Jeffrey Pratt

Blogging is hard

2009-11-02T22:11:23Z

I've been reading "The Reagan Diaries" and thinking about how Reagan's daily diary entry was essentially a low-tech (and until recently, private) blog post.

My frequency of posts per month/year/whatever has declined to the point where I'm somewhat worried about Livejournal deleting all of this. I need to find a way to back up my blog so that I can refer to all of this once Livejournal is long gone (RSS hacking begins in 5...4...3...).

I blame two things for the slow death of this blog, both of which are entirely positive developments:

Facebook. Facebook is the living embodiment of Metcalfe's Law. I've reconnected with childhood friends, learned more about my wife's (large) family than I ever could have at a once-a-year Christmas party, kept up with my own once-distant relatives, and much more. Facebook is how I stay in touch when I am traveling. With the blog, everything I say is immediately public. With Facebook, only the people I care about get to see it. I prefer making a jackass of myself among friends and family, so I prefer Facebook.
Marriage. Marriage changed my priorities in life on so many levels. I much prefer spending time with my wife to surfing around on the internet (oh, and my wife is also--wait for it--on Facebook). I think one of the things that prompted me to start blogging in the first place was that I wanted to leave a legacy of some kind. As a single man, I was scared of "what happens after". Those fears are gone now. It is a very nice feeling.

Oh, and "The Reagan Diaries" is fascinating, even if you (like me) are not so much a fan of his politics. Reagan was one of only three U.S. presidents to keep a diary, but the only modern president and the only one to diligently make an entry virtually every day of his presidency. It is a weird trip down memory/history lane, and if anything, I think it makes Reagan sound eerily detached from most presidential business. He got very fired up about communism and the Soviet Union in particular, and he also was very cute whenever Nancy traveled--he complained about being lonely, or the White House feeling empty, etc. He also seemed to watch 1-2 movies per week, and usually commented about the movie.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

2009-06-02T03:52:50Z

We got a barbeque and we've been trying our hands at cooking all sorts of various things. I want to start chronicling the stuff that worked and the stuff that failed.

WINNERS:

1. Turkey burgers. Ground turkey, chopped red/green/yellow/orange peppers, onion, maybe a little garlic and blue cheese. Form it into patties and slap 'em on the grill, about six minutes per side. Cooking spray helps keep them from sticking, and the vegetable/blue cheese keeps the patties from drying out.

2. Grilled peaches. Cut peaches in half and remove the pits. Grill them cut side down for five minutes or so (we had small peaches). This would be yummy served with vanilla ice cream and a nice riesling.

3. Corn on the cob. No prep work required, other than soaking the corn in water for 10 minutes or so. Put them on the grill in the husks and turn frequently for about 20 minutes.

STILL WORKING ON IT:

1. Halibut. We made a mustard glaze but we overcooked the fish, leaving it very dry. If we do this again, we'll only cook the fish for 4-5 minutes per side and save the glaze for the very end.

2. Pork chops. I made the mistake of trimming too much fat from the chops, so they turned out extremely dry. The glaze was a winner, though--brown sugar, soy sauce, dijon/sweet mustard, a dash of salt and pepper...and bourbon. Yummy.

3. Beef tenderloin. I wrapped them in bacon, since there wasn't much fat on them. But I didn't grill them long enough (the cuts were 2" thick) and they turned out kinda disgustingly rare. Next time, I'll check the insides on the grill before serving to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Fun with home improvement

2009-02-01T23:34:02Z

We had an electrical outlet here at the condo that had worn out. It was driving me nuts--the lower outlet wouldn't provide constant power, so anything plugged into it would flicker, and the top outlet wouldn't hold a plug. So I thought, "Okay, replace it." Easy, right? Just buy a new one and plug the wires into the new one, same as the old one. Right?

No.

I expected to see two black wires, two white wires and a ground wire. Instead, I found THREE black wires, THREE white wires and a ground wire. All of them were plugged into the back of the outlet.

It took a fair amount of web searching etc. to determine that the outlet was being used as a bridge. I'd never seen this done before. Two of the three black wires were providing power to the switch, and the third was continuing the circuit. To complicate matters further, you can't buy an outlet like our old one anymore.

So what to do with the one extra black and one extra white wire? I'm still not convinced that I did this correctly, but I ended up buying some wire ties and extra wire. I pigtailed and tied two of the three black wires together with a short length of the extra wire, and ran the extra wire to the outlet along with the third wire coming out of the box. I repeated with the white wires. And it seems to work.

This took me like three hours and two trips to the hardware store. At least I didn't electrocute myself across the room this time.

2008 Review

2008-12-31T16:26:15Z

It has become a tradition for me to sit down at the end of the year and review everything that has happened, which helps set the tone for the coming year. This year has been awesome.

Life: I got married in July. Best...thing...ever. I spent January scheming about how/where to pop the question, and then we (mostly Emily) spent February-July planning the wedding. We spent two weeks on a honeymoon and then set about our next project: finding a house. The house hunt has been somewhat frustrating--lots of junk on the market, lenders changing their minds constantly, etc. But we both enjoy the challenge and I'm sure the house we eventually buy will be awesome.

I joined Weight Watchers on December 30, 2007 and proceeded to lose almost 30 pounds between January and the end of June. In the process of enjoying life, I've put 10 pounds back on, but I've got some fitness and diet goals for the new year that should get me back on track. I'd like to lose another 30-40 pounds.

