This morning while I was waiting in between projects, I started researching music that I’ve missed out on the last few months while Jules and I have been trying to get our life settled. Here’s a little gem I uncovered on Amazon when browsing “Indie Music” (some of the titles in this category are rather suspect, i.e. Reba McEntire?!)

More than a passing similarity between the Wilco and LCD Soundsystem cover art. And what are the chances of them being directly next to each other? Reminds me of the Tom Cruise copy/paste job I uncovered.

One evening during rush hour a bunch of war protestors gathered around the park area near Westlake Center to sing songs and hold signs up. (The above photo was taken just as the gathering began, before I knew what was actually going on.) I had no problem with that, as their intent was harmless, but what I didn’t agree with was blocking the entire length of the Westlake side of 4th Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets during rush hour with signs and banners saying “BRING OUR TROOPS HOME” when this strip services TWENTY bus routes for exhausted workers who also want to go home. I could not see the buses coming and going, nor did they have any place to drop off or pick up passengers because there were idiots blocking the sidewalk! On a normal day there are usually 100-150 people waiting here for a ride home so when these guys showed up it became one big clusterfuck. The ongoing construction is bad enough; these guys didn’t need to make it worse. Do they really think ruining an already awful commute for thousands of people is going to make a difference in bringing the troops home?

Tony just recently bought a second-hand sailboat after taking some maritime classes at the University, and he was kind enough to take a bunch of us out on Lake Union one evening. We brought along drinks and snacks and hamburger patties (which the guys cooked over an open flame on a grill hanging off the back of the boat; I am uncertain of the legality of that…) We spent a couple hours just drifting along lazily, chatting, and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The Seattle skyline looks gorgeous in the twilight! Tony is still learning how to properly maneuver his boat and dealing with the seriously underpowered motor attached to it, so we had a near-collision with a houseboat near Eastlake, but Robbyn saved us by jumping on the dock and giving the boat a shove of encouragement. It was a spectacular evening, especially because I had had a particularly crappy day at work.

We took Ross with us to this year’s KEXP Summer BBQ, which turned out to be loads of fun. Ballard Brothers Burgers provided the yummy food, and there was waaay too much Redhook beer to go around. There were performances by The Blakes, Pela, Cave Singers, Blue Scholars (pictured above), and Cloud Cult. As the evening wore on and more beer went around my recollection of the night became hazy, but I remember seeing Seattleites dancing *and* tossing their hands in the air! o.o Whoa!

My Brightest Diamond

Jules and I went all three days this year. Saturday and Sunday were pretty dull, but Monday made up for it all. KEXP had a “private” stage where the performers played for the room while they broadcasted live, and this stood out beyond all else. We managed to see Stars of Track and Field, Viva Voce, The Shins, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Crowded House, Mocean Worker, Joan as Policewoman, My Brightest Diamond, Andrew Bird, The Fleet Foxes, and Tokyo Police Club.

Brief thoughts follow:

Stars of Track and Field were freaking awesome, as always. I absolutely love their sound and it is wonderful to see a group of guys get so into their music they end up dripping with sweat. Jules can’t get into them, but I don’t really understand why.

Joan as Police Woman: slightly creepy in an obsessive way, but this is also what makes her charming and cute. I had heard a bit of her music earlier on but got really hooked on her sound after seeing her live. It always helps to put a personality with the music.

Mocean Worker was the biggest surprise of all. He had the appearance of a beer-guzzling frat boy, complete with sports jersey and baseball cap, jeans and scruffy facial hair; he looked like the sort of guy who would end the evening pantsless on the roof, but he really got the place moving. He had a full band behind him, playing all manner of instruments as they pumped out this lively, dance-inspiring jazz funk. A crowd of excited dancers filled the space in front of the stage while they played. I spent most of the performance trying to reconcile the rift in my mind between the guy’s appearance and his talent.

