7 posts tagged “seattle”
The windows in my new place face east, and on a really clear day you can see the snow-capped Cascades in the distance. On a cloudy day, you can get the most amazing sunrises. I've started to sleep with my head at the foot of the bed so I can wake up to sights like today's:
A couple of Sundays ago marked two years since I moved to Seattle, and I wanted to do something to celebrate this little corner of the world, so the B-team and I went to Pioneer Square (the oldest part of Seattle) to do the Underground Tour. Here's the concept in a nutshell: the city of Seattle you see today isn't actually the original city. The first buildings in this area were in fact built at a lower elevation, closer to the level of Elliott Bay, on top of what was then just a bunch of mud flats. The tour takes you down below the current city level to the old city underground, while you hear about the city's history at the same time.
So as you can imagine for a city that got built on a swamp, it just kept falling down, and getting rebuilt, and falling down, and getting rebuilt again. As the Underground Tour guide lady pointed out, not much has changed in Seattle since then - they still build stupid things and then regret it later and want to get rid of it: Alaskan viaduct/520 carpool lane much? Pretty amusing. Anyway, they did somehow finally get some semblance of a city going for a few years, but then the entire thing burned to a crisp in a glue factory fire. This is where I got really excited, because the entire thing sounds exactly like Swamp Castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and this gives me a chance to do a quote.
When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.
Viva Seatac!
It's been a week since I made the move from the suburbs to Seattle proper, and I am pleased to report that (thus far :]) there has been no reason to regret the decision. The new place, which I'm sharing with Astha, is great. We're renting a condo (fancy American term for a flat in a building where each unit is individually owned, as opposed to an apartment, which refers specifically to a unit in a complex owned by a property management company) in the same building as Nabeel and Arpan in the neighbourhood of Belltown. I have my own bedroom and bathroom, so we don't get in each other's way at all.
Since we're on a lower floor than the boys and don't have a corner place, we don't get their amazing view of Puget Sound and the Space Needle - but we do have what Astha likes to refer to as a "city view" (which in turn Arpan likes to refer to as "straw-clutching"), and that's doing me just fine for now. From my bedroom window I can see a bunch of nearby tall buildings (novelty enough for a gal who grew up in the sprawling suburbs of Sydney), and once the days get a little longer (and work gets less intense - here's hoping), I believe I will be home in time to see the sun set over the Olympics. Now that's something to look forward to.
I left a lot of incredulous friends and colleagues on the east side who couldn't for the life of them understand why I would give up a place across the road from the office for, on average, a 45 minute door-to-door commute. (I did explain to them that in Sydney, you're lucky if your commute is under an hour - people's conception of a long commute is really different around here. Much smaller city, I guess.) I have been enjoying the bus ride to work though. It gives me an excuse to catch up on some reading (which admittedly I haven't been making as much time for as I used to). Even better, about halfway through the bus trip on a clear day I can look up from my book and see Mt Rainier from the floating bridge and that just about makes my morning. I would never, ever want to drive that route in peak hour though. That traffic would send me bonkers in a matter of days.
I love the fact that it is genuinely possible to get by without a car here. I resisted buying one when I lived on the east side, for various reasons, and that was a little hard because American suburbs are not planned out like Australian suburbs. There is no corner shop down the road for when you've run out of milk. All the shops are in one place, and all the houses are in another, and unless you want to invest several hours negotiating the whole grocery endeavour, you drive to the shops. So I would plan days in advance to invest several hours negotiating the whole grocery endeavour, and heaven forbid if I forgot something. I didn't mind that much since I like to walk, but I have to admit it did get on my nerves a little during the 6 months of the year that it was freezing, constantly raining and generally pretty miserable to be outdoors!
Here, there is a corner shop around the corner (albeit the poshest corner shop I've ever seen - I don't plan to go there too often or I won't have any money left over for rent). And a proper supermarket just a few blocks away. Hallelujah. The general walkability of Seattle is good - friends and other good things are close by, and it's pretty safe. Yesterday was a fabulous day weatherwise, and I wanted to make the most of it, so after dinner I went for a nice walk up Capitol Hill and visited Prasad and bugged him for a few hours. I had a sum total of one friend in walking distance on the east side.
It's nice to live with someone again. When I lived at home, I would sometimes walk all the way across the house to strike up a conversation with my parents about something completely random, like whether they knew that tomatoes are actually fruit. I did enjoy living alone for my first year here, but I missed having that sounding board. Astha's good that way. She listens - I think :P - and if she thinks I'm strange, she doesn't make it very obvious. I think she likes having a housemate she can talk to, too. The impression I get is that her old roommate wasn't around much and they never really got to bond. We have roughly the same tolerance for mess (ie. we're not revolting, and we're not neat freaks), and we have fun together without getting in each other's faces all the time. Our routines are pretty different - it seems like I'm usually out of the house before she wakes up, and when I'm going to bed she's usually logging in to work.
Anyway, I just wanted to get out my first impressions, hopefully not so that I can laugh bitterly at my naiveté later :) The statistics are behind this move though. I can name dozens of people who've made the move from east side to Seattle, and only one who's ever moved back. I don't see myself bucking that particular trend. I've said it to death, but I really, really love Seattle. I think this moving to the other side of the world adventure has a good few years left in it yet.