After training for several months, I ran the Seafair Half Marathon in June in ungodly oppressive heat. It was 70+ degrees at the start and 90 degrees at the finish. Insanity, but I finished it. Then, I ran the Seattle Half Marathon in November, and without training nearly as hard, I improved my time by about five minutes. It is good to have an event like that scheduled--it forces me to get out and train, go to the gym at night, etc.

Work: Not a good year at the office. I decided to stop managing people because a) the team I was managing no longer needed to exist, and b) my confidence was at an all-time low. I moved into an individual contributor position where I did--well, not much. That's mostly my fault. For most of the year, I've either felt stuck in a vacuum where I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, or worse, beholden to two masters who both have differing opinions of what I should be doing. It has been a whole year straight out of a Dilbert cartoon. It will be critical for me to fix this situation somehow in the new year--and quick.

Travel: No international travel this year, save for the trip to Canada when I asked Emily to marry me, and a second trip to Canada for a bachelor party weekend. I spent a week in Kennewick for work, and we went wine tasting in the Yakima Valley for a nice weekend. We also went to Hawaii for two weeks (one week on Maui and one week on the Big Island) for our honeymoon, and spent a few days in New Orleans. I loved New Orleans and wouldn't mind going back some day.

Charity: I donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Crohn's/Colitis peoeple again. I donated to the MS Society on behalf of my little niece, who was doing a walk to raise money for them. And I'm up to my neck in the YMCA. Last year, I said that I wished for more time to give to them and resolved to get more involved. This year, I'm a little more involved than I actually have time to be involved! Nonetheless, working with the Y is one of the most fulfilling things I get to do. I need to make sure that I control my involvement so that I don't get overwhelmed.

That about sums it up for 2008. I'm looking forward to 2009--life just keeps getting better and better each year!

Get yer program!

2008-12-08T17:55:08Z

I spent a few hours yesterday morning hawking programs at the Seahawks game. This was a fundraising event for the YMCA, who keeps all of the proceeds from sales plus a 100% match from the Paul G. Allen Foundation.

The event went off very well, I think. We had a good turnout of volunteers and it was a lot of fun to get dressed up in a lime green shirt with several dozen other lime green-clad screamers and yell at strangers. But...today, my voice is destroyed--reduced to a warbly barely-audible rasp. Selling programs at a football game is one of those odd jobs with some intricacies that you don't really consider until you've actually tried it:

The program sellers at any random sporting event almost invariably have the same delivery: "Programs! Getcher program!", or some very similar variant. It is a cliche, but a very practical one. I started out with a lengthy rant: "Programs here! Just three dollars! All proceeds go to charity! All proceeds go to kids! Support the YMCA! Programs, three dollars!" And so on. This, of course, wore my voice out very quickly. Also, it took so long to say that most people managed to pass before they could figure out what I was hawking. Keep it short 'n' sweet. Everybody knows the song--"Programs! Getcher program!"
Comfortable shoes are a must. I should have worn the same shoes I wore in the marathon. You don't walk around a lot but being on your feet can be very tiring.
Making change is easy, but fumbling around with a giant wad of cash after you've sold a dozen programs is not easy. I started my day with my cash folded in half in my apron, and programs in both hands. Before long, I figured out that having to put down the programs, unfold the cash, do math, etc. was not the best customer service for folks who really just wanted to get to their seats as quickly as possible. So I switched to holding up a single program that could easily be handed to a buyer, and with my other hand, I held the unfolded cash in my apron pocket. I've seen other sellers do this--now I understand why.
Lemon tea, Ricola, etc. are your best friends.

Now I get to see how bad I hurt my vocal cords. My voice is fading in and out today, but the warm drinks seem to be helping and I'm all wrapped up in a scarf. Hopefully, I don't have to do too much speaking.

Seattle Half Marathon

2008-11-30T23:12:02Z

Well, that was fun. I really liked the course (especially compared to the hilly beast that was Seafair) and there were a lot of people out having a great time. The weather was great, too--not too warm, not too cold. I wasn't too keen about the scheduling and having to train in the gym/dark while worrying about other projects, but we toughed out the training and used Thanksgiving dinner to store a little extra fat for the run.

I also didn't really set any goals. I've been kinda nuts in the past about goal-setting and race day rituals. This time, I decided to just let it happen because I didn't feel particularly well-trained. For example, I noticed that when I try to carbo-load, I don't feel well the next day, so I skipped that altogether in favor of pizza and beer for dinner last night.

The results? Continuous five minute improvements:

'07 Seafair: 2:50:54
'08 Seafair: 2:45:58
'08 Seattle: 2:40:30

I guess there is something to be said for just doing what feels right.

Here's what the Garmin has to say: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7226515

I started feeling a headache coming on right around mile one, and fought it for most of the run. I also had some random aches and pains in my knees, feet and hips from the cement that I don't normally feel because we like training on trails. Oh, and the portable toilets along the course had huge lines...I thought about taking a potty break but I'd see 20 people in line for the Honey Bucket and I'd just keep going. By the time I got to the end, I'd forgotten about it.

Another thing that I enjoyed this time: I bought a hand-held water bottle at the expo and it was a lifesaver because I didn't need to stop at a single water stop. I wonder how much time I wasted before slowing down to walk at each water stop? I really liked being completely self-contained with water and shot blocks.

