There are lots of crows in this city. We have a crow's nest outside our bedroom window. (The babies just hatched today, actually.) There are crows on the beaches. And last week after we moved in, a crow took up post on our trailer in the parking garage.
We noticed it hopping around on the wheel well while we were getting the kids in the car and making sure everything was properly attached to move the trailer out to a storage facility outside of town. (Yes, this trailer, which was paid for in part by Amazon's generous relocation package, was supposed to be a great convenience for our future as well as a cheap way to transport our bikes up here for the summer. Since the purchase of said trailer, however, we have had to spend extra on new tires, extra to have it stored because we are living in the city, and now extra to replace the very bike we transported, which got stolen the day after we arrived. Such is the way of most "money-saving" ventures...) Back to the crow:
Once the kids were buckled, I made a half-hearted attempt to shoo the bird off the trailer before we drove off. But I figured it would fly away once we started driving. It didn't. It just clung with its mighty crow claws to the ply-wood siding. We drove faster. Still the bird hung on. I became increasingly concerned for the well-being of the crow. Finally, at the last stop light before we entered the freeway, I donned my sunglasses, (protective eye gear) picked up our large-sized Rand McNally road map (my trusty weapon), and jumped out of the car intending to scare the bird away.
Now, picture me, timidly approaching the crow on our trailer, arm stretched way out in front of me, holding a big map-book in my hand, trying to swipe the bird away. As soon as the map was within about 2 feet of the bird, it turned toward me, opened its big, pointy, scary beak and said, "CAW!"
I've seen the Hitchcock movie. I know what birds are capable of. Naturally, I JUMPED, ran back to the car, threw my door open and hopped in! (I wish I'd been watching from the car behind us, actually. I'm sure that was good for a chuckle.) Just then, the light turned green and we had to get on the freeway. We kept watching the bird to see what would happen. If it flew off now, it would surely just become tire fodder on the road. But it just held on tight. Fortunately, for the crow, we were so preoccupied with the its safety that we missed our exit onto the main freeway to our destination, and had to take the next exit and turn around.
Once we were off the freeway, Austin got out and bravely shooed the bird off the trailer. It looked so easy when he did it! I was convinced it would fly up in my face and try to scratch me and peck my eyes out. But it didn't.
We felt better knowing the poor thing wouldn't get battered to death on our trailer now. But then we felt bad that we had stranded it some 5 miles away from its home. As if there aren't enough crows in this city...but I suppose Nature has a way of working these things out.
11 June 2011
05 June 2011
I love Seattle. Why doesn't it love me?
Moments ago, I posted a story about the unfortunate car-towing incident from our previous trip to Seattle 3 years ago. Of all the places we visited on that road trip, we thought we were least likely to ever return to Seattle. And yet, here we are. Right in the thick of it.
But I have to say, I really do like it here. Everyone I've ever known from the Seattle, Washington area has told me that this would be my kind of town, and I've always wanted to test that theory. Since being married, and especially after moving to Paonia, I've considered myself a real rural kind of girl. But I've long known that, deep down inside, there is a city girl who likes to stretch her legs now and then.
I love big-city transit. I love the crowds of people all going about their own business. I love the blend of cultures and people. I love the fancy restaurants. I love the traffic (as an observer, not a driver or course). I love the window shopping. I love the feeling of importance about everything. I love the walking and the convenience--in Beijing, I could get nearly any fruit or vegetable from the base of my apartment building. Of course there are drawbacks, but I still love those things, nonetheless.
So despite the anxiety that comes with any big change, I was excited for the adventure. It would be a little more difficult than living in Beijing because now I have 2 kids, but I would have access to our car if I needed it. However, this was the city that TOWED OUR CAR the last time we visited. Optimistically, we plowed ahead.
The morning of our second day, we went down to the bike racks in our (secured) parking garage only to discover that the rear wheel of my mountain bike, and the body of Austin's [brand new] mountain bike had been stolen. STOLEN! Austin just got that mountain bike for his birthday--he had actually been saving since his previous birthday to buy it. Off a locked bike rack in a locked parking garage!!! True, we hadn't been super cautious--they didn't cut the lock, they just took the parts that weren't directly secured by the lock. But the garage was locked! Why does Seattle hate us? It makes me SO sick to think about it!
Having something stolen is such a violating feeling. The audacity of someone to just take something that isn't theirs!!! Don't they know what it means to the person they're taking it from??! So fwustwating.
Well, the insurance company is going to cover most of the bike. That whole day was actually a regular comedy of errors, including a lost driver's license and a misplaced wallet as well.
