Northwest Seth: holiday

Last weekend the local family of friends here suited up in our finest colorful track gear, set the alarms and headed to downtown Seattle for the annual Jingle Bell Run. It's a 5K and well, they call it a "run," and sure, some folks run but we proudly brought up the rear with the stroller set. I swear though, we must have beat at least half of those strollers.

Photos:

Pre-race warm-up. Look at all dem Santa hats!

We met some people involved in a GAP photo shoot. In case you hadn't guessed, they're actors. Professional actors, though we didn't pay them anything. They just hung around.

The magic Beth elf enjoying the downtown scenery.

The magic Beth elf enjoying some pre-race cocoa with Matt (with surprisingly delicious hemp milk!) If you look closely you can see the dashing photographer along with one of those actors reflected in Anthony's gigantic lens.

About to enter the I-5 express lane tunnel. Notice the DO NOT ENTER sign. It wasn't that scary in there (as Kubie would say, just a little bit scary). In fact, one older gentleman (remember we were in the walking group) walked while playing carols on a trumpet and folks sang along with a sweet reverb effect. I'm a sucker for them carols.

Bonus photo!
Beth had to purchase special no-slip shoes for her job at Whole Foods. She went for the bright red Crocs, because, well they were bright red. The toes needed a little something so I took a bit of yellow paint and, voila! You like, da?

Halloween came and went. Carved some pumpkins, put on some costumes, hit the town, harrassed other costumed partygoers. The Halloween season always seems to be over before it even begins. Davis weather in October is much better suited to outdoor pumpkin carving and we missed our yearly courtyard ritual but we still tackled the task. In Seattle the thrift stores take Halloween and run. They not only pull out all of the funky vintage and/or odd second hand items, but they also stock all the cheap plastic crap and makeup and accessories necessary for a good capitalist holiday. Two Saturdays before Halloween one local Goodwill gave out cookies and cider and had games for the kids and drawings for the adults. Way to go, thrift stores.

The nighttime comes pretty early now without daylight savings. By the time I leave work at 4:30 the sky has begun its quick and steady slide into grey darkness. I arrive home around 5 to nearly complete nighttime. I don't mind, but I notice. With the early darkness and the grey days and blowing wind and rain, it's easy to slip into melancholy now and then but it's usually just as easy to slip back out.

Today makes 41 days without a cigarette. Constantly, dutifully, I chew the little white nicotine gum squares. I've got the jaw strength of a pit bull. Still I find it difficult to focus at times and I wonder if it's some sort of withdrawl-distraction issue or if I'm just slipping into adult-onset ADD.

Speaking of attention, I almost got myself hit by an SUV on my walk home the other day. The SUV was slowing to the stop sign while I passed in front when suddenly lightning lit up the twilight just above and both the SUV pilot and I were momentarily distracted. When my eyes came back down from the clouds I saw the SUV had rolled past the stop sign and was still moving steadily at my midsection. I reactively swung my canvas bag into the grill and the beast stopped. I suppose you don't require any sort of attention deficit disorder to be distracted by lightning. This morning on NPR a report about safe pedestrian cities cited Seattle as one of the safest in the US. Apparently Florida gets a lot more lighting than Seattle.

Halloween photos below: