Comet! In Seattle! It's the end of the world! Last Thursday! Um, WAS the end of the world!

It's between the Space Needle and the building on the left. Happily, it was a clear night and completely visible with the naked eye.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2003522141.html

This weekend was the AKC Dog Show in Puyallup (pronounced "poo-wall-up", I finally learned it). Being unemployed, I got to go on Friday. Which, according to many attendees is smart. I got to avoid the crowds. The event was held in various buildings of the fairgrounds complex. One building for the show part of it, two buildings for preening, one building for the obedience competition.

Awesome. It's just like "Best in Show." You think I'm kidding, right? No.

Yes, it was less showy, less classy. This was the competition for the Tacoma Club, not Westminster. But all parts were there.

Prissy, tiny dogs getting their hair straightened, then hairsprayed. Check.
Uptight yuppy couple with boring dog. Check.
Gay couple with tiny dogs (all dogs are siblings by the way). Check.
Country guy with bad outfit and a hunting dog. No, it was a St. Bernard. Check.
Outrageously coiffed poodles. Check.
People gossiping about handlers and which dog s so prized that he has his sperm sent to Japan to sire more show dogs. Check.
Dogs with monogrammed blankets, coats, and dog beds. Check.

And all of the dogs are totally cute. Well, not the whippets. The big dogs' owners will let you pet them.

My favorite part to watch was the obedience competition. All different breeds, divided between beginners, intermediate, and advanced. Part of it is just handler and dog. Sit, stay, come, heel, fetch. Then all the dogs get together in a line the handlers say "Stay" and then walk away. The dogs have to sit together and not move for a whole minute (see picture above). I think two dogs fell asleep.

We went down to Pioneer Square on Saturday to watch the fans and the Seahawks game. Awesome. Our favorite pizza place is right across the street from the parking lot (see photo above). And had been open since 8am. Let's say the people watching was priceless. One of Brian's grad school buddies joined us and we cheered on Hasselbeck, booed T.O., and celebrated he impossible win with the crowd.

The next game will be rough and I don't think the hapless Seahawks will make it. But Mary, I'm not cheering for your Bears on Sunday. Sorry... But we may get a Bears-Patriots Superbowl after all!!

From Wikipedia:

"The 12th man is a term commonly used to describe the fans within a stadium during American football or association football games. Since most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, the term denotes the attempt of a team's fans to help their team. The term has been claimed to be created by Texas A&M University in 1922. (see Origin and Texas A&M tradition below).

Due to the very nature of fans, their mere presence can have profound impacts on how the teams perform. Namely, the home team fans would like to see their team win the game. Thus these fans will often create loud sounds or chant in hopes of distracting, demoralizing and confusing the opposing team while they have possession of the ball; or to persuade a referee to make a favorable decision. Noises are made by shouting, whistling, stomping and various other techniques."

The Seahawks-Cowboys game is at Seattle on Saturday at 5pm PST.

Go Seahawks!

Tempted

Tempted

Meet Adrian Fenty, the new Mayor of DC.

Good luck, my friend.

Last night Alicia and I hosted our first party in our new place. It was a smashing success. The fireworks launched from the Space Needle were beautiful. Our friends brought lots of good foods, and drinks were served. Alicia decorated with cool shiny stars that hung from the ceiling. Today we recovered from the party. Tomorrow we will purchase a mop for our kitchen floor.

Happy New Year!!!
Brian

Happy New Year!

It's been a great one: getting married, moving to Seattle, changing Congress, learning how to put on makeup (Alicia), acing the first quarter (Brian, 3.7 GPA), and an incredible roadtrip experience.

Here's to many more!
Love,
Alicia and Brian

It's almost Christmas! Brian is done with finals on Wednesday. I'm really excited to go see the Christmas boats once he's done. There are dozens of boats that are decorated with lights that tour around the lakes every night during the holiday season. We see one or two of them each night as they enter Lake Union and they're beautiful.

We're headed back to DC on Monday. We'll be in town on Monday afternoon until Wed afternoon.

Will anyone be around? Can we help you play hooky from work?

Sigh...
I'm still unemployed. I've been job searching and interviewing. But it's between holidays and no one is posting or interviewing. grrrr...
But I can go to the climbing gym whenever I want. Morning, noon and night. And thanks to the internet, I can job search in my PJs.

And my parents visited Seattle for the first time last week! The weather fully cooperated so we got to do all of the tourist things plus some. We did the Space Needle, took a ferry to Bainbridge, toured Pike Place Market, ate salmon, saw the Ballard Locks, did some Christmas shopping, and drank lots of coffee and beer. They loved our neighborhood

Memorable moments:
- Mom, "your neighborhood isn't as sketchy as I thought it'd be!"
- Dad's ability to eat Top Pot donuts immediately after a full breakfast
- Watching the sun set over the city and Mt. Rainier on the ferry ride back home from Bainbridge
- Dad sitting on our couch before dinner, "I can watch the traffic patterns from your apartment!"
- Brian loving the cheese we got at Pike Place
- Going to a sports bar to watch the Seahawks-Broncos game and Mom making a game out of figuring out the NFL flags around the bar "Arizona what? Chicago who?"
- Dad presenting Brian with a Stella glass as "something any good son-in-law should have"
- Pretending to have been spying on Brian studying in the apartment from the Space Needle

Anyone else want to visit Seattle? Maybe in the spring?

Whew! So many visits! Justin came to Seattle last week for some work meetings. We had a great time. Sushi dinner, snowball fight, and a tour of Capitol Hill.

Then, my parents came to visit over the weekend. Lots more stories from that.