According to my trusty calorie tracker, I burned just north of 2300 calories during my run today (and it doesn't account for calories burned repairing the damage--the soreness that my doctor likes to call "a little friend who follows you around all day and reminds you that you did something healthy"). That's more food than I eat in two days sometimes, and could explain why I'm dying for nachos right now.

Next up: Vancouver in May. I've always wanted to do the Vancouver run. It will be interesting to see if I can beat a five minute improvement...

Revenge of Half Marathon

2008-10-15T01:36:26Z

I just registered for the Seattle Half Marathon in November. I've no idea what possesses those people to schedule their endurance event on the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving, but I'm going to give it a try. Last year after Seafair, I didn't run much during the winter and that did not work out so well. This year, with the exception of my honeymoon, I've managed to keep running relatively regularly after Seafair. Now, it's time to get serious about training.

My goal is simple: beat 2:30. I'm still a bit irked that Mother Nature conspired against me at Seafair. Watch--it will snow again. Just my luck, right?

The Honeymooners

2008-07-23T23:54:58Z

We're back. Hawaii was an amazing experience and I had a great time (although two weeks is a long time to be away from home). Some of the highlights:

We spent a week on Maui in the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel where we were visited every night by the cookie fairy. We played Scrabble, lazed on the beach, and drank IPA from a can. We also were adopted by a one-legged pigeon who spent two nonconsecutive nights on our balcony.
On Maui, we had a couple of ambitious days. We drove to the top of Haleakala and enjoyed a hike at 10,000 feet. We visited the Maui Ocean Center in lieu of a snorkling trip and played with the sharks. We hiked out to the northernmost point on the island to see the Nakalele Blowhole.
We then flew to Hilo for two nights so that we could learn about tsunamis and see an active volcano. We hiked through the Kiluaea Iki crater where the lava from a 1959 eruption was still warm. We walked on a lot of lava flows. We walked through the Thurston Lava Tube. And we saw lava exploding as it dripped into the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, we spent the last few nights in the super-ritzy Waikoloa resort in a very nice condo located near some gorgeous beaches. We went swimming in the ocean. We saw archeological artifacts. We enjoyed beautful sunsets. We were adopted by (and subsequently had to free) a baby gecko.

Needless to say, it was a ton of fun. It feels kinda weird to be home, though, since the house is pretty much exactly as we left it after the wedding so it feels like the wedding just happened. We're diving right back into "real life" by heading back to work tomorrow and making weekend plans...and so it begins. :-)

Married!

2008-07-07T17:24:52Z

Just married
Originally uploaded by jeffreyp

Our wedding was a complete and total success. We had so much fun. Many people warned us that our wedding day would pass quickly, and I really think that you only understand what that means if you've experienced it firsthand. Time goes by fast enough to make you dizzy! And all of my anxieties turned out to be silly. I didn't cry during the ceremony (although my voice cracked and I had the shakes!). The dance went relatively smoothly. And as near as we can tell, everyone had a great time.

I don't have time to retell the whole story now but it would be a good idea to write down as much as I can while it is all still fresh in my mind. Maybe I can do that on the plane to Hawaii tomorrow. It was just an unforgettable, magical, awesome day in every conceivable way.

T-minus 7 hours

2008-07-05T16:12:34Z

Today is the big day!

I slept really well last night (save for a bizarre dream about traveling all the way to India only to discover that my visa had expired, and then another weird dream about meeting a troupe of circus performers at a bar in Pioneer Square...very strange). We had a nice, low-key BBQ at my best man's house last night, and from there, it was just a short walk up the hill to a spot where we could watch both fireworks shows.

On Thursday, we had our rehearsal (which I think went really well) and our rehearsal dinner. We both got trashed after the rehearsal dinner, which was probably a good thing to get out of our systems at that time because it saved us from wanting to "celebrate" too much last night.

There was some last minute running around over the last two days, but things have come together nicely. Today, I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride as much as possible. I hope I don't cry during my own wedding ceremony (an insider tip for the betting folks in the audience--I'd put pretty good odds on tears). I hope I don't boff the dances. Mostly, I hope everyone has a ton of fun. We (well, mostly Emily) have put a ton of time and effort into this event and I hope it turns out to be the best party ever.

Seafair Half Marathon - Post Mortem

2008-07-01T17:33:11Z

I'm not going to do a mile-by-mile breakdown this year because I just don't have time. But the official results are in, and I'm sorry to say that I finished 180th out of 186 in my age group, which means that I only met one of my three goals. My official time was 2:45:57, and the average temperature throughout the race was in the 70's. Numerous people have commented in the blogosphere and elsewhere that the course this year was significantly more difficult than last year, so I can take some pride in the fact that I was well-trained enough to basically match my time from last year on a much harder/hillier course in friggin' tropical heat. Nonetheless, I am DYING to go out and run 13.1 miles on a nice trail somewhere, just to prove to myself that I can do it in under 2.5 hours.

My hips are a little sore but my legs feel fine and my knees are in great shape. This is a huge improvement from last year when I limped around with an inflamed IT band for a week afterward. I had very sore shoulders immediately after the race, which means that I need to work on my posture. I'm hoping to spend the winter doing some strength training, and my core and shoulders could definitely use the extra attention.

