Are you employed, sir?

I should also mention that I have actively started to search for a job. I got an interview with the City of Redmond, a suburb of Seattle about the size of Davis. The position looked great, with good pay and benefits and room to grow. I got my portfolio looking all slick, I rehearsed my presentation with Beth (thanks Beth) and dressed up all nice. I went to that interview and really felt like I knocked it out of the park. I felt great about the prospect right up until Friday afternoon when I got the message that I didn't get the job. Yeah, I kept telling myself this was all just practice, getting my interview skills honed. Still, I was pretty disappointed. I realized that I had never actually had a job interview and then not been offered the job. So a little reality is good, motivated me. I'm now actively searching and looking at more possibilities.

It's a cop, dummy!

Beth and I took yet another fantastic trip last weekend. We drove about 2 1/5 hours southwest from Seattle to the coast just north of Oregon, to a little town called Westport. The inspiration for this trip came right out of the pages of Via, the AAA magazine. Kind of like picking an adventure out of National Geographic, but a little less exotic and a little more trashy. I suppose we've become accustomed to the countless quaint little expensive artist retreat towns all up and down the Northern California Coast. These towns - Westport, Grayland - are perched on stunning pieces of land, but the towns are fairly run-down. The constant rain can't help much (the marquee on the roof of the local hardware store advertised something called Rid Moss) and they're a relatively long way away from metropolitan areas and so aren't very touristy.
We rented a motel room from this incredibly friendly Norwegian couple. Photos of them on their site. The rooms were modest but very clean and you could tell they put a lot of effort (if not money) into making the spaces homey. I was impressed by the live succulent in the room. During our initial survey of available rentals in the area we came across a cabin curiously named The Beastmaster's Den. You must follow the link to see the details as my wording would not do it justice. Go ahead, look now and make sure to look at the photos. Yeah, right? Notice there is only one window in the whole cabin and it is blinded by wooden slats.
So yes, we stayed at the Pacific Inn with our hosts Egil & Gunvor. After lunch of one of the tastiest fish sandwiches I've had yet (I admit I've had a lot lately) we drove around the small town a bit. Along the main drag I checked my speed when I saw a cop parked in a lot facing the highway. As we passed slowly, Beth remarked that it looked as if he were taking a nap in his car. We swung it back around and discovered:


There, there, sleep, gentle cop. I'm going to come a bit closer.


Whoa. That's not a real cop. I didn't realize until looking at the photo later that he seems to have lipstick smeared on his lips, ear and neck (you can click the photo for a larger version). Apparently there's not a lot going on in Westport.

We went to the beach and scoured the sand for marked sand dollars, part of a local celebration of driftwood and flotsam and jetsam.

Beth, happily searching the beach for marked sand dollars


Me, enjoying the sunshine


Looking down the beach. The Washington beaches feel much more stark and isolated than those in California. Despite the cold and wind, they seem more tranquil up here.


Blowing sand


From a lookout tower in Westport. There were surfers down there along the jetty - all decked out in full-length hooded wetsuits. We were surprised to learn that Westport is home to two surf shops. On the horizon you can see the snowy peaks of the Olympics.


Again from the tower, looking back on the marina.

According to the Westport tourism magazine, Westport is one of the best charter fishing spots in the WORLD - they said it. The area is also called the Cranberry Coast. Just south of Grayland were countless farms of cranberry bogs, wide flat expanses of scarlet. This is also where they grow the prized cran-apple.

Look at me, I'm 33

Beth and I celebrated my birthday earlier this week. Yep, 33 years old. We went downtown and had lunch, where I was treated to an amazing cornmeal encrusted catfish sandwich. Then we headed to the Experience Music Project. It's a sort of rock & roll museum and it's all very well thought out and very interactive. Of course, different music to listen to at stations all along the way, of course a section devoted to the Seattle grunge scene and of course an incredible section devoted to Jimi Hendrix (including a piece of that guitar he famously burned at the Monterey Pop Festival - oooh). Right now the EMP is also hosted an exhibition of letterpress work by Hatch Show Print, a printer out of Nashville. It was amazing to see the hand-carved wooden blocks used in printing all sorts of materials, from trailer advertisements to Grand Ol' Opry flyers to modern band posters. So neat to see the artistic skill and creativity involved in each piece. According to their video, they keep every block and so have hundreds - thousands of blocks dating back decades. It's an incredibly interesting way to view history and popular culture. (Thanks to Beth for indulging the font nerd in me on my birthday)
We topped off the day with a trip to REI to grab a new backpacking stove for the quickly approaching summer. Ooooh, new gear. Great birthday, great to spend it with Beth.
(We realized at some point that we forgot the camera, so instead of birthday photos I'll include a photo of another recent outing to the Seattle aquarium.)

Sun and Snow

I sometimes worry I'm boring myself by thinking about the weather so often, I'm then reminded that weather was one of the major reasons we moved to Seattle. I am still amazed by the changing weather. Yesterday was stunningly beautiful. Clear and crisp with broad mountain ranges visible to the east and the west. Today it's snowing. The variety in the weather makes the days more interesting. Every day comes on fresh and new with anticipation. There is always some uncertainty of sun or storm.

I finally submitted my first resumé last week and am sending off another on Monday. I know I will likely have to send out many resumés before landing the right position, but I feel like the process has begun and I'm finding satisfaction in actively working toward a goal after the long break. Not that I have been wholly unproductive. If one could pick out a routine from my daily habits, it would surely include a good deal of time spent reading design books and learning more about Flash and web development.

Today's snow was fleeting (it's sunny out now - wait, now kind of foggy) but a week or so ago we awoke to a fresh blanket of about three inches. I still find the composition of city and snow a novelty. I still have an innate sense that it only snows in the mountains. That morning I set out early to take some photos of my new found fascination. See them below (click on photos to view larger versions).


This image feels incredibly still.


The bike is reminiscent of Davis, but not so much the snow.










Interstate 5 with downtown off in the distance to the south. Notice the morning commute headed into downtown. We're learning when and where not to drive in order to avoid crazy city traffic. Though the traffic can be frustrating, all of our essential needs are within walking distance so driving trips are never urgent.






Almost back home, I came across these shoes on a line, their foot beds full of snow. Of all the scenes I discovered that morning, I think that this one best illustrates snow in the city.