My Brightest Diamond was a spectacular performance, as expected. Shara Worden is so incredibly cute and sweet up there on stage but manages to rock out with wild intensity. Having seen her twice before, I would rate this performance very high on the list, especially considering the previous time she passed through she had sprained her knee and sat on a stool the entire time. She is so amazingly gifted.

The Shins were pretty good, but they played the mainstage so they had to adapt to the ridiculously huge outdoor setting and the music suffered as a result. They were much, much better at the Paramount, a dark and enclosed environment. Why do they always slow down “New Slang” live? I prefer its original pace.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was boring. Who decided to have them play outside in the bright sun before noon?! Poor choice of venue.

The Fleet Foxes continue to show an incredible display of potential. Their music shows a maturity beyond their years, and it is clear they are going somewhere. This was my third time seeing them as well, and it’s fantastic to see them growing more confident on stage. When will someone give them a record deal, for god’s sake?!

Andrew Bird is a master of looping. He was able to work that machine to sound as if he had a full band behind him when it was just himself and a guitar and violin. We were lucky enough to see him play both on a larger stage and on the KEXP stage, and were impressed both times. He is so talented and adept at multitasking, and clearly knows his own music so well he can improvise on the spot. Who else can have 5 loops going simultaneously, cutting in and out, and whistle, sing, and play multiple instruments over the top? Mans!

Tokyo Police Club were not as loud as I expected. The lead guitarist broke his guitar during the first song of the KEXP broadcast and with grace the lead singer took over and played a tune without him, then gave an impromptu interview while the stagehand mended the guitar with duct tape. Classy!

Biggest festival complaint: DO NOT put food vendors along the strip towards the exit. It makes it impossible to move anywhere in any direction and results in a cloud of angry people wanting to leave and angry people wanting to eat. Bad, bad, BAD combination.

Ross came to visit us for three weeks in August. It was really fantastic being able to see him again, and we were lucky to have plenty of quality time together. I used up all my paid time off from work during that time, and it was worth it. He wasn’t too interested in doing “touristy” things but that’s okay, he just has to deal with the inevitable barrage of questions such as “Why didn’t you go up the Space Needle?” :D We ate so much food, drank so much beer, and played so many video games. It felt like old times again. We convinced him that America is not as horrible as it seems from outside and that the wonderful people he knows from America are not just an anomoly. I really hope he decides to come back to visit one day!

On August 12, we invited a bunch of our West Coast friends over to our place for a geek party to celebrate our marriage, since a good number of them were unable to make it out to Wisconsin for our wedding in June. Ross came all the way from Perth and Jon flew up from San Francisco for the weekend, in spite of having flown out to Wisconsin for the original reception! We somehow managed to fit 18 people into a one-bedroom place with surprising efficiency–it didn’t feel cramped or uncomfortable. Happily our guests all got along with each other very well and many rounds of Wii Sports and Guitar Hero were played, but the star of the show was Super Mario World on the Wii’s Virtual Console. We all reminisced about our early gaming days as we drank quality Northwestern beer and ate tons of meat and snacks. Jules burnt some of his hair off in a barbecue mishap and Jon had to visit the hospital due to anxiety issues, but otherwise all was well!

Jules and I decided that we needed to start looking for a new apartment because we were informed that our apartment near the Locks was going to succumb to the fate of so many others across the city: condo conversion. In the case of ours, though, because of its age and condition it was going to be torn down and the land repurposed with what I assume will be higher-density housing. In any case, it would no longer be available to us. We loved living there; the neighborhood was ideal, the apartment and neighbors fantastic, and of course we had a great rental rate there. All good things do not last though, and I felt the pressure rising to find a suitable replacement.

I spent many weeks doing research online and scouring Craigslist for apartment listings in the surrounding area but came up with nothing. Frustrated, I gave up on the idea of living in Ballard and started to contemplate what it would be like to live downtown. I knew it would be more expensive and crowded and noisy, but the convenience of being closer to work and music clubs was quite appealing. I checked the ratings for various complexes and was surprised to discover the apartments above the Uwajimaya grocery store were supposed to be some of the nicest places to live in Seattle. Offhandedly I suggested the idea to Jules, who jumped on it right away. We both love the International District and spend a lot of time (and money) down there. Plus it is only a few blocks from my workplace, which gives me the luxury of being able to walk to and from work (no commute!)