The Seafair race organizers really botched it. They were out of t-shirts at the race expo, which annoyed me. How can you run out of t-shirts when you know exactly how many people registered and what size t-shirt they requested when they registered? The expo was tiny and held in a parking garage--not exactly fun. And then on race day, all hell broke loose. They apparently couldn't get UW to let them use the Husky Stadium parking lots, so they had shuttle buses running from Bellevue to the starting line. Sure enough, they couldn't get all of the runners to the starting line on time. I can't believe nobody saw that coming. They aren't refunding the registration fee for those folks who couldn't get to the starting line on time, which is bogus. Mismanagement all around. Oh, and the water stop at mile 10 was out of cups! Those poor kids were pouring water straight from the bottle into the mouths of passing runners.

On a sunnier note, the people who came out to line the course were awesome--as always. The community participation is always my favorite part of these events. We ran through a neighborhood in south Bellevue and people were out with garden hoses and Otter Pops, cheering us on and having a great time. One house with a big fence had a sprinkler shooting up over the fence onto the course. I yelled "THANK YOU" as I ran through the mist and from behind the fence, an invisible voice replied, "YOU'RE WELCOME!" The kids at the water stops screamed their guts out for us, and the police officers and firefighters who blocked intersections and dealt with angry Bellevue drivers all day are heroes.

I'm not sure what to do next. I know that I can do a half marathon in under 2.5 hours, even though I technically have never done that. I'm not sure what would be accomplished by going out and doing another half marathon just to prove something to myself that I already know. So I can either try to get faster, or try to run farther. I'm really not psyched about the idea of doing a full marathon. I think I just need to relax for a few days, get through my wedding, and use my fabulous Hawaiian vacation to decide what to do next.

OK, all done (again).

2008-06-29T18:43:51Z

It was H-O-T hot out there today, and as a result, I'm not thrilled with my unofficial Garmin time of 2:45 in today's Seafair Half Marathon. The temperature at the start was about 70 degrees and it was probably 80 when we finished. Too damned hot for a run like that. My time is about 6 minutes faster than last year, which is notable because a) the aforementioned heat really sucked, and b) according to the Garmin, this year's course was about 1000 feet more hilly than last year's course. Hard to imagine, but there it is. I was hoping to take 20-30 minutes off my time from last year, but the heat just made that impossible.

I'm not unhappy with the results given the heat but I know I can do better, so there's that stupid little voice again...

Read all about it by cutting and pasting this URL (because Livejournal apparently forgot how to insert links): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6113949

And I finished, which was goal #1. Goal #2 didn't happen; and now, I wait for the official results to see about goal #3. It looked like pretty much everyone else was getting hammered by the heat so maybe I've still got a shot at it. But first, ibuprofen.

Five points make a trend

2008-06-28T21:00:18Z

Tomorrow, I'll be getting up crazy early so that I can run 13.1 miles (give or take a few tenths)--my second consecutive year of running the Seafair Half Marathon. The weather, of course, has decided to turn gorgeous with low temperatures in the mid-60's and highs in the 90's. For running, anything over 60 degrees is a scorcher so I'm a bit concerned about the heat. It's funny, because last year I knew that I wasn't well-trained and so I was anxious about finishing. I was also not sure what to expect on the course having never done such a thing before. This year, I know I'm well-trained and I know I can finish and I know what to expect. I have my goals and that's it. Now, the weather is spoiling my calm. I've never had to run in this kind of heat before and the one training run in 70-degree heat didn't go so well. My plan is simply to watch my heart rate, drink a LOT of water (maybe doubling up at every water stop) and try not to keep up with anyone in particular. Take it slow at the start, lock into a good rhythmic pace and just go until it is over. Maybe I'll put songs like "Hot In The City" on my iPod just to make myself laugh.

Meanwhile, we're also wrapping up our last wedding planning bits. To steal a nice phrase from a friend of mine, everything is locked and loaded and we're almost there. In five days, we'll be rehearsing and in seven days, we'll be married. In ten days, we'll be on a beach in Maui drinking pina coladas and relaxing.

Media update

2008-03-23T06:16:04Z

I haven't done one of these for awhile but hope to keep up this year.

First, three movies from last year:

Running With Scissors: Anyone who thinks they come from a dysfunctional family should see this movie. It is based on the memoir of Augusten Burroughs and, well, it's weird.

The Last King Of Scotland: OK, so taking a date to this movie might not have been the wisest idea, but it worked out in the long run. Any story featuring Idi Amin as a main character is bound to be a bit disturbing (at best) but I was struck by Forest Whitaker's amazing acting. There were several points during the movie where I forgot I was watching an actor portraying Amin.

Superbad: Every generation has their signature teen comedy, and it seems like each generation is able to push the envelope a little bit. "Superbad" would be the next evolution after "American Pie". Long live McLovin.

And now, this year to date:

There Will Be Blood: You can't do much better than Daniel Day-Lewis if you need an actor who can carry every scene of your movie. I thought of it as a sort of anti-"Wall Street"--greed is not so good after all. It was a terrific movie and I was a bit disappointed that it didn't pick up a few more Oscar wins.

Juno: The word "cute" comes to mind, and I enjoyed bits and pieces of it, but really, I thought it was overrated and was surprised that it received Oscar nominations. Poor Michael Cera is getting typecast in his old age. I wonder if he did this role before or after "Superbad"?

No Country For Old Men: You want intensity? This is your movie. Personally, I think I prefer the Coen Brothers when they are being whimsical but I'd still say this is one of the best thrillers I've ever seen.

