Krissy sent me a link to the article below which states that Seattle is the brainiest city in the United States! Whoo-hoo! Of course since Matt and I moved up here, that probably helped the rankings a bit…or not, seeing how we both only have bachelor’s degrees from state universities (not that there’s anything wrong with state universities, and I will fight you if you say I didn’t get a great education that prepared me for a career in the field relevant to my major–something I can’t say for a lot of people who graduated from UCs. And YES I’m tired of people turning down state universities because they’re not prestigious, so don’t get me started. Then again, I think I got myself started…)

Total tangent.

As I was saying, Seattle is the brainiest city in the United States! The California cities on the list are: San Francisco (#2), San Diego (#9), San Jose (#15), and Oakland (#18). I think Oakland is really just a spillover from SF and possibly San Jose.

I liked this quote in the article: “Simply put, smart people like to live in cool places, and cities are trying to oblige.”

We sure do, and that’s why we are in Seattle! Hhmm…Seattle and SF are two of my favorite cities now…does that mean I’m really smart because I’m attracted to cities with other smart people? Or maybe it just means I like cool temperatures, hills, diverse and colorful cities, and water?

Here’s the intro to the article, and you can check out the rest and the list of top 25 brainiest U.S. cities here.

“Seattle’s also been ranked as the most literate city in the United States by Central Connecticut State University, beating out Minneapolis, Washington and Atlanta. That rating was based on such things as the number of booksellers, libraries and newspaper circulation - as well as educational attainment.

Many brainy people have flocked to the Seattle area to work in what’s called the “knowledge economy.”

Companies headquartered there and in surrounding towns, including Microsoft, Amazon, Cray, Washington Mutual and Costco, all use heavy doses of information technology. Even another of the area’s biggest employers, old-line Boeing, is also a glutton for technological solutions.

Seattle also has more than its share of residents with advanced degrees: 20.5 percent. Only Washington, D.C., has more holders of advanced degrees. Many there work for the federal government, as well as for the think tanks and other nongovernmental organizations that form the heart of capital’s working culture.”

Today was like a bombardment of Sac contacts: Dorc left to return to Sac; on the way back from the airport, I was driving behind a car with an Elk Grove license plate frame; I talked to my pau-pau to ask how my gung-gung was doing after his gall bladder surgery; and lastly, Kit called to wish me a happy judgment day. (And has it really been nine years?! Kit wasn’t sure of this, but I’m pretty sure we had a big LAN party at Matt Chan’s house on Aug. 29, 1997.) Wear your 2 million sunblock!

It was fun having Dorc here. I felt like we didn’t do a whole lot of life-changing, mind-blowing activities, but we just went here and there, shopped, hung out, shopped some more, and ate. Dorc and I don’t see each other that often anymore, but when we do, it’s always just very relaxing. We keep in touch well enough that we don’t have to spent a whole lot of time catching up, and I feel totally comfy just sitting next to her in silence. A sign of a deep friendship.

I felt like we shopped a lot…grocery shopping, souvenir shopping, clothes shopping. But I enjoyed it. Dorc’s a good shopping companion because she looks for deals, too, and doesn’t try to convince me to buy something for the sake of buying it. She’ll ask me if I really need it and then listen to me ask myself if it’s a practical item to buy. For example, I almost bought a brown and blue striped shirt at Ross for $7.99. Only $7.99, you ask, what’s the big deal? Plenty. If it ends up sitting in my closet, it’s $7.99 that I could have spent elsewhere. I ended up not getting it because I’m trying to buy only clothes I can wear to work, and the shirt didn’t look good with khakis or black pants, both of which I wear to work. So bye-bye cheap shirt.

Anyway, time to munch on my pico de gallo salsa that Dorc taught me to make. I don’t think it turned out as good as the one Dorc made. I think I chopped my veggies too big. Oh well. Maybe Dorc needs to stay with us longer and make salsa every night for us. :)

The capacity of our apartment has fluctuated between two and seven over the past two weeks as we had the Ips over (one or two siblings per night, culminating with all seven one night), back down to three over the weekend during Dorc’s visit. She leaves tomorrow, and we’ll be back to just the two of us until Melanie visits in two weeks.