In the wee hours of this morning I happened to be at Kerry Park, the location on Queen Anne Hill which provides the postcard view that comes to most people's minds when they picture the Seattle skyline. From here, the Space Needle doesn't look as awkwardly detached from the skyscrapers as it in fact is, and on a clear day Mt Rainier floats ghostlike on the horizon to complete the picture perfect scene. Despite being in the midst of an excitable bachelorette party gathering, I just couldn't resist getting in a bit of impromptu landscape photography (see below). I think these turned out pretty well considering they were taken on my little SD600 (perfect for a tiny girls'-night-out handbag), but I definitely want to come back in the daytime this summer with my S2 IS and get my own postcard shots.
On a tangent, an update on my earlier post about Baker's Delight expanding into the States: I headed over to our newly-opened local during the week, and alas, no pullaparts! The baker on duty (South African - the one who was giving out free stuff last week was Kiwi - do they only hire antipodeans?) said they'd done market research which caused them to conclude that "American tastes are a little different", hence no pullaparts. All I can say is that if Americans don't like pullaparts, I have serious doubts about whether their taste buds work at ALL. Nonetheless - I grabbed a cheese and tomato twist, a couple of date scones and some cheesymite scrolls, and waltzed out a happy woman :)
Powerful winds to hit Puget Sound region
SEATTLE - Another destructive storm is barreling down on Western Washington. Forecasters say it may top the destructive force of an early 1990s windstorm that left six people dead.
"This is the strongest storm since the Inauguration Day storm," said University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass.
That storm, on the day of Pres. Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, knocked out power to 700,000 homes and did more than $100 million in damage.
The strongest wind should occur after midnight in most areas as the low moves due north of the Puget Sound area.
Mass is encouraging everyone to prepare for power outages and downed trees.
"If you have a big trees south of your bedroom, it would probably be a good idea to sleep someplace else," he said.
A high wind warning is in effect for Western Washington from 2 p.m. today through 10 a.m. Friday.
KING 5 meteorologist Jeff Renner said expect winds in the Puget Sound area to be between 20 and 40 mph between 10 p.m. and midnight.
Between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., winds will be between 25 mph and 50 mph.
Stronger winds are likely along the coast, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Whidbey Island, Hood Canal and the southwest interior, 30-60 mph with gusts to 80 or 90 mph.
The strongest winds are likely from about 2 to 8 a.m. Friday. These winds should gradually diminish later Friday morning and afternoon.
These winds speeds will most likely cause damage, from fallen trees to power outages.
One or two feet of snow -- three feet at higher elevations -- are forecast in the Cascades. The National Weather Service has a winter storm warning in effect for the Cascade passes until noon tomorrow. Drivers will face difficult conditions.
The National Weather Service has issued and urban and small stream flood advisory for parts of Western Washington. Forecasters say rain was falling at a rate of an inch an hour as the storm front moves through the state.
A flood watch also been issued because of heavy rain. Rivers in King, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties could rise above flood stage.
A high surf warning is in effect until 10 p.m. Friday. Waves as high as a two-story building will batter beaches and produce deadly rip currents and some beach erosion.
If you think it might be fun to head out to the beach to watch the storm, Renner says think again.
"The surf can take a deadhead and fling it amazing distances," said Renner, whose best advice is "Don't go out there."
DOT warns of bridge closures
If the high winds hit as expected, crews will close the SR 520 Evergreen Point Bridge late tonight. High winds also are likely to close the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge to motor vehicle traffic and possibly disrupt ferry schedules.
DOT officials say the goal is to get all of the Seattle Seahawks traffic across the SR 520 bridge by 11 p.m. and then begin the closure. The bridge would remain closed to traffic until the storm passes Friday morning.
"The forecast is pretty clear," said DOT Maintenance and Operations Manager Pat Moylan. "Between midnight and 8 a.m., wind gusts will very likely reach the criteria we use to close the 520 bridge."
DOT officials say they will call Qwest Field before the end of the Seahawks game to let fans know whether the bridges are open. Qwest Field announcers will make the announcement.
The I-90 floating bridge will be monitored for the unlikely possibility of a closure.
Airport preparations
Sea-Tac Airport officials are bracing for the high winds forecast for tonight and early tomorrow. Spokesman Bob Parker said the runways run north/south, which is in line with the prevailing winds. In most storms that hit the area, the winds are right out of the south. The result is that aircraft can continue to land and take off in sustained winds up to about 60 mph. The winds predicted for today are slightly west of south instead of right down the runway, so there might be more of an effect on airport operations.
Parker said steady winds are fine, though bumpy for passengers. But gusts are problematic if they hit at a critical time, particularly right at touchdown. Usually a go-around and second landing attempt resolves the issue. Pilots might also wait for a gust to pass before trying to take off.
The FAA might put more space between aircraft, resulting in a slowed arrival rate and thus some delays. Parker said the domino that falls from that is that some planes from the east coast might not have enough fuel to circle around, and might divert to other airports.
Parker said it’s very rare for the airport to lose power completely, but it’s likely the control tower will switch to the generator sometime this afternoon to avoid even the short power blip that occurs during an unplanned switch-over.
From http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_121406WABthurs_stormSW.b8541f7.html
