San Francisco

For you, Mo.

This city just knows its colors so well.

Metro Musings

Last Wednesday I had a few hours to kill and a bus pass at my disposal (thanks Katlyn). You would think I'd be bored of buses now after 3 years of commuting, but no, I'm still very much in love.

The plan was to have no plan. The only requirements were that I had to get to downtown and back on time to meet my friend Alison for dinner. Everything in the middle would be decided on a stop-by-stop basis.

I step out of the bus and into the bustle that is Seattle at the end of a work day and also Seattle on a sunny day. This meant people everywhere. And tourists, lots of tourists. Just general chaos.

I was overwhelmed by it all. Usually being downtown refuels me, but today I realized that amidst the crowds, recent family/friend reunions, work, and internship related gatherings, what I really needed was some time away from everything and everyone.

With the revised goal in mind, I walked around the block to find a bus back to Capitol Hill so I could find some quiet in Volunteer Park. I waited by the bus stop along with a large group of people, 20 or so of them being a group of school kids not older than ten all dressed in a yellow uniform. Then Sol walked by. You know, the rapper from UW. The one who I saw at Bumpershoot two years ago and the one who's song I was just listening to on my iPod not ten minutes earlier. I didn't approach him even though I easily could have. He looked too content in his headphones, strolling down the street, for me to come up and disturb him. Now I'm a little regretful that I didn't.

The 10 came by, its big green letters on the front told me it was going to take me to Capitoll Hill via 15th. Never taken this one before - why not? I step on to an almost full bus. Thankfully there was still one more empty row where I claimed my seat next to a window. Alright, now just a nice quiet ride out of downtown. That is, until the group of 20 schoolchildren also got on the bus. I couldn't help but laugh. You could see in the faces of the people on the bus that they were bracing themselves for a chattery trip.

The bus is great for many reasons: you don't have to park it, you don't have to fuel it, you don't have to drive it. The bus goes at the perfect speed for you to see the city. I could go on forever, but above all, the bus is where you will find one of the most eclectic mixes of humanity. The metro reminds me of who and where I am in relation to everyone else. It takes me out of the safe university bubble of UW and into the community that I call home.

View of downtown from the tower at Volunteer Park.

I look at the people out on the sidewalks and at the faces of those on the bus, and at first, there is a wave of fear. There is fear because they are all strangers. I know nothing of them, and they nothing of me. But in the middle of my slight panic there also came a certain peace of mind. It was the sense that I didn't necessarily have to know someone personally to know that we were all more or less in the same boat (or bus) trying to get from one place to another..

A place like here. 

Familiar places always feel new again every time I take this sort of trip. It's when I can cocoon myself in a familiar bus route or a quiet walk in the park and have some time alone. It's a chance to make sense of things, wipe the slate clean, and see old places in a new light.

"The unknown is an abstraction; the known, a desert; but what is half-known, half-seen, is the perfect breeding ground for desire and hallucination."

- Juan José Saer

Beach Bummin'

Had the chance today to visit Carkeek Park to test out some new protocol for surveying marine debris. Or, in other words, a couple of hours at the beach! And I get credit for it!

One thing's for sure: science is slow. And meticulous. It's going to take us a lot of trial and error to design the best way to document marine debris, but at least with each trial we know what works and what doesn't. People at the park were also really curious about what we were doing and eager to ask us questions, which made me happy. Also, don't know if you've noticed, but I've been experimenting with my photo editing this summer. I hope you'll allow me to tweak a little here and there and that the difference isn't too jarring. Just trying out something new!

Downtown Roaming

gotta keep 'grammin' 

through the looking glass

Check out this super cool installation at the Olympic Sculpture Park right now. Interactive art pieces are so totally my jam. 

Looper

The hills are freaking alive.

My friend Bry is currently on a solo three-week hiking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail. I was pleasantly surprised when the Naches Loop Trail my family chose to do last weekend was part of the PCT. This one's for you Bry!

I like the flowers, I like the daffodils. 

Reminiscent of Peru on our way to and from Wayqecha. 

I've turned my parents into photographers...?

aaand then we saw the mountain. 

The Naches Loop was a strikingly beautiful hike. Super accessible, super easy. It really doesn't take a lot of effort for anyone around here to get some killer views of our glorious Mt. Rainier. The lakes and small ponds are what made the hike for me though. Most of the ponds we passed are so small and change regularly with the seasons that they don't even have names. Beware this also means there's an annoyingly large chance that you'll get attacked by mosquitos at any given time. Still totally worth it! 

"I never know what to say to things like that. Such things humble me, and remind me how wonderfully small I am. I could say precisely the same thing about what I get out of driving the bus and being with the people. The change we can offer to other lives is incremental, and tiny, but it is change, and it is elemental."

- From The View From Nathan's Bus, Absurd Carnival / Kansas City!