Sorry I've been out of touch with people. I'm working 100 hour weeks and am unable to get cell phone service at work. Happily, our space is not a basement cubicle. Our office is below the Viaduct in Seattle, a raised highway along the waterfront (and the subject of much planning controversy as it is literally crumbling and needs to be replaced or eliminated ASAP). It's a beautiful old building from the 1800's. Our office is a loft with brick walls, 20 ft ceilings, and a loft-style upper office with an old wooden staircase. And 10 phone lines. That I spend hours on. Not talking to you, my friends. ...sigh... 29 days until the elections.

Brian got an internship. He'll be working as a Research Assistant at UW on a huge multi-department grant-funded project on the effectiveness of planning projects. Since he will be working for the university through his work study, he'll get paid a bit. And, drumroll........, his tuition is waived while he's working for them! That's a ton of money for the first year as a nonresident.