The visits have been a lot of fun, especially taking people to places they’ve never been before. It’s fun trying to modify the trip to suit the visitors’ needs, but in the case of the Ips’ visit, it’s harder to do so when there are five people to accommodate. But they mostly went around on their own as Matt and I worked during the day and then joined them at night for dinner. By then, they were all so beat after a full day of sightseeing that we all just went our separate ways after the meal. Matt and I had a chance to join them for a full weekend in Vancouver, though. We took a water taxi to Granville Island (it’s not really an island if the land is not surrounded by water on all sides, people!), marveled over the huge, sweet berries, browsed through shops, had late dinners, and enjoyed the hotel pool and Jacuzzi. When it comes to family vacations, going around to sightsee is fun. But when family vacations like these are rare, I actually enjoy just hanging out with people like having silly races in the pool. I also enjoyed taking Sarah to my breakdancing class and then going out for boba after that.

Dorc’s visit has been different since there is only one visitor and I sort of have a better feel for what she likes to do. We don’t try to do too much, but we sort of had an itinerary in mind before she got here. Saturday’s activities included dim sum, a visit to Uwajimaya, hiking/berry picking/shell collecting at Discovery Park, two unexpected hours at REI, sushi dinner, and then a movie at home. It was enough to tire us out a bit, but not too tiring where we missed out on an evening together. It was just the right amount of activity. On Sunday, we went to church, had lunch at the Seattle Center, and then spent a couple of hours at the Pacific Science Center, including a (semi)3-D showing of “Superman Returns.”

On Saturday evening, we watched “Weather Man,” which I thought was kind of slow and annoying (well, more like the characters were annoying), but I liked the message that it conveyed. One line (paraphrased) said something like “Being an adult does not include the word ‘easy.’” Michael Caine’s character told this to his son, Nicholas Cage’s character, as he was wrestling with a possible job relocation while trying to work things out with his ex-wife and children. But Cage’s character was what you would consider a loser in life and seemed undisciplined to improve his attitude. He wanted things to happen, but he was unmotivated to make the effort and really see change happen in his life. His father told him that life gets easier for us and everyone else when we do the right thing, which may often mean choosing hard decisions.

So what did I get out of that and how do I relate it to the earlier part of this post? This may be a stretch, so bear with me, but through our visitors, I’ve been more conscious about my own attitude and my comfort level with different people. As much as I’ve spent time with my in-laws, there still isn’t that comfort level with them as there is with my own family or my close friends like Dorc. Don’t get me wrong. I love them all, and they’ve made me feel like a part of the family since day one. They are extremely loving and caring. But my interactions with them (especially in a group) feel a little more restrained like I’m reining my natural goofy self. I guess it’s only natural, and it’s part of the process of joining someone else’s family. Four years down the line, I know I have relaxed more around them, but I still feel like I’m holding back sometimes because I don’t know how they will react—or if they will disapprove. My family, close friends, and Matt know the extent of my true self and just how quirky (or is it immature?) I can be (sometimes to the point of annoyance as Matt will probably say), but it’s who I am.

So now that I’ve realized this, do I just keep on behaving as usual (a little more formal and restrained) with not only my in-laws, but with my co-workers or other people that I am still getting to know, or do I acknowledge that this is part of being an adult (and being married) and try to bridge that gap between who others think I am because I’ve acted a certain way around them with who I really am (and hope they accept me nonetheless)? The easy way out is to just continue acting mellow and more restrained because I only see them a few times a year or because I only sit at my cube 8 hours a day, most of the time not even interacting with anyone. But the hard way, and probably the better decision, is to make a conscious effort to let my natural personality seep in little by little until I can feel completely myself around everyone that I meet, regardless of how they act or how they may react to me.

It may take awhile, and it won’t be easy. But like the movie said, being an adult does not include the word ‘easy.’

*Pics with the Ips’ and Dorc’s visits to come, probably after this weekend’s camping trip…or after Melanie’s visit…or after Na’s visit…*

P.S. Congrats to my sister for finishing her first triathlon!!

“Napoleon Dynamite” has got to be one of the dumbest, silliest, yet funniest movies ever. It’s not exciting, action-packed or filled with crazy stunts, but picturing Napoleon’s half-closed eyes or hearing Kip’s lisp in my head cracks me up. Tater tots, whole milk and chapstick are boring, everyday objects, but stick them into a Napoleon scene, and you’ve made those items popular again. Freakin’ genius.