Thank You For Smoking: I was a little late on this one but I'm glad I took the time to watch it. Thanks to "The Daily Show" I can't take anything I see on TV seriously anymore, and so I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the spin doctors satirized. Of course, I love the title, too...a friend from North Carolina once told me about taking a tour of the tobacco factories (I think he was in elementary school at the time) and being shown the "Thank you for smoking" signs everywhere.

Into The Wild: Major downer and bummer. The scene near the end when he realizes that happiness can only exist if it is shared is pretty powerful. Too bad the/his end is predictable. Man does not rule nature.

Away From Her: Not as much of a major downer/bummer as a movie about an Alzheimer's patient would have you expect, but still...I'm not fond of seeing nursing homes and characters wasting away and I left this movie only hoping that I never end up in one of those god-awful places.

Wedding planning, week 6

2008-03-22T20:54:01Z

Even more progress this week:

Photographer: We officially hired Island Girl Photography for our wedding. We met one other photographer but we decided that Tricia from Island Girl was just the "right" person for us. We were especially impressed when she sent us a proposed timeline for her activities that pretty much matched our idea for a timeline exactly!

Cake: We officially hired Ginny McGavin to bake us a badass wedding cake and deliver it. Now, we just need to decide what it should look like, flavors, etc. Did you know that there are several dozen different flavors/types of butter creme?!? It is a shame that we probably won't be able to decide until we've tasted all of them...

DJ: We officially hired DJ Moose to provide music and general amplification. We need to come up with our list of songs we hate that he is not allowed to play, which should be, you know, fun. We also need to get him and the photographer aligned with our general ceremony/reception timeline.

Officiant: Lawrence fell ill last week, but hopefully we can meet with him tomorrow and start scripting out a ceremony.

We also went to a tasting hosted by the caterer at the venue where we'll be getting married. The food was outstanding and we're more convinced than ever that our venue is perfect. We met the women who will be our "event coordinators", helping us plan the menu and decorate the space and all of that.

Oh, and in a moment of sheer weakness, I enrolled in a swing dance class put on by the Savoy Swing Club. The class is five weeks long, and the first class was last Wednesday. After it was over, I felt like an even worse dancer than I did before I started (which is really saying something), but we'll see how it goes. I've always been paranoid that I look stupid and clumsy when I dance so a positive outcome from this class is really my only hope.

Save the date magnets are in the mail and should arrive on Tuesday. I noticed that the people online in wedding planning chat rooms and such call them "STDs" which really is not as funny as I think it is. We still need to decide on wording for our invitations, too.

The fun continues. 15 weeks to go!

Wedding planning, week 5

2008-03-15T19:37:44Z

The big milestone this week is that Em bought her dress and decided on dresses for her bridesmaids. I, of course, know nothing about the wedding dress other than where she bought it and how much it cost, so I don't feel like quite as much progress has been made this week. On other fronts:

Photographer: We met with Tricia from Island Girl Photography last weekend. I really liked her work and think she'd be a great photographer, but we're going to try and meet with one more photographer before deciding for certain.

Cake: We met with Ginny McGavin (who works on referrals and has no website or anything like that) to go over cake ideas and taste some samples (which were delicious). We basically need to find a cake design that we like, and then call Ginny to set it up...everything else is taken care of. Emily is collecting cake designs and other ideas here.

DJ: We've called a bunch of people who all sound like scary coke addict DJs, and so we haven't called any of them back. There is one guy who Emily knows from past weddings that did a good job, so we're trying to get hold of him and plan.

Officiant: We asked Lawrence Winnerman last weekend if he'd be up for the task of marrying us and he said yes. We just need to start talking about ideas, but Lawrence is starting a company and so might be a little short on time between that and his other commitments. We'll see how that goes.

We've ordered our save the date magnets, so those will be in the mail shortly. We are also playing around with invitation designs and text, which is far more complicated than it probably sounds. For example, we discussed this morning whether it should say "the marriage of so-and-so TO so-and-so" or "the marriage of so-and-so AND so-and-so". I voted for the latter because the former makes it sound like the two people are being welded together. We also have ~~argued over~~ discussed cute RSVP card ideas--I'm worried that certain unnamed people on my invite list won't get the joke if we ask them to RSVP "in body or in spirit" and those people will check both or spend so much time scratching their heads that they'll miss the wedding. So we're still working on that stuff.

We've also made some changes to our website--namely, adding a tab for the wedding party with bios of our bridesmaids and groomsmen, etc.

Has it really only been five weeks? 16 weeks to go!

Wedding planning, week four

2008-03-08T23:32:08Z

Planning a wedding isn't too difficult. We have contacts out with people who take pictures, make cakes and play music. We just need to choose one of each. We are going to attend the caterer's open house and tasting on March 20 to pick our food, and we've signed up for a Costco membership which will save us money on just about everything. We also have an idea about how to arrange and decorate the space. We have identified our bridal party, best man, groomsman & groomsmaid, flower girls, and ring bearer. Emily is shopping for dresses and I've met with the tuxedo people. It is really all coming together. We still need to choose an officiant and script our ceremony, which is probably the next "hard" part. Oh, and we should actually invite people at some point which will require us to agree on wedding invitations--that should be, um, fun. Wink.

The amazing thing, to me, is still the prices people are charging for their services. For example, we've seen DJs charging $1500-2000 for five hours of service. I'd like to get paid $400 per hour to stand there and play music and occasionally make an announcement. The wedding industry is good business.

