taken a few strange twists. One of the strangest: my time in the Navy.
I joined the Navy, ostensibly, to get away from Seattle and western Washington. Most of my life was spent here, and I missed the journeys to more exotic locales. With my early childhood spent wandering the US, along with a stop at two different Navy bases in the Philippines, there was a certain attractiveness to wandering inherent in the military.
Goal # 1: extensive time in Europe. Other global stops would be welcome bonuses. When I was stationed in Orlando for bootcamp, I thought I was well on my way.
One of the training steps for the nuclear power program is to spend six some-odd months at a prototype facility. An actual operating reactor based on the specs of fleet deployed reactors, it’s a great place to get real-world experience without the distractions of normal ship-borne life, and the life-and-death risks inherent in being at sea, on a combat ship.
When I was in (a couple of decades back), the prototypes were in Connecticut, New York, and Idaho Falls, ID (though the prototype in South Carolina had been established, hurricane Hugo knocked it offline for a few months). Well, when I was sent to Idaho Falls, I was a bit nervous that my European plans were messed up. My final orders to the fleet: SUBBASE Bangor. At that point, with a 30 minute ferry ride, I was less than an hour from the house I grew up in. I was rather frustrated.
At the end of one of my patrols, though (it might well have been the first one…which is how my memory portrays it…but I’m not sure), I had an epiphany of sorts. I had a break while we were transiting in through Hood Canal, so I popped my head up top side (at that point the sub was on the surface). The weather was classic western Washington, high grey clouds and misty rain.  Mesmerized by the mists pulling through the fir trees, the strings of the fluff pulled apart by the brushing branches. I had visions of cotton candy. A sense of connection, of belonging, of love washed through me. I deeply felt my connection to this region then. A full spiritual awareness; hauntingly beautiful. My relationship with the region changed at that moment. This became, in a richer, fuller sense, home.
That feeling’s only grown over the years. Studying my family’s history in this region, exploring the arts and culture, the natural history…all that’s connected me deeper.
Even with years of dedicated work to learn the region better, working at key Seattle area institutions (Starbucks, Amazon and Microsoft being the biggest ones), and exploring my region, I still feel weak with my knowledge. I’ve never set foot on a San Juan Island, nor been to the Petrified Forest, nor seen the Grand Coulee Damn, nor…well, you get the picture. There’s so very much more I have to explore.
With the above, I’m starting to plan out my summer. I’m thinking about hikes and areas to explore. Considering:
So, what are some unique and delightful trips I should add? Comment below with your ideas.
Rain falling calmly
Continuously, not hard
Strange tranquility
Hey Seattle-based chums,
Any of you planning on attending “Network After Work Seattle at Amber“? It’s Wednesday evening right by Pike Place Market.
For me, driving to downtown mid-week/evenings is a bit of a pain. Back when I worked at Starbucks it was easy (it’s only a few minutes north, and, ostensibly, on my way home). Even when I was at Microsoft, heading into downtown was pretty straightforward. Marysville, though…well, with traffic, construction and all the other events in my life make these sorts of things challenging.
So, let me know if any of you are planning on going, or even just thinking of going.
