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Seattle to NYC road trip: Day 2

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:35:00 -0700

Montana is forever, you guys. We may be trapped within this state’s borders for the rest of our lives. Send help.

We didn’t get as far as we’d wanted to today. My idea was to zip to the eastern side of Yellowstone – specifically, to Cody, Wy. - check into a hotel and drop off our stuff (and the cat), and then head into the park cat-less to explore and hike and take photos of MOOSE and whatnot. And before all of that, I’d wanted us to get up early so Andrew could teach me how to drive a stick shift, so I could do my share of the driving today.

What actually happened was this: We got out of bed around 8 and sort of lazed around the Super 8, finishing up second and third helpings of free coffee and toast, and finally packed the car and the cat and hit the road at the crack of 10…30. No time for stick shift lesson, we decided, I guess. I think we’re both putting it off.

Anyway, we took off with a vague idea of stopping for a late lunch in Bozeman. On the way, we learned that this is a state that apparently likes to scatter my initials across its hillsides?

I just Wikipedia’d that, and I guess they’re hillside letters, which are apparently a thing in the western half of the U.S. They’re also sometimes called mountain monograms. We thought they were maybe meant to identify towns for old-timey air mail carriers who dropped letters and packages from the sky, but I guess that isn’t true. They’re just there as a point of pride for cities, schools, etc., like the “welcome to” signs on state lines. There are thought to be more than 500 across the American West, and Montana has 71. The “M” we saw is likely for Montana Tech, and the “D” is for a town called Drummond. So.

Montana is gorgeous, and I wish we had more time to get out and explore it.

Anyway, the highway (l’autostrada!) just … kept … going … and we got so hungry (it was somehow already 3 p.m.?) we decided to stop at a town west of Bozeman — Manhattan, Mont., just for grins, etc.

We had a little picnic lunch and saw this dude:

Over lunch, we decided it would be such a waste to race through Yellowstone - or to skip it entirely! – so we planned to stop at a town called Gardiner, which is at the park’s northern entrance. We checked in around 7, this time at these little cottages, which, while not the most impressive structures from the outside, was perfectly clean inside, and, anyway, it was really cheap.

Also, BEAR ART:

That’s just, like, painted directly on the wall. Sooo now I know how I’m decorating our new NYC apartmennnnnnt!

After checking in and doing the stuff/cat dropoff, we walked to a pizza place down the road and passed like half a dozen … elk, is I think what they are? Elk that are shedding their winter coats and look a bit sad/scruffy?

Also a deer:

And now it’s 10 p.m. and I should stop blorgging and go to bed so we can get the early start tomorrow that we didn’t get today.

In conclusion, MONTANA.

Seattle to NYC road trip: Day 1

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:19:00 -0700

Writing this from the lovely Super 8 in St. Regis, Mont., a little over 400 miles away from Seattle. Not bad considering we left town barely before noon.

Here’s something meaningless I’m going to read into: We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and every time we left a house, I would turn around in the backseat and stare at our old home out the rear window until it disappeared from view. I’ve done that with every single home I’ve left, even the houses and apartments in my early 20s that I hated. But today, I realized when we were already about six blocks away that I’d forgotten to give our old home that last, final look. I literally did not look back.

But, anyway, I’m looking now:

I loved that place. I started to feel homesick for it weeks before we actually left. Sigh.

After I realized I forgot to say goodbye to the house, I started to get suuuper teary about leaving Seattle. But before I could really lose it, we were already at my younger brother’s new bike shop in Mercer Island. We took this cute photo:

He moved up to Seattle last year, and it’s been so fun to share the city with him. He had a knack for juuuuust happening to be in the neighborhood whenever it juuuuust happened to be dinner time, something I mock-complained about but secretly loved. I always make too much food, anyway. But in a way I’m glad I’m leaving; it’s time he made the city his own.