On that note, I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is a lot of money to be made in "filtering" the noise from all of these providers. Most of the wedding planning websites like theknot.com are taking money from providers for "featured placement" and just generally not being helpful to users beyond getting us to click on advertisements and buy stuff we don't need.

My dream wedding planning website would let me filter a list of venues by zip code (so that a search for venues in Seattle doesn't include everything in Washington State) and size (so that I can find a venue that will hold 200 people without wasting my time on those that won't). I'd love to search a list of hotels in Seattle that offer honeymoon suites and/or packages. The site would require providers to enter information that other sites do not require--for example, if you are a photographer and you want to be listed on my site, you'd need to provide your detailed price list and sample photos and be prepared to be listed along with other photographers who have provided the same information. Users would have profiles and would be allowed to submit reviews so that eventually the "highest rated" wedding officiant in the Seattle area would be known.

Sadly, the only way for such a site to make money would be (you guessed it) Google ads and/or featured placement from providers which sort of defeats the whole purpose. So I think I'll just keep selling books and stuff for now.

Wedding planning, week three

2008-03-01T07:04:06Z

We've selected the Yacht Club On Lake Union as our venue and July 5, 2008 as our wedding date!

The Yacht Club is a cool space underneath the I-5 ship canal bridge right on Lake Union, and it is both big enough and a great deal! Since it is also the home base for Ravishing Radish catering, we can get our food from them and save money by bringing in our own beer/wine.

The Moss Bay Event Center disappointed. The ceiling was really low and it had the general ambiance of a conference room. It also had a view of a parking lot and was downstairs from a singles bar (which, for a Saturday night wedding, would have sucked royale).

In the end, choosing between the Sanctuary and the Yacht Club came down to several factors, not the least of which is that we're getting the Yacht Club for half price. And we'll have fireworks for our anniversary every year. It is a good space and has good energy and yes, I'm super-excited about it.

Now, we're starting to look for invitations and save the date cards and such. We went to Costco this week and left with some good ideas (although I think we both were mostly just stunned that we could buy a case of Bridgeport IPA for $23). We are looking at places to get save the date magnets and trying to make a photograph of ourselves look presentable in magnet form.

As the ~~geek~~ boy in this whole equation, my primary job has been to create the website. I've stolen content and layout liberally from other wedding websites and generally gotten my nerd on whenever I start to get stressed out about something. It has proven to be a useful distraction--hopefully, it will become more useful once we start notifying people, sending invitations, etc.

Someone told me that once you pick a date and a venue, everything else just falls into place. I'm not finding that to be exactly true, but it is definitely a big milestone!

Wedding planning, week two

2008-02-22T15:01:54Z

We went to look at the Skansonia last weekend--it is an old ferry boat moored at the north end of Lake Union. And while it would certainly be quaint and have a great view, it unfortunately looks and smells like what it is--an old boat. The best part of the tour was when I asked if a sound system was available for ceremonies, because of a wedding I had attended there several years ago where nobody on the boat could hear the ceremony over the wind and seaplane and passing boat noise. There was another couple on the tour who had already booked the boat and were showing it to a friend, and they exchanged a nervous look! Maybe I saved their wedding?

Then, on Tuesday, we looked at the Sanctuary at Admiral, which is an old church in West Seattle that has been converted into a venue. It is very cool inside, and they actually have dates available in July! The only problem we could see is that it might be a tad small for the number of guests, and also, the layout of the stage and dance floor is a bit odd. There would be some ceremonial logistics involved. Nonetheless, it is the current leader and will be difficult to beat!

On Thursday, we looked at the Uptown Hideaway, which is an old loft converted into a space. It would be like getting married in someone's hip downtown loft, and that falls into the "'basketball court" category for me. It just isn't the "right place" for a wedding and reception. Art opening? Check. Software launch? Go. Wedding? Um, no.

Today, on the way out of town for the weekend, we're going to stop and look at the Lake Union Yacht Club, which is actually the home base of the Ravishing Radish catering people. We are still trying to reach the Moss Bay Events Center, but once we've seen it, we'll probably be ready to decide. I'm worried that Moss Bay will look like a corporate conference room inside, and I think the decision will come down to the Sanctuary vs. the Lake Union Yacht Club.

Oh, and the Shilshole Bay Beach Club wrote yesterday to ask how our planning was going and to let us know that they wanted to offer us "selected dates" for 40% off, which is--to say the least--compelling. We'll see what their "selected dates" are and decide from there.

Super-excited

2008-02-18T17:15:38Z

In the process of making a minor edit to my last post, I noticed that I referred to various things/feelings as "super-" at least four times.

I'm super-excited.

This venue is super-nice.

My writing is super-redundant.

If anybody was questioning my excitement level, rest assured you've nothing to worry about.

Wedding planning, week one

2008-02-16T21:55:23Z

We returned from Vancouver all happily engaged on Sunday night and then had to deal with a bit of a reality check. Weddings are complex and expensive! Nonetheless, I'm excited to plan and see what we can come up with. We're looking for creative ways to save money, but the problem is that as soon as you say the word "wedding" to anyone, their price goes up 100+%.