But we're back in the saddle, hoping Seattle doesn't decide to round the curveballs it throw us up to that charming number 3. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the smells of the sea, the tourist attractions, and the apparent abundance of oxygen. Seriously! It's like I'm breathing air ambrosia or something! Every couple of breaths, I just take in this sweet, sweet air that makes me so happy! I don't even know how to describe it! Perhaps the over-use of exclamation points that I've just noticed in this paragraph is a good indicator of how it is making me feel!
That is all! And to all a good night!
But I have to say, I really do like it here. Everyone I've ever known from the Seattle, Washington area has told me that this would be my kind of town, and I've always wanted to test that theory. Since being married, and especially after moving to Paonia, I've considered myself a real rural kind of girl. But I've long known that, deep down inside, there is a city girl who likes to stretch her legs now and then.
I love big-city transit. I love the crowds of people all going about their own business. I love the blend of cultures and people. I love the fancy restaurants. I love the traffic (as an observer, not a driver or course). I love the window shopping. I love the feeling of importance about everything. I love the walking and the convenience--in Beijing, I could get nearly any fruit or vegetable from the base of my apartment building. Of course there are drawbacks, but I still love those things, nonetheless.
So despite the anxiety that comes with any big change, I was excited for the adventure. It would be a little more difficult than living in Beijing because now I have 2 kids, but I would have access to our car if I needed it. However, this was the city that TOWED OUR CAR the last time we visited. Optimistically, we plowed ahead.
The morning of our second day, we went down to the bike racks in our (secured) parking garage only to discover that the rear wheel of my mountain bike, and the body of Austin's [brand new] mountain bike had been stolen. STOLEN! Austin just got that mountain bike for his birthday--he had actually been saving since his previous birthday to buy it. Off a locked bike rack in a locked parking garage!!! True, we hadn't been super cautious--they didn't cut the lock, they just took the parts that weren't directly secured by the lock. But the garage was locked! Why does Seattle hate us? It makes me SO sick to think about it!
Having something stolen is such a violating feeling. The audacity of someone to just take something that isn't theirs!!! Don't they know what it means to the person they're taking it from??! So fwustwating.
Well, the insurance company is going to cover most of the bike. That whole day was actually a regular comedy of errors, including a lost driver's license and a misplaced wallet as well.
But we're back in the saddle, hoping Seattle doesn't decide to round the curveballs it throw us up to that charming number 3. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the smells of the sea, the tourist attractions, and the apparent abundance of oxygen. Seriously! It's like I'm breathing air ambrosia or something! Every couple of breaths, I just take in this sweet, sweet air that makes me so happy! I don't even know how to describe it! Perhaps the over-use of exclamation points that I've just noticed in this paragraph is a good indicator of how it is making me feel!
That is all! And to all a good night!
A Seattle Anecdote
If you were to go back in my weBlog to November 2008, you would know that we visited Seattle once before. However, I just read the post and saw that I never shared our tragic car-towing story from that trip. So here it is. It will give context to the following post.
Because we were jobless at the time, we tried to be super-DUPER frugal. During 2 1/2 weeks of travel, we managed to either camp or stay with friends or family nearly every night. I think 2 of the nights, because it was raining, we broke down and stayed at the local dodgy motel. (I think we found a $30 hotel somewhere in Oregon.) We ate things like apples and PB&J in our car, and if we ate out, it might have been something like sharing a $5 Footlong from Subway.
But when we got to Seattle, we decided to reward ourselves and splurge a little. Plus, Austin wanted me to know what good fish could really taste like, since I've never been a fish eater. A famous Seattle restaurant called Ivar's came highly recommended, so we parked our car in a place that we thought was nearby, filled the parking meter, and headed down. Our dog, Seamus, was with us on the trip, and he was more than happy to hunker down inside and wait for our return. The whole lot of us was highly intimidated by the vast busyness of this great city. (Remember, we were Paonia country bumpkins at the time.) I did notice that, although I had paid for 2 hours on the parking meter, there was a sign that said something about "No Parking" during certain hours. I pretty much ignored that thinking, "But I've paid for my 2 hours!"
We went down to the waterfront, discovered that Ivar's was quite a ways further south than we had imagined, but went in and had a delightful lunch. Many dollars later, I discovered that I do rather enjoy salmon and halibut and that Carson didn't like mashed potatoes. Noticing the time and remembering the "No Parking" sign, Austin ran ahead to check our car just in case anyone was ticketing. I paid for the lunch and began the hike back up to our car. (I remember at the time thinking, "Crikey! I'm carrying a baby and wearing flip flops, yet I'm running up the stairs from the waterfront like a bloomin' athlete! I guess it pays to live at 6000ft and then visit the seashore!")
I met Austin halfway. "The car is gone," he said.
"What??! You're kidding, right?"
"No, the whole road became a bus lane at 2:00, and they have two tow trucks hauling everyone out of the way."