Back on the road, I sort of took all my nervous ohmygodwearemovingtonyc energy and focused it on my poor pathetic cat. She had a terrible time for the first few hours - some really scary rapid breathing, extra worrisome because of her broken little heart - but when I took her out of her carrier and set her on my lap, she started to calm down after a while.

Somewhere between this photo and the next we popped in one of our Italian language CDs. I can now confidently say such things as:

C’e una macchina. (There is a car.)

C’e un camion. (There is a truck.)

Vedo un edificio. (I see a building.)

Vedo una macchina verde. (I see a green car.)

And so on. Fantastico!

When we reached Spokane, we stopped for a quick dinner with Andrew’s parents. I should have gotten a photo of the four of us, or at least one of Andrew and his parents, but I did not. What I did get was the oatmeal cookies his mom baked for us:

Whenever we see Andrew’s mom she gives us food. I like seeing Andrew’s mom.

Idaho came and went. If you can pass the welcome sign without making a UDAHO!! joke, you and I should probably never take a road trip together:

And then Montana. Here is a terrible photo of the state line sign (segnale!):

There is a casino next door to our motel, and we wandered over there with very humble hopes: a beer and a chat with some locals or the bartender. I am not the sort of person to leave a bar because I don’t like the music? But I have also never been to a bar that played Kid Rock LOUDLY!!!!!!!!!! followed directly by Nickelback LOUDLY!!!!!!!! and it was terrible so we left.

Tomorrow it’s on to Yellowstone! But first - Andrew is teaching me to drive a stick shift. (We’re borrowing a friend’s car - that’s a whole other story.) So that … should be interesting.

I’ve known I was moving to NYC since October, but there...

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:41:49 -0700

I’ve known I was moving to NYC since October, but there was something about finality of watching that moving truck pull away with all of our stuff. There really is no backing out now - I’ve at the very least got to go to New York to get back all my stuff!

The finality of watching the moving truck drive away. Holy cats....

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:59:23 -0700

The finality of watching the moving truck drive away. Holy cats. BRB will be consuming this and many more beers.

The movers are heeeeeere. (I don’t know why the photo...

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:44:27 -0700

The movers are heeeeeere.

(I don’t know why the photo looks all squiggly? I don’t understand tumblr’s iPhone app.)

"Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away. That is, running..."

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:26:00 -0700

“Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away. That is, running away in the heat of anger with a knapsack on her back. She didn’t like discomfort; even picnics were untidy and inconvenient: all those insects and the sun melting the icing on the cupcakes. Therefore, she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to somewhere. To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place. And that’s why she decided upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.”

- Not just running from somewhere, but running to somewhere. These are the first few lines of one of my favorite books from childhood, “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler.” I read it for the first time on the recommendation of my 2nd grade teacher, and in the years after that I read it over and over. I still have a well-worn copy in my bookshelf that I will never give away.

If I’m honest, the first time I read this was the first time I dreamed of running away to New York City. (Although as Claudia would say, You can’t run away and to!)

E.L. Konigsburg died this weekend, and there haven’t been as many obits of her as I expected, but this one was nice.

"By the author of ‘Swamplandia’? Why do we let Constance pick book club books?"

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:16:00 -0700

“By the author of ‘Swamplandia’? Why do we let Constance pick book club books?”

- - OH on the bus, said in a bewildered voice, like “Swamplandia” was some small, unknown title.

Isn’t seattle supposed to be a bookish city? Because that … has not been my experience.

(Also I really wanted to turn around to ask what they were reading. Was it “St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised By Wolves” or “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” and also can I pls join your book club.)

nbcnews: First ever Palestinian marathon: Running to change...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:06:06 -0700

nbcnews:

First ever Palestinian marathon: Running to change West Bank’s image

(Photo: Ammar Awad / Reuters)

BETHLEHEM, Israel — Jesus’ traditional birthplace has long been linked to tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. On Sunday, around 1,000 athletes took a step towards transforming Bethlehem’s modern image by running in the first official Palestinian marathon.

Read the complete story.

Oh this is cool.

