Poo-Poo Platter

Wow, it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve last written anything for my blog. It’s not that I forgot to write or had nothing to write about. In fact, I’ve been so busy that I really haven’t had any free headspace to be in blog-writing mode. Before this blog gets too empty, I’d better write something to get back into the swing of things.

A lot of things have happened since my last post, and it would take far too long to discuss all of them in detail, so I’ll just do a run-down of the last 2 weeks’ events. Even then, this will still be a long post. ;)

Thursday, August 24: My friend Melinda drives in from Spokane to attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. I let her crash at my place for the weekend.

Friday, August 25: I do a half-day at work and spend the rest of the day showing Melinda around Bellevue and Seattle (she’s only seen the area around the Convention Center in downtown). We take a stroll around Bellevue Downtown Park and check out the summer sculpture exhibit. We head over to Gas Works Park and admire the view of downtown Seattle. We stop at the Ballard Locks and watch the ships go by and salmon swim up the fish ladder. We have dinner at The Lockspot. We drive back to Bellevue and register for PAX. The line for the concert is too long, so we had back to my place and watch “The 40 Year Old Virgin” on DVD (oh, btw, I’m on Netflix now).

Saturday, August 26: Melinda and I spend the whole day at PAX. I’m surrounded by more geeks than I’ve seen in the past few years. I meet up with some of the guys from GarageGames and chat with them at their booth on the exhibit floor. I get a chance to try out Guitar Hero 2 and am soooooo stoked to get the game when it’s released. Melinda and I go to the MC Frontalot concert in the evening and have a blast bouncing to nerdcore hip-hop. After the show, I hang out and chat with MC Frontalot for a bit and end up buying 2 CDs and a pair of his stage glasses.

Sunday, August 27: More fun at PAX. Melinda and I wait in line for an hour to see the Q&A panel with Gabe and Tycho. It was funny and well worth the long wait in the hot sun. We hang out for a little bit more then split for more sightseeing in Seattle. We cruise past Pike Place Market then head up to Kerry park in Queen Anne. We stroll around the surrounding neighborhood for a bit then take a drive to ogle some expensive houses. Then we head over to Ballard for pho at Than Brothers, a quick stroll around the area, then cupcakes at Cupcake Royale. After we’ve had our fill, we drive over to Alki Beach to walk along the beach and watch the sunset. Once it gets dark, we to a drive around downtown Seattle at night and stop to take a picture of the Pink Elephant Car Wash sign.

Monday, August 28: I go back to work with Melinda as my job shadow for the day. It’s mostly business as usual except for a quick photoshoot I do for a project proposal. Melinda gets to be a hand model for the shoot, and I get to use my SB-600 speedlight in an actual studio-like setup (ok, it was kind of a hobbled-together setup, but it was controlled nonetheless). Melinda hangs out after work for a light dinner, then she drives back out to Spokane.

Tuesday, August 29: It’s a busy day at work. I end up working late with a few other people, and we get pizza and BBQ wings for dinner.

Wednesday, August 30: I go on a second date with a woman I met on Match.com (yes, I’m doing the online dating thing). We go to I Love Sushi on Lake Union, spend loads of money on sushi, and have a great time hanging out.

Thursday, August 31: Seattle Flickrites meet up for our monthly Brews and Views event at Pike Pub and Brewery. Drinking. Photography. Conversation. Goofiness. Par for course.

Friday, September 1: I meet up with Scott and Tom in Ballard for dinner at Old Town Ale House and a showing of “Talladega Nights” at the Majestic Bay. Beer and stupid humor go well together, and I am sore from laughing so hard.

Saturday, September 2: I hang out at the Japanese Gardens at the Washington Park Arboretum for a while enjoying the quietness, taking a few pictures, and just plain relaxing. I end up buying an annual pass, because I know I’ll be swinging by the area again for autumn pictures. I swing back up to Kirkland and spend the rest of the afternoon strolling up and down Lake Washington Blvd. I snap a few photos along the way. I grab some dinner at Kidd Valley then sit on the dock at Houghton Beach to watch the sunset.

Sunday, September 3: The weather is actually a bit overcast, so I spend part of the afternoon editing photos and cleaning my apartment. The sun starts to break through, and I decide to head down to Houghton Beach to see if the sunset is any good. Turns out that it’s not bad at all. I snap a few photos. I head back home and watch “Silent Hill”. I get totally stoked by the creepiness and gore of the movie. Very well done.

Monday, September 4: I’m determined to spend Labor Day enjoying the weather, so I load up my camera bag and head over to downtown Seattle. I do a long photostroll along the waterfront, around Pike Place Market, and through Pioneer Square. I then head over to Alki Beach to be a beach bum for the rest of the day. Festival of India has taken over part of the park, so that provides a bit of entertainment for a while. Free vegetarian food, massages, traditional artwork, traditional music and dance — totally fun. I grab some dinner at Spud’s and watch the sunset. I drive back home with sand on my feet and the smell of sea water on my clothes.

And that brings us back to now. How’s that for 2 weeks of my life? If you want to see pics from the last couple of weeks, just head on over to my Flickr photostream and check out the latest photos. I’ve only got pics from the Flickr meetup and PAX online right now. This weekend’s images should be showing up over the next few days.

OK, time to rest and recuperate before going back to work.