Portrait photographer: "I charge $50 per hour, so that would be $500 for five hours plus film costs."
Us: "It's for a wedding."
PP: "OH, well, that's different. My base charge is $2000, and there is a transportation surcharge of $100 even though I live a block from the site. Then, I charge $100 per hour for every hour I'm at the wedding, whether I'm taking pictures or leeching off your buffet. Film is $500 per roll and there is a minimum of 10 rolls, so that's 240 photographs, but you'll probably only keep 20 of them. I'll put those 20 into an album for you--that's $400 extra--and I own the copyright and all rights to reproduce your photographs in any form or version and you have to waive all legal recourse in writing for my use of your images for the remainder of your lives. Oh, and this conversation will cost you $100 even though you haven't agreed to anything."

Our first problem is finding a venue. We have a tentative guest list that is pushing 200 people, and there are not too many venues in the city of Seattle (which is of course where we both want to get married) that will hold that number:

The MV Skansonia is an old ferry boat moored at the north end of Lake Union. A friend was married there a few years back, and I remember it being pretty sweet. The facility rental includes food, and they let you bring your own beverages aboard (which saves some money). The outdoor wedding (weather permitting) has the Seattle skyline as a backdrop. We would need a sound system for the ceremony to ensure our guests could hear over the wind and sound of seaplanes landing.
The Lake Union Cafe is on Eastlake and is run by the same people who run the Skansonia. Lots of good reviews and I know some folks who were married there, too. Slightly more expensive.
The Sanctuary at Admiral is an old church that has been converted into a private residence and then converted again into a wedding venue. We drove by last night and it is super-nice. They restrict catering to one of five companies, but their fees aren't eyeball-popping unreasonable. It is also very close to her dad's house, so we could use that as our "home base" for preparations, etc.

There are a couple of other venues that we like. The Golden Gardens Bathhouse is super-nice but probably booked solid until next year. And we've also looked into using a community center (but I'm a snob and I don't want to get married under a basketball hoop).

Because of the size of our wedding, and because we're limited to large venues, we can't pick a date until we pick a venue. So we'll be on a whirlwind tour of venues starting immediately. We're going to see the Skansonia tomorrow and the Sanctuary on Tuesday night. ~~Hopefully, we can have a date within a week or so from now~~. EDIT: I am a crackhead. There is NO WAY we'll pick a venue in a week. Maybe two weeks, if we're super-lucky. Probably three weeks.

As we research the various stuff involved in one of these productions, the most fun has been seeing how other people saved money and still had a great time. Our first money-saving ideas are super-promising:

We found out today that Renton Technical College has a culinary arts program and their students cater weddings for an obscenely-cheap rate (something like $10-12 per person).
Likewise, South Seattle Community College can provide beauty services with students dirt cheap (although that's probably more risky than food--at least with food, you can sample it beforehand!).
For photography, I'm thinking that we'll buy the cheapest professional photography package we can find, just for staged portraits and the obligatory "bride with mom"-type shots Then, I have enough amateur photographer friends and family that I can probably ask all of them to bring their cameras and take tons of photos during the reception.
Emily says that we can get flowers from Pike Place Market on the day of the ceremony much cheaper than we could from a florist.

We've also talked with some friends and family about wedding ideas and it's fun to see everyone getting creative and excited for us.

That post came out far more optimistic than I expected...now let's see if I can maintain that optimism for a few months (particularly once we start writing checks)!

She said yes (sort of).

2008-02-11T19:04:03Z

I asked Emily to marry me on Friday, February 8, 2008 (at approximately 1:15 PST) here. This was the culmination of several weeks of planning and lying on my part and I was more than slightly relieved to finally let her in on the secret!

I spent most of January sneaking out of work in the middle of the day to shop for rings. Kim at E.E. Robbins was the best and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. I learned more about precious metals and diamonds than I ever really wanted to know, and they treated me as if I had a budget that was 10x my actual budget. The process of choosing a diamond was a lot of fun for me--I had no idea that five diamonds rated similarly could look so different, and the one I chose just stands out from its peers. I bought the ring about three weeks ago and left it in their safekeeping while I set about making plans to propose. Meanwhile, I lied my ass off to Emily and played up a lot of phony anxiety about not having time to shop for rings, etc. I played it so well that on a couple of occasions, I made myself really anxious over nothing which, in retrospect, is pretty funny.

Emily received a gift certificate to the Victoria Clipper as a Christmas present from her office. She used it to book a long weekend in Vancouver to celebrate the first anniversary of our first date, and in addition to a hotel and train tickets, she also got tickets to the Vancouver Aquarium. I decided to use the occasion to propose. Our plan was to arrive via train at 11:30, drop our bags off at the hotel, and head to the aquarium in Stanley Park. There is a spot not far from the aquarium that I always remember--it is where the "girl in a wetsuit" sculpture is located, with a dramatic view of the Lion's Gate Bridge and North Vancouver and the mountains in the distance. I decided I would ask her to walk over to that spot and pop the question there.

About two weeks ago, we went out with her dad and step-mom to the Mission in West Seattle. When Emily got up to use the restroom, I turned to them and said, "Okay, about this trip to Vancouver..." and explained what I had up my sleeve. I didn't really ask her dad for permission so much as tell him that I was going to propose. "I'd love to know that I have your blessing," I said without realizing that I was looking at Connie, who pointed in the direction of Emily's father. "Talk to him, not me," she said. "Awesome," replied her dad. They were super-excited but as soon as Emily returned, they just switched back to their normal selves as if nothing had happened. I still don't know how they did that. It was impressive. I spent the rest of the evening being nervous that someone (probably me) would give away the secret but somehow we kept it quiet.