Melissa has entered text.: Have decided my spring/summer project will be Learning To Keep Score...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:56:18 -0700

Melissa has entered text.: Have decided my spring/summer project will be Learning To Keep Score...:

tylerpedia:

melissadahl:

Have decided my spring/summer project will be Learning To Keep Score At Baseball Games. This was the start of my first attempt last night while watching the Mariners. (We got to our seats halfway through the 2nd inning, hence the blanks.)

It was exactly the kind of mindless, repetitive…

Yesss

Welcome to the club. I can’t really watch a baseball game live without doing a scorecard. [Get the Grand Salami ones outside the park for $1.]

A pro tip! Thanks, Tyler!

Have decided my spring/summer project will be Learning To Keep Score At Baseball Games. This was the...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:11:00 -0700

Have decided my spring/summer project will be Learning To Keep Score At Baseball Games. This was the start of my first attempt last night while watching the Mariners. (We got to our seats halfway through the 2nd inning, hence the blanks.)

It was exactly the kind of mindless, repetitive activity that my weird brain sometimes finds really soothing. Planning to watch the game from home tonight and try it again, although at my apartment there are unfortunately fewer hot dogs than there are at Safe Co.

About this time six (!!) years ago, I feel like I spent most of my free time constantly refreshing...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:44:00 -0700

About this time six (!!) years ago, I feel like I spent most of my free time constantly refreshing Craigslist, looking for house shares in Seattle, a city I’d never even visited. In one house I found I’d have a bunch of dude roommates, which 22-year-old me could not handle. Another house required me to fill out a survey with questions like, “How strong would you say your current relationship with Jesus is?” and “What do you sing about?” (I wish I was making that up.) And then one day in May, just a couple weeks before my move date of June 1, I hit refresh again and the page reloaded with this at the top: come share a house in greenlake with super fun girls!!!

And so I did. And they were!

Anyway, Jezebel has a post today snarking on a Craigslist ad that actually sounds a lot like the one I answered in 2007.

Brief thoughts about recent reads

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:51:00 -0700

12. “How to Be a Woman,” by Caitlin Moran
Have added Ms. Moran to my list of Imaginary Best Friends.

13. “Tiny Beautiful Things,” by Cheryl Strayed
Actually ole Cheryl should be on that list, too.

14. “Nickel and Dimed,” by Barbara Ehrenreich
If nothing else this book is a reminder to Always Tip Well.

"Well, there'll be more to do than there is in Seattle!"

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:17:00 -0700

I visited NYC in November, and met some friends for happy hour after an afternoon of exploring the Upper East Side. That afternoon I’d had an informal meeting with a broker, who for some reason was really pushing the UES. It’s nice, I told the table that night, but I just worry there won’t be much to do there, to which one of them replied, “Well, there’ll be more to do than there is in Seattle!” Laugh laugh laugh hardeeharhar said the rest of the table.

At the time I was annoyed (because I was only comparing my neighborhood to the UES, not all of Seattle to all of NYC — and, I mean, even if I was, shut up!) and a smidge embarrassed if I’m honest, but when I think about it now that little memory makes me even more determined to not become one of those people — one of those NEW YORK IS EVERYTHING THERE IS NOTHING ELSE AND NOWHERE ELSE people. You know. Those people.

"They amble around the world and stare at things, they sail across the ocean as if there’s nothing to..."

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 09:03:25 -0700

“They amble around the world and stare at things, they sail across the ocean as if there’s nothing to it at all, and if it goes ill with them in one place they simply pick up and move along to another.”

- A line I just came across in Margaret Atwood’s “Alias Grace” and am noting here completely out of context, but whatever. It caught my eye.

Party on, George!

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:33:34 -0700

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

George the 545 Bus Driver’s spirits seem to be back. “Well, here we are folks. Have a fantastic Friday and party on. As you exit the bus, you’re welcome to reply, ‘Party on, George.’”

