11 posts tagged “life”

I realize that I haven't written much at all about Seattle, and there is so much to write about. But it's been a whirlwind that's finally starting to settle down. I moved into my apartment. It is really awesome. But I will start from the beginning:

Week 2-present: Work. I work at a very small start up company of about 30 people. There's a lot of work to go around, very little bureaucracy, I like that it's all about doing the best science you possibly can. I work a lot, everyone works really hard and long hours, but we always have beer and wine on Fridays. I introduced them to soju last week, it was a hit. My coworkers are also really down to earth and really interesting.

The corporate condo was less than a mile away from work, so I'd take the bus to work every morning (work is on a pretty big hill), and walk home every day taking a different route. Downtown Seattle is full of cool stores and restaurants, unfortunately, I get out of work around 6, all the stores close at 6pm, and the restaurants that are open after 6pm are all pretty expensive. Tim and I spent an evening walking all over downtown Seattle looking for a restaurant that doesn't cost more than $10 a person. Eventually, we settled on a sports bar where I had incredible mussels for about $9. I walked by the Seattle Central Library everyday, it is incredibly cool. There is so much natural light inside, and it just feels like a big room where people hang out quietly.

The condo's also very close (next block over) to the ferry terminal, Pike Place Market, and all the surrounding touristy goodness. I knew that Pike Place Market was touristy, but I had no idea I was living in tourist central until I took an alternate exit out of the condo building and saw all the seafood places and tchochke huts along the water. Fortunately, the condo was also very close to Pioneer Square, which is a really cool area to walk around, and International District, which is Seattle's Chinatown. It's also close to Safeco Field, so we were able to walk to see the soccer match between Brazil and Canada's national teams without having to deal with parking or taking crowded buses/trains.

The condo was pretty comfortable with all the amenities you'd want in a home, but what sucked (other than everything closing at 6pm) is that there were no real grocery stores around, so if you wanted to buy some garbage bags or detergent, be prepared to pay out the ass for it at a convenience store.

I was sad to miss the hustle and bustle of living in downtown Seattle, but I'm so glad to move into my new apartment.

Washington State Fact of the Day: You can only buy your liquor at a state-run liquor store. Most of them are not open on Sundays. If you were having a party where you're supplying free liquor, you have to apply for a $20 banquet license.

More photos:

How do you feel about your birthday?  Do you look forward to it and remind all your friends, or do you dread it and try to keep it a secret?

I used to keep it secret because I didn't want people to think I wanted the attention. But as I turned 30, I realized that it's an occasion to have fun with my friends, not about me.

When did you really get to make a difference for someone else? 
Submitted by bodhibound.

I'd like to think that I'm making a difference everyday.

What's on your holiday wishlist?

1. World peace
2. Health and serenity for me and mine
3. A new job that pays lot of money and is in Seattle.
4. For my cat's diabetes to reverse itself.

What is your daily commute like?  What is the weirdest thing you've seen on that commute? 
Submitted by E. 

It's 30 minutes each way...pretty slow going but it moves.

This is the weirdest thing I've seen on my commute:

What are some ways you save money? 
Submitted by Pixiemom.  

I do a lot of my shopping online, mainly it's good for comparing prices and also reading the reviews on each website. For example, 80% of all my purchases from REI are from their online store, because there's always some sort of discount code available, plus they ship it for free to the store.

Other tools I use:

1. Mypoints.com - This one is my favorite. I've been a Mypoints.com member since 2001. You accumulate points for reading and clicking on the junkmail they send you, answering surveys, and buying stuff.  Sometimes the junkmail is pretty good, like you can get a 1 month subscription to New York Times for $4 and get 2000 points, or you can subscribe to Earthlink DSL for $34.99/month and get 500 points. When you shop with one of their affiliated merchants like J Crew, Banana Republic, Target, REI, even plane tickets from Travelocity, etc, you also earn points per dollar spent. In other words, if you go through Mypoints for spending money online, you earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards. I've probably redeemed enough points for around $75 in gift cards this year alone to REI and Target. It's free money.  Let me know if you want to join, so I can refer you and get more points. I'm a MyPoints whore.

2. E-rewards.com - It's all about answering surveys. The surveys can be long or short. In this program, you earn dollars that can be redeemed for frequent flyer miles, credit to Border's, discounts to other stores, free magazine subscripions, etc. Again, free money for a little bit of your time. I redeemed the balance for credit to Border's, and used it to buy Tim's Christmas present (+25% off coupon) and a book for myself at the total cost of $2.75.

3. Mailing lists/Loyalty memberships - Get on the mailing lists for Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, also loyalty clubs like Aveda (one time $10 fee). I get coupons for free stuff from these stores all the freaking time, at least once a month. The only trick is to exercise self-restraint when you go into the store, but once you're there, there really isn't pressure from the sales people as much temptation to buy fabulous stuff. I also like AMC awards, you earn two points per person per movie, every 10 points gets you a free popcorn/soda/movie ticket. Border's Rewards is worthwhile, it's tough for me to buy enough books to earn credit for more books, but the coupons are really good. Sephora also has a really good one.

4. Discount codes - Retailmenot.com has all the discount codes, their restrictions, and data on how often the codes have worked. Always check Retailmenot before you make a purchase online.

5. I never buy clothes, shoes, or accessories at full price, and it's usually at least 25% off.

Show us how you blow off steam.

After a long day in the lab, I come home and basically do it some more. I cook.

This is the banh xeo I made last night.

Show us your favorite way to stay warm on a cold autumn day.
Submitted by Ross.

Hot roasted chestnuts, Chinese style.  The chestnuts are churned with hot black pebbles and sugar, the hot black pebbles heat the chestnuts evenly from all sides, so the chestnut inside stays moist and soft without getting burnt. You can find the carts at 99 Ranch or Mitsuwa market place on weekends when it starts getting cold.

What's the most memorable crush you have had? 
Submitted by spectacular.  

They're all memorable. I've gone as far as ask the guy out and getting turned down, which is fine because then I'm not spending hours agonizing over "does he like me or not". But the ones I regret the most are ones where I came close to making a move but didn't because I didn't want to make things weird for our friendship, what happens later is I always find out that the guy liked me back.

What's the best thing you ever bought off of Ebay or Craigslist?

The Betsey Johnson dress I wore to my birthday party last night. It retails for ~$300. I almost got it on sale for $152 but even then it still felt like I was buying the brand more than the actual dress. Then I got it on eBay for $80. It's an awesome dress, just not $300 or $152 awesome. At $80, it's the most expensive dress I own.