I picked up the ring on Wednesday night and managed to get it home and into a hiding place without her noticing. When we packed our bags on Thursday night, I decided to put it in my coat pocket inside a fleece hat. That way, if she bumped my pocket, I could lie and tell her that it was my iPod or something. We boarded the train and I tried not to look nervous or look like I was concealing anything.

The train ride was excruciatingly long and I was sure she'd reach over to hold my hand or something and feel the box through my jacket. Plus, it was pouring down rain at times and I didn't really know what I was going to do if the weather sucked. I patted my pocket once and she asked what I had in there. I nervously told her it was my hat. I thought I was cooked for sure.

Amazingly, when we arrived in Vancouver, the sun came out! We took a taxi to the hotel and checked into our suite (which is the same suite pictured on the Listel website!). Then, we walked toward Stanley Park and my heartbeat got a little louder.

The weather was simply perfect. I suggested that we take the scenic route and walk along the seawall, and she agreed. There were a few moments when she would ask where the aquarium was or if we should turn off, and I tried to keep a poker face and keep us walking forward. "Look at the view!" I kept saying. "Look at the birds! There's nothing in my pocket, I swear! Ha ha ha!"

We arrived at the spot I'd chosen and took a seat on one of the benches. We joked about whether the sculpture was supposed to be a mermaid or a woman, and admired the view. I tried to go into my speech but people kept wandering by, which was (to say the least) a distraction and I'd change the subject back to the birds.

Finally, we were alone for a minute. I reminded her (not that I needed to) that it was the first anniversary of our first date, and told her that I've been so happy over the past year that all I could want would be to feel that way for the rest of my life. Then, I pulled out the box and moved to get down on one knee in front of her.

"What are you DOING?" she started to ask, and then she saw the box and was more surprised than I've ever seen her as she realized what was happening. I asked her to marry me and she said "Of course!" and made me put the ring on her.

I was pretty much overcome with emotion because it was so perfect and the weather was beautiful and I was able to keep the surprise, well, surprising for so long. I'm not very good at keeping secrets, especially when I'm this excited about something.

We spent the rest of the weekend wandering around the city and enjoying the moment. We thought about the "what next?" question a few times but didn't dwell on it. There will be plenty of time for that in the coming months, I'm sure.

I'm pretty sure that Facebook doesn't restrict access to the raw photo URLs, so click here or here to view the results of my handiwork.

This is probably the greatest moment of my life so far.

Coincidence?

2008-02-06T17:09:13Z

There have been five separate cases of damage (either cuts or power loss) to the undersea cables that carry internet traffic to/from the Middle East. Coincidence? I think not and others agree.

Something shady is going on here.

Bow down

2008-01-29T18:54:10Z

I have never been more disgusted with college sports than the past few days reading about my alma mater's football team. They haven't gotten away with murder (yet--or, at least, not here), but they have gotten away with rape, sexual assault, domestic abuse, substance abuse, driving under the influence, abusing substances while driving under the influence...it is just absolutely sick and torturous to read.

The part that is most difficult to comprehend is the apparent complicity of the King County Prosecutor and various judges in all of this mayhem. The idea that a judge would nonchalantly talk football with a person brought before his court accused of a sex crime is so wrong that it defies explanation. I'm not arguing that these players should be considered guilty until proven innocent; but rather, I'm shocked that the county and the court system would not try to prove them guilty, apparently because they played football. Don't read this chapter if you have a weak stomach for such things.

I like sports. I believe sports are one of the greatest performing arts. I enjoy football, in particular, because I like watching the strategy unfold--each play is like a single move in a chess match between two coaches, but the moves are executed by human beings who sometimes make mistakes and sometimes outperform. The problem with football, for me, has always been the whole "theater of war" imagery, the incredible lack of sportsmanship (yes, T.O., I'm talking about YOU), and the fact that most of the players sound like blathering idiots when they are in fact intelligent enough to comprehend a very complex game. Yes, I'm saying they are smart. They memorize an entire playbook, and the various permutations of each play that can unfold depending on which way some opposing player moves. They make split second decisions about whether to scramble, throw, stand in the pocket, or tuck the ball away while eleven large men come running after them. And they apply all of that knowledge in real-time as each play unfolds.

Based on what I've read about Tyrone Willingham, I want to believe that he might be the rare coach who is capable of teaching players how to be smart both on the field and off the field. I want to believe that he will hold his players accountable for their off-the-field actions, and won't kowtow to boosters making unreasonable demands. I want to believe that he will foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and community service, and that his players will set an example for others with their behavior in the real world.

The problem is, I just can't bring myself to believe that anymore. The only thing left to root for is that, over time, they'll change my mind. Go Huskies.

Would you like a side of turbo with that?

2008-01-03T19:29:09Z

I don't know enough about cars to know if this article is accurate in any way, but it really pisses me off to think that those huge SUVs and such could trivially become significantly more efficient with so little effort.

"As he points out, his conversions consist almost entirely of taking stock GM parts and snapping them together in clever new ways. 'They could do all this stuff if they wanted to,' he tells me, slapping on a visor and hunching over an arc welder. 'The technology has been there forever. They make 90% of the components I use.' He doesn't have an engineering degree; he didn't even go to high school: 'I've just been messing around and seeing what I can do.'"