Seattle on Google Maps Street View

I can be distracted by Google Maps street view for hours. I like "driving" past my parents house, or along scenic roads. It's virtual sightseeing that's just voyeuristic enough to be addictive. And now (finally) Seattle has Google Maps street view! Yes, now you can see your apartment right on your computer! You can be slightly creeped out to see your car parked out front. You can also get better directions. I like being able to see what the building I'm trying to find looks like. Less U-turns. Check it out. Just go to Google Maps and type in a Seattle address. Then click street view and get ready to start spying... I mean exploring.

KEXP Celebrates Change

kexp can be a bit much for me in the morning. Sometimes it's like some kind of techno rave going on at 6:15a...and I need more coffee before I rave.

But this morning they have it just right. Check out the playlist so far:

Today - Smashing Pumpkins
Changes - Sugar
Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
Beautiful Day - U2
Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
Happy - The Wrens
End of an Era - Dogs
Perfect - The The
I'm Free - The Soup Dragons
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder

So if you feel like celebrating this morning go to kexp.org and listen live. (You don't have to be in Seattle to enjoy...)

Election Day Freebies In Seattle - Free Stuff Just For Voting!

Go out and vote and then celebrate with some sweet election day freebies.

Starbucks:
They are giving away free tall drip coffees. Now you can stay awake ALL election night.

Cupcake Royale:
All three locations are giving away "babycakes". Also if you buy 12 cupcakes you get a free sticker that says "I'm pro-cupcake and I voted". So pick up some sweet treats for your election night. They are even making homemade toppers with Obama and McCain heads.

Babeland:
Yeah sorta surprising. But they are giving away "Silver Bullets" and "Mavericks". Check out the site if you need to know what those are. Hehe.

Ben & Jerrys:
The boys from Vermont are giving away free scoops. In Seattle you can get your ice cream fix from 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. tonight.

Krispy Kreme:
Yum. Red, White and Blue sprinkle donuts are free!

Democracy never tasted so sweet. If you know of anymore - let me know!

To The Polls!

This is my first time voting in Washington State! I'm excited (and nervous) about the election's outcome. In my office you can definitely feel the tension. People are ready for the votes to be tallied.

While reading up on candidates and initiatives I need to be more familiar with I decided O and I should have some kind of election night 'party'. At least a dinner. So I found the perfect main course: Obama's chili recipe. At first I was thinking Chicago deep-dish, but this seems better. Maybe I'll even mix up some blue cocktails.

So what are you doing for election night?

Time To Put The Headphones On!

I've been running again lately. Running had been a big part of my life routine since the 6th grade. It wasn't always a great part of my life. Running in college took away a lot of the childlike fun of it away from me. I finally took a break from it the past two years. It's taken awhile for running to be mine again. For it to be a place of strength and calm and not frustration and anger.

Even now that I'm "running again", it doesn't mean I love it everyday. I think it's a misunderstanding that "runners" alway love getting out there. I might have one great run every week, where I love every step. The other days are just training so I can run farther on that day I love. Seattle has some of the most beautiful running loops so I'd be lying if I denied enjoying it just a little everyday. At least by the end. I always see something I would have missed if I hadn't pushed myself out the door. It's such a big part of what I love about where I'm living that I think it needs a special place on One Rainy Day. Introducing "Things I Saw When I Was Running Today". I'll come up with something better.


Yesterday I went on one of my favorite loops. I can see the water almost the entire run, and even get to finish up on some trails in Schmidt Park. In the first neighborhood I run through there is a street on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the bay and it's crawling with stray cats. Every sunny day I run there I'm bound to see some collarless cat lounging in strip of grass between the road and sidewalk. Yesterday when I passed through a cat jumped out from behind a telephone poll. As if she'd been waiting for me. She ran beside me like a puppy. Of course I had to stop. After petting her I started to run again, sure enough she started to run next to me. I named her Sylvia in my head. And wondered if that made me some kind of suburban grizzly man (cat lady, I guess). The cats on this cliff are like wild animals. I can picture them making their escapes from the homes they came from. Dreaming of the cliff where cats run free. So if your cat has gone missing, you might want to check out Sunset Avenue in West Seattle. If you don't find yours I'm sure you'll find one you'll like to adopt.

After leaving Sylvia I ran down to the Alki trail. The crowds are thinning now that the days are cooler. In the evenings I usually see little seals swimming along the shore looking for dinner. Their sleek backs catching the sunlight as they dive down. It's wonderful how the same place can be so different every day. The same running loop is completely new each time I run it. Which, along with my ipod, is really the only motivation I need to get out there... even when I really don't want to.