Vancouver, part 2

Starbucks^2
Originally uploaded by gecko_12.

After the biotech event, we stopped by a Starbucks on Robson St.... that was across the street from another Starbucks. Surprisingly, I don't think this occurs in Seattle (though there are at least 3 in U Village).

Vancouver

I went up to Vancouver, BC in mid-January with some other UW BioEs for a biotech career fair/expo being held by a group at UBC. The event was great - but so was the dinner we had beforehand at a little sushi bar on Davie St. called Kadoya (a native Canadian from our group directed us there). I got the Alaska roll - kind of like a California roll with smoked salmon on top (pictured below). The food was great and the price was hard to beat!
  

iPods galore

 
At one point over the winter break, we managed to have 6 different iPods in the apartment. Two belong to my roommate (3rd generation and shuffle), two belong to her boyfriend (3rd generation and 60GB 5th generation), one belongs to my boyfriend (1st generation, far left), and one belongs to me (30GB 5th generation, attached to the cable in the picture). We lined them up to document them all... scary! For the record, I really like my viPod so far! Once I got a case for it I finally took off the sticker that comes on the front of it. :) Watching TV shows on my little screen makes my bus ride go by so much faster... 

Tacoma Glass Museum

 
Well, I've been delinquent for quite a while now! This is a picture I took in the Hot Shop at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma back in early January. It was awesome to see them make blown glass. We watched them make two pieces; the first was rather boring, but I liked this one better. They had a team of three people making the glass, and there was also a woman serving as the MC who would explain each step and answer questions from the audience. The rest of the museum was pretty small, but the hot shop was totally worth the drive and the admission fee. I just wish we could see the finished (and cooled) piece of glass- but that process takes several days. 

Blooming Christmas Cactus

 

After several false starts (buds that formed but then dropped off), my Christmas cactus that I started from cuttings 2 years ago finally bloomed! It may be only one little flower, but it sure is pretty... 

Seattle people are crazy... including me!

Last year I missed out on the opportunity to jump into frigid Lake Washington with some friends on New Year's Day, so this year I decided to do it. It was cold, but not the coldest water I've ever been in. Surprisingly, I didn't get chilled after getting out, but that didn't stop me from enjoying a nice hot shower when I got home.

As a souvenir of the experience, they handed out patches to everyone who went in at least up to their shoulders:

A belated Merry Christmas!

Unexpected consequences

When I voted for the Seattle smoking ban, I guess I didn't quite realize that would mean my walk home from the bus stop would involve walking through a cloud of smoke outside the Little Red Hen. I guess I'll have to cross the street if I want to avoid the two breaths of perilous second-hand smoke that I take while walking past - or just get over it.

640x480, baby!

DSC00010
Originally uploaded by gecko_12.

Took this shot of downtown Seattle last night from Kerry Park (in frigid temperatures, I might add). Hooray for the camera phone!

New Phone

Finally bit the bullet and got a new phone! It was made much more palatable by UW's discount with Cingular, which is nice. As soon as it's charged for 8 hours (though it's already telling me it's fully charged) I'll get to play with it and see what it can do!