Actresses without teeth http://actresseswithoutteeth.net/

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:26:25 -0700

Actresses without teeth

http://actresseswithoutteeth.net/

Have a terrific Tuesday, George.

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:44:00 -0700

Every morning for the last several weeks, I’ve caught a 545 with the same bus driver, a youngish guy named George. And every morning when we reach the Microsoft campus, where most of the passengers disembark, he’d say, “Well, folks, have a marvelous Monday/terrific Tuesday/wonderful Wednesday/etc. As you get off the bus, you’re welcome to reply, ‘Have a marvelous Monday, George.’”

It felt a smidge out of my comfort zone to reply, but I always did, I guess because it was such a nice, optimistic, friendly way to start the morning. I don’t think many others replied, though.

Anyway, yesterday, he said the first part - “have a marvelous Monday” - but didn’t invite us to reply. Today, he didn’t say anything at all, and something about that made me so sad.

BELLIGERENT!

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:57:02 -0700

Ahem. *pushes up glasses*

I’ve recently noticed that people seem to believe the word “belligerent” is a synonym for “very very drunk.” It seems to be spreading, and it’s time someone put a stop to it.

Because actually, “belligerent” is an adjective that means the following:

1

: waging war; specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war

2

: inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness

I think the problem is that people have heard the phrase “belligerent drunk,” which is of course another way of saying “angry drunk.” But I keep hearing people use the word to describe a state of being very, very wasted, which is not at all what the word means. You can be a belligerent drunk (I mean, if you want), but “belligerent” is not another word for “drunk”!

Alas, arguing over the proper use of words is a losing war. Literally.

I wrote a thing today on “black henna” tattoos, which aren’t really henna, or at...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:39:58 -0700

I wrote a thing today on “black henna” tattoos, which aren’t really henna, or at least, not entirely. It’s most often henna mixed with an ingredient used in hair dye, and the FDA is advising consumers today that in some people it causes some crazy skin reactions: the skin reddens or blisters where the tattoo was applied, and in some cases, it can even cause permanent scars. (Is “permanent scars” redundant? It’s probably redundant.)

Anyway, we published this a few hours ago and it’s sort of going crazy - not sure of the PVs, but it has 56 comments, which is much more than I thought a quick little post like this would attract. I wanted to figure out why, so I read through each of the comments, and it would seem it’s simply this: people just love to hate on people with tattoos. Here are a few of them (typos, questionable grammar and all):

Nothing attractive about covering up pretty flesh with ink anyways…..it’s actually quite childish

From five feet away, EVERY tatto looks like dirt.

ALL TATS are just nasty looking and to mark ones body up, is just wrong. Why in the world would you do that even if you were pressured by someone? Your body is to be a clean temple unto GOD.

That’s nasty. Just say NO to tatts!!

tattoos are like saying, UNEMPLOYABLE”

I guess that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does, but I don’t think I realized that tattoos are so tied up with morality/unemployability for some people, even still. I wonder why that is? Tattoos seem so mainstream to me now. That attitude must be fading, right?

10. “Your Voice in My Head,” by Emma ForrestLovely lovely book that I ruined for myself...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:34:00 -0700

10. “Your Voice in My Head,” by Emma Forrest
Lovely lovely book that I ruined for myself by googling “Who is G.H. in Emma Forrest’s ‘Your Voice in My Head’” halfway through. Discovered it is likely Colin Farrell and could not focus on anything else the rest of the way through. I am Part of the Problem. (But will likely reread this one someday soon.)

11. “Dark Places,” by Gillian Flynn
Umm so apparently Flynn turned DOWN the crazy for “Gone Girl”? Because this story was WAY darker, not to mention violent - I had to speed-read through several sickening, bloody passages. Actually, who am I kidding, I sped-read this entire thing, because apparently this is what you do with a Gillian Flynn novel - ignore everyone and everything in your life until you reach the end, the twisted, terrible end. (Also, apparently Charlize Theron is in talks to star in the movie version of this. I’m in.)