Good heavens!
Anyway, after more running thru the city and trying to figure out the correct bus route to the impound yard, we retrieved our car and our dog. Ridiculous. Including lunch, the entire venture put us out somwhere over $200. When we splurge for lunch, we really splurge for lunch!
Because we were jobless at the time, we tried to be super-DUPER frugal. During 2 1/2 weeks of travel, we managed to either camp or stay with friends or family nearly every night. I think 2 of the nights, because it was raining, we broke down and stayed at the local dodgy motel. (I think we found a $30 hotel somewhere in Oregon.) We ate things like apples and PB&J in our car, and if we ate out, it might have been something like sharing a $5 Footlong from Subway.
But when we got to Seattle, we decided to reward ourselves and splurge a little. Plus, Austin wanted me to know what good fish could really taste like, since I've never been a fish eater. A famous Seattle restaurant called Ivar's came highly recommended, so we parked our car in a place that we thought was nearby, filled the parking meter, and headed down. Our dog, Seamus, was with us on the trip, and he was more than happy to hunker down inside and wait for our return. The whole lot of us was highly intimidated by the vast busyness of this great city. (Remember, we were Paonia country bumpkins at the time.) I did notice that, although I had paid for 2 hours on the parking meter, there was a sign that said something about "No Parking" during certain hours. I pretty much ignored that thinking, "But I've paid for my 2 hours!"
We went down to the waterfront, discovered that Ivar's was quite a ways further south than we had imagined, but went in and had a delightful lunch. Many dollars later, I discovered that I do rather enjoy salmon and halibut and that Carson didn't like mashed potatoes. Noticing the time and remembering the "No Parking" sign, Austin ran ahead to check our car just in case anyone was ticketing. I paid for the lunch and began the hike back up to our car. (I remember at the time thinking, "Crikey! I'm carrying a baby and wearing flip flops, yet I'm running up the stairs from the waterfront like a bloomin' athlete! I guess it pays to live at 6000ft and then visit the seashore!")
I met Austin halfway. "The car is gone," he said.
"What??! You're kidding, right?"
"No, the whole road became a bus lane at 2:00, and they have two tow trucks hauling everyone out of the way."
Good heavens!
Anyway, after more running thru the city and trying to figure out the correct bus route to the impound yard, we retrieved our car and our dog. Ridiculous. Including lunch, the entire venture put us out somwhere over $200. When we splurge for lunch, we really splurge for lunch!
03 June 2011
On the Move
I may have mentioned this before, but Austin started business school in BYU's MBA program last Fall. It is a 2 year program, and it is standard practice to obtain an Internship for the summer between school years. Several people I knew had Internships lined up by Christmas. Most everyone else had Internships by the Closing Social in April. Austin took it right down to the wire and didn't land an Internship until Graduation. But he DID get an Internship! And WHAT an Internship! Amazon.com wanted him to come to Seattle and work for them for 12 weeks in their Outdoor/Sporting Goods division. Big Company? Awesome City? Sporting Goods? Check, check check. Austin said, "Very well then, I accept." We packed up our belongings once again, crammed the car full of all the things we thought we'd need for the summer, and headed to Seattle!
In addition to being a great place to buy stuff, Amazon is a really cool company to work for. They even provide relocation packages and corporate housing for their summer interns. On our trip up here, we broke out of our typically uber-frugal lifestyle and stayed in reasonably priced hotels and managed to spend about 2/3 of our daily food stipend.
We also saw some very cool country along the way. (I say "we", but I really mean Austin. Our method of roadtripping involves Austin driving and me reading a book to him. On the last trip, I read Shogun by James Clavell. This time I read William Goldman's The Princess Bride.) Both times we've driven up the Pacific Northwest, we've been really impressed with the countryside. This time, we drove thru a town called La Grande, Oregon. And we developed a crush. Beautiful! It's a remote college town of about 12,000 people. Probably settled by loggers, it has a traditional old-time Western buildings on Main Street. It also has a vibrant downtown, Eastern Oregon University, several great places to eat out, and spectacular scenery. If there was any way to make a living there...
Anyway, after a pleasant, leisurely, 3-day drive, we landed in a beautiful apartment building in downtown Seattle, Washington. I was a little intimidated at the idea of living right downtown in a huge city...until I remembered that I only recently spent 10 months living downtown in a huge FOREIGN city. Duh. I can handle this. The biggest difference between here and Beijing (aside from the language) is that there are no cheap places to buy ANYthing. This is an expensive place! We may yet lose those 15 lbs we each dropped when we moved to China. Only this time it won't be because we don't know where/how to buy stuff, but simply because we can't afford stuff! Maybe we'll become vegetarians for the summer...
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