Although we own the DVD, Matt and I couldn’t pass up the chance to watch ”Napoleon Dynamite” on a big outdoor screen with the Chings–also big Napoleon fans. The movie was part of an outdoor event which included live music, booths with free goodies (buttered popcorn!), gay bingo (not sure what that is or how it differs from regular bingo…???) and a movie. Since it’s considered a family movie, you see people of all ages and walks of life there. In front of me were a couple of young gals, behind us were some couples, and next to me were a grandma and her granddaughter. 

As a lasting reminder, we took some pics. Check us out here (we have two pics: 194 & 195), or if that doesn’t work, try this link, click on “Napoleon Dynamite” and go to pictures 194 & 195.

Happy birthday to my super pops! To celebrate, he’s hiking up Half Dome yet again with a bunch of his hiking buddies, including the newest addition to the group–ET’s dad. My dad said Mr. To has to summit a mountain before he can be initiated into the “take a fake peeing picture” club. Nice.

I haven’t felt very inspired to write lately. My workload has slowed down and so has my energy level. But I’m trying to get more active by running at least twice a week during lunch and also committing to the upcoming 8-week breakdancing session. By committing I mean paying in advance, which will force me to go. The thing is, it’s not like I DON’T want to go to breakdancing or capoeira. The hard part is just getting out of the apartment once I’ve gotten home from work, changed and eaten dinner. Yarn projects are tempting me to stay home!

Jennifer, Bobbie and I have agreed to do a knit-a-long of Starsky and I just bought the yarn for it. I have yet to finish Matt’s sweater because I ran out of yarn! Eek! To make matters worse, that yarn is out of stock at the moment, so I’m buying another one that I HOPE will be the same color. We’ll soon see.

I’m excited about the projects, yet scared to fail. But isn’t that with all risks in life? I admire people who launch themselves into new endeavors and shrug off the possibility of failure or making mistakes. I think those people are the ones who have the most achievements.

For the rest of us, we want to move out of our comfort zone and push ourselves to attempt something slightly more advanced than what we’ve been doing all along (i.e. a more technical knitting pattern, incorporating more moves into your capoeira game, picking up a new sport). The risk of failure or even making a fool of ourselves hinders us from fully putting our all into it–or keeps us from trying at all. But if we don’t try for the fear of failing, what kind of life do we end up living?

But even with that pep talk, I’m perpetually afraid of failing or of not being able to do something well. Too bad we don’t get graded on everything in life. If that were the case, I’d be pushing myself so hard just go get straight As in everything I do. haha. I’m such the nerd.

If this is indeed true that U.S. soldiers committed this crime, I will be extremely outraged. As much as I know our soldiers have benefitted the situation in Iraq, we also have read a lot about misunderstandings, stupid acts and wasted money that have come out of this war. This is not to diminish the fact that U.S. soldiers have given their lives to fight, and their families here have to live with the losses, but if we’re going with the intention of being saviors, we better act like it.

Here’s an update on this story.

Matt and I spent the weekend at Kayak Point County Park in Snohomish County. The park is only about 30 miles north, but with Friday evening traffic, it took us more than an hour to get there. When we got there and explored a bit, we realized there wasn’t much to do there except play in the lake, which we didn’t do at all. We skipped a few rocks, people-watched, and spent a large chunk of Saturday afternoon reading. Talk about relaxation.

I was very excited to stay in a yurt for the first time. A yurt is a cabin-like structure constructed with a circular frame and canvas-type material stretched around the frame. This particular yurt had a “moonroof” overhead which could be propped open for air, as well as screen windows. Inside was a bunk bed, a coffee table, and a futon. Our neighbors next door had plugged in a TV and were watching wrestling. Other neighbors were playing a Ray Charles CD loud enough for everyone to hear.

If you can’t picture what a yurt looks like, here are two pictures:

Here are some lessons I learned over the weekend:
-Matt affirmed my long-time belief that he really is an old man trapped in a young guy’s body: When some young kids ran by laughing really loudly (at 10:30 p.m.), Matt immediately looked at his watch and grumbled, “Aren’t there supposed to be quiet hours?!” I couldn’t stop laughing, especially seeing how we were still outside playing Uno anyway and shouldn’t care if other people were making noise.

-Kids really know how to have fun: At the lake, we watched a little girl floating on a small log, pretending it was a boat. Some teenagers rolled a large log into the water and were trying to stand on it. They could barely even sit on it for longer than a few seconds, but it was fun watching them try. Younger kids nearby watched the teenagers do this and were smarter than the older kids–instead of trying to do the work themselves, they asked their dad to carry smaller logs into the water for them.

