Reverse Commute

I leave for work so early that Starbucks is closed when I walk by :/ But since this is Seattle, I found another Starbucks on my walk to Westlake Station that opens at 5:30am. 

No Plastic

Apparently it is illegal for stores to pack purchases in plastic bags. There are only paper bags around here, which is slightly annoying at times (for example, a heavy bike lock) but ultimately good, I know. Guess I'm going to have to start buying small plastic garbage bags for waste cans now. 

Bacon

Peppered bacon.

It just changed my life. It should be illegal for bacon to taste this good. I am not a big bacon person. Typically, I'll get it if it comes with my meal (like at IHOP) and usually I'll take a bite or two. But this afternoon I stumbled into this great sandwich shop called Bear and the Bee and had a BLATO. I was too hungry to pause for a photo, sorry! 

Football

My new football team is doing very well :) 

Deep Thought

Do I have enough piercings to live in belltown?

Getting Creative at SBUX

Starbucks barista hadn't heard of it but went with my order anyway.

Dirty Dalmation 

Vanilla Bean frappuccino with Java chips and a shot of espresso. 

Rocco Says Hi

He is pretty chill about it all

Branching Out

New England Clam Chowder with a Dungeness Crab Roll + root beer of course

It is really, really good.

Western Cedar

You can actually smell the Western Cedar trees when you walk by them. It's super-nice.

People

The people here are so nice. Really. I mean, there are still crazy people who curse and bitch openly on the street. There just seems to be a collective understanding that being nice is just a healthier existence. 

Place to Live...Check

I secured an apartment! Move-in is the first week in September. 

The Umbrella Store

Of course Seattle has an umbrella store! Actually, did you know that New York gets more annual rainfall than Seattle? Seattle has more overcast days. 

So I went into the umbrella store to see if they carry Senz umbrellas. I used to have a Senz that I bought in Amsterdam, but it was stolen last year. I haven't been able to find the exact model online.

The woman at the store said she does carry Senz, but they only have the large golf-size umbrellas at the moment. But she totally knows how awesome they are because they resist winds up to 50 mph. We agreed that Senz needs to do some major marketing in the US because they don't have any competitors and would do really well. Imagine: "The official umbrella of Seattle" or "The official umbrella of New York." Tourists would buy them because they would think, "Well if this works great here in Seattle, then I just have to have it back home!" It would also be easy to hand out coupons or cards in the bustling pike place market area to promote brand awareness.

I gave the salesperson my contact info because they are going to special order the model I want. Rainy season starts in November. 

Just to Make Life a Little Easier

Apparently you can bring dogs into coffee shops. 

Ellenos Withdrawal

It has been two days and I am itching for some Ellenos yogurt. Maybe lemon Streudel? 

Well, you know where I will be tomorrow morning!

Weather

The weather here is unpredictable because it is in a convergence zone. Apparently it drives meteorologists crazy. Guess it is going to make for a challenging hobby for me! Also, there are very few thunderstorms (bummer) and obviously no hurricanes (again, bummer).

However!

Everyone here keeps talking about earthquakes. What to do if there is one, the last time they "felt a big one," predictions of a big one coming, and the fear that Mt Rainier will blow just like Mt St Helens. Guess I better go study fault lines.