Jules arranged for us to take a look at an open apartment with the caveat that we were just getting a feel for the place and planned to move in December when our current lease ran out, but when we saw it we both fell in love with it. A 1100+ square foot, 2-bedroom, 1.5 bathroom townhouse just south of downtown with a grocery store below, covered secure parking, a 30-ish square foot private deck, and a giant, peaceful courtyard in the middle with a bubbling fountain. Both of us were just blown away by all of the things it had to offer! The staff also seemed really friendly and helpful, which was a huge plus.

On the bus ride home he and I engaged in a frantic conversation about how much we wanted that apartment and how it would be unlikely that we’d ever find anything that nice and in that perfect of a location. With his arrival in America and all of our wedding-related expenses compounded by the fact that he is not yet allowed to work, we basically had no money left. It seemed unlikely that we could make anything happen in that regard so I started to let the thought of that apartment being ours slip away. After all, it was almost twice what we were expecting to pay for a place and over three times what we were currently paying, and our lease was still 5 months from expiry! We both discussed it with our parents, and they were just as excited as we were to get that place so with their financial help and a lot of calling around and a bit of extra deposit, it was ours!

It seems like serendipity that we ended up with it as the day we signed the lease another woman showed up to the office hoping to do the same. If we had arrived fifteen minutes later it would have gone to her instead. I felt a bit sad when I heard her groans of disappointment from across the room, as she obviously had really been hoping to live there. Did we deserve it more than she did? Probably not, but fate had put us there only minutes before her.

Over the past two weeks Jules has been moving things over slowly, carload by carload, while I’ve been at work. One evening Christian helped Jules move the furniture and television over and was kind enough to drive the UHaul for us (Thankyouthankyou!) Everything seemed to survive relatively unscathed, which is pretty amazing. The worst bit was when we moved the cats over, as they both yowled and cried the whole time, each in their own carrier (Roscoe in the back seat and Emily on my lap.) Emily frothed at the mouth and managed to expel waste from every orifice during the trip (poor thing!) so for 80% of the time she was unsuccessfully trying to avoid piles of stink as the car jostled her about. When we finally let her out of the carrier she became even more affectionate than she ever has before. After a couple nights locked in a room with Roscoe, she was keen to explore the new apartment, but Roscoe took awhile to get the courage to look around. They’re both okay now, and seem to like the new place so much more!

We’ve been there a bit over a week now and it doesn’t quite feel like home yet, but it’s getting closer. I haven’t had a lot of time to spend organizing the place yet but I’m sure once I do I will feel much better. It already has been fantastic gaining 2 hours a day by cutting out the commute. I hope to start crocheting, reading, and doing other creative things again soon!

One of the last things we did with Bill and Robbyn before they went back to California was visit Seattle’s Japanese gardens. They were beautiful and peaceful, and it was nice to take some time to relax together. There was a flute band playing in the background as we sat under a gazebo looking out over the pond. From what I recall, Portland’s Japanese gardens were larger and nicer, but this one was still beautiful. It’s really fantastic to have a piece of nature in the middle of a large city, even if it means you can hear the cars driving by on the other side of the fence.

Blahg on hiatus until further notice. Once we are properly moved into our new apartment, I will tackle the following events that occurred throughout August/early September:

• Seattle’s Japanese Gardens
• Ross’s visit to the US
• Wedding reception for West Coasters
• Young Frankenstein: The Musical
• KEXP Summer BBQ
• Stardust
• Tony’s boat
• PAX
• Uwajimaya Village Apartments
• Bumbershoot
• Camping; Lake Quinault/Ruby Beach/Sol Duc Hot Springs
• Upcoming green card interview