-I still get really moody during my PMS week.

-After years of picking blackberries and eating them straight from the bush, I discovered that they really DO have a lot of little bugs on them.

-If you fart in a campground, everyone else can hear you. (It wasn’t me.)

-Trying to lighten your camping equipment load by eating dehydrated food all weekend is not a good idea: The dehydrated beef stroganoff had 1,150 milligrams (43% DV) of sodium; the scrambled eggs/bacon had 243% DV of cholesterol. That stuff could kill you.

-It’s hard to stop eating snacks when you’re camping. If you have a handful of Raisinets, you have to balance the sweetness with a few bits of beef jerky. But after that, you have to balance the saltiness with some more Raisinets and so on.

(PICS IN THE GALLERY FROM THE YURT EXCURSION TO COME!)

********
We got home early enough on Sunday to go to the 7 p.m. service at church. The pastor spoke on spiritual gifts, highlighting wisdom and knowledge this week. He described people with the gift of knowledge as Jesus geeks, people who crave knowledge and love to study; people who love footnotes and love to read and own books. One of his quotes, slightly modified from Sir Mix-a-lot’s famous song (which I shamefully know most of the lyrics to), “I like big books and I cannot lie.”
********
Since we had picked a whole potful of berries over the weekend, I decided to try my hand at making blackberry jam–something that seems very Northwestern. I researched some recipes online, bought some pectin and canning jars at Fred Meyers and ended up with 8 jars of jam! I can’t wait to try it out, and you can bet that if you’re coming to visit soon, you will take home a jar (if it tastes good). But I’m proud of myself for trying it even without all the equipment that websites say you must have. I did end up with a lot of spilled sugar, stained oven mitts and sticky counters, but after I try the jam, I hope I can say it was worth it.

We were invited by our new friends Lilybeth and Chi on our first camping trip in Washington this past weekend. We loaded up the little buggie (temporarily in an identity crisis until the department of licensing sends me a nice license plate) and drove down around Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. The drive takes about an hour and half, but you’re driving around a half-circle. If you take a ferry, the path is more direct, but it takes two hours. Anyway, we got there Friday night with just enough daylight to unload our equipment, set up the tent, and roast some s’mores.

This was probably one of the most relaxing camping trips we had ever taken, probably because there wasn’t much to do there. The main attraction was the beach. I’m not normally a beach person, but this was my type of beach—lots of rocks and marine life. Our main activity was walking to the beach, combing the rocks for any cool finds, and poking at all the oysters and mussels clinging to the rocks. We took a small detour to a grassy open area where we attempted to play badminton, but Lilybeth and I ended up using the racquets to pick berries that were out of reach. 

Instead of recapping the whole weekend, I’ll list some highlights in no particular order:

- cool weather so we weren’t baking in the tent when we woke up in the morning

- meeting Dale, who grew up in Sac AND went to Rutter and Valley High with one of my uncles!

- finding oysters, clams and mussels on the beach

- watching Chi painfully bounce up and down on the tree while Francis pushed it with a stick

- making new friends and sharing laughter and good conversation

- getting to know Lilybeth and discovering that she, too, doesn’t shy away from gross bathroom/body function talk—and in fact, seems to enjoy it!

- Matt picking up my little facial cottons (doubling as toilet paper when I woke up in the wee morning hours to pee outside of our tent) and putting them in his pocket because he didn’t know what they were and thought maybe I had dropped them

- the best camping food ever (fried won tons, BBQ short ribs, fried rice, veggies with fried tofu, to name a few)

- debating whether the crystals on the crackers were sugar or salt (after a heated debate, we concluded the crystals were both)

- campfires, starry skies and s’mores (“How can I have some more if I haven’t had any?” “You’re killing me, Smalls!!”)

–Pics now posted in the gallery!–

Also, I created a new page called “heart cries” (see sidebar links, under “about taffystay”) where I will post articles or information about topics that are of concern to me.

The first one is an article in The Washington Times about the child soldiers of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. This topic gets a lot of publicity here at work, and rightly so. It’s horrific and I can’t believe children–little kids my cousins’ ages–are going through these tragedies. It’s a long article, but it’s informative and insightful.