Julian and I got new Seattle cell phone numbers last week. If I haven’t sent them to you already, please shoot me an email and I’ll hook you up. My Wisconsin number will be active until the end of day today, after which it will be sucked into the ether.

Jules has finally arrived safely in Seattle, although 9 hours late. He was supposed to come in at about 2:40 yesterday afternoon but it was closer to 11:40 PM when he actually got off the plane. His flight from Los Angeles was delayed 3 times before being cancelled after which they booked him on a different flight. He got a free meal voucher and a free round-trip ticket for his trouble, which is decent, but it means he has to fly that airline again. And that airline is Alaska, which I have never seen *anyone* have a good experience with. They are notorious for being late, delayed, or cancelled, and I’ve had my share of annoyances dealing with other people being hours upon hours late. *sigh*

Anyhow, he’s here for good now and that’s what matters. It’s a bit of a strange feeling now, knowing he’s not going to just be a guest, but he’ll be living here with me. I think it’ll take some adjustment for both of us.

Jules got his visa today, so he’ll be leaving tomorrow and will arrive here on Sunday afternoon!

In other news I found this ginger beer at the Ballard Market.

I ran into this glitch tonight when playing Puzzle Quest, one of several I’ve encountered thus far. Hitting “Start” will enter the Pause menu, and once I’ve chosen “Continue” the glitch goes away and the screen returns to normal:

It’s slightly annoying I suppose but the entertainment value is worth it. :D

(Sorry about the picture quality…DS screens are very difficult to photograph)

I just got home from Christian and Miyuki’s housewarming party. We spent most of the night drinking and playing Apples to Apples, which I’d never played before. That was a blast. Christian also had Karaoke Revolution which I had absolutely no interest in playing. Christian, Tony, Brendan, Bill, and Robbyn all had a turn and did well. I still had no interest in playing. Finally, after everyone besides Xian and Miyuki were left I tried the game and did surprisingly well despite being tone-deaf. Miyuki got perfect scores on 4 songs (geez!) and I managed to pull it off with “If You Could Only See” which I’d sang along to many times in college. I still have no desire to do this in front of strangers though, dang.

Only in Seattle do you hear Zero 7 music blasting from the stereo of a car parked at a 7-11 at 1AM.

Lately I’ve been dealing with several obsessions that are stealing precious hours away from each day, and it hasn’t been easy. I have a lot of stuff to take care of before I begin work at the end of this month but I have been doing a lot of slacking off in the form of drinking a lot, playing too many video games, and sleeping in too late.

I managed to finish Castlevania: Symphony of the Night yesterday with 196% completion (dang, I really wanted 200.6%) but I still have a save that I can go back on should I feel the need. That game was really, really difficult for me for the first 5 hours or so, but once I got to a turning point it actually became fun when I could make progress.

Last Saturday I got Puzzle Quest, which has basically become a rare item around here. This is quite simply the single most addictive game I’ve ever played, and that is topping the ranks of Diablo II, World of Warcraft, and Katamari Damacy. You know I mean serious business when I make a claim like that! This game consists of RPG elements set against Bejeweled. You get spells and abilities and you battle monsters by challenging them to a game of Bejeweled. I’m not kidding. It sounds *really* stupid, but when you combine level-gaining with gem-matching, it creates the most potent addictive substance on earth. In the last 4 days I’ve drained my DS’s batteries three times playing that game, and I’ve essentially ruined my neck, right shoulder, right arm, and right wrist. And that only makes me want to play more! It is SO fun.

To do my body a favor I elected not to play ANY video games yesterday and instead spent 10 hours working on a website. I got quite a bit accomplished so it was pretty fulfilling. I listened to a lot of Mew, a Danish band I just recently discovered. Their new album And the Glass Handed Kites is so incredibly good. My favorite track off it is called “The Zookeeper’s Boy.”

Speaking of mew, I’ve been having a lot of fun with the kitties although at times they can be really annoying. It’s not exactly pleasant when I’m working on the computer and Emily walks by with her butt in my face, over and over.

Other than that, I have been collecting up addresses of people to whom I will send wedding invitations. Most everyone was really quick in responding to my request, which is really helpful. I’m really happy that so many people feel honored to be invited!

Jules update: He had his fingerprints taken for his police certificate and has sent them off to be processed in Canberra. When they send it back he’ll have to send it (along with his passport) to the US consulate in Sydney, where they will grant the visa and send it back to him. As things stand it seems he may end up here sometime around the end of the month, just about when I’ll be starting work. Kind of unfortunate that it’s happening that way but we will take whatever we can get at this point.

Here’s what my wedding dress looks like on me. Don’t worry, I’m not superstitious or anything about letting people see it before the day. I’m stuck on what to do for footwear with it. I’ve bought two pairs of very cheap flip flops in different styles as well as a white pair of Converse All-Stars (Chuck Taylors) but nothing really fits with it. The main thing is I want something that’s comfortable and fun.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.