A walk in the park

Last weekend was absolutely gorgeous, and I was invited to meet some of my wife's long-time friends. One of them lives in New York so whenever she comes into town for a few days they all get together and have lunch.
It was beautifully sunny so the four of us walked to Palagacci's Pizza on Broadway, me happily lagging behind and snapping pictures all the way. The pizza was excellent and then we meandered over to Volunteer Park and the plant conservatory there. Almost two rolls of film were spent in an area about 1500 square feet. I can't wait to go back in the springtime when everything else is in bloom, especially the desert flora. We then headed back in the general direction of our startting point, making sure to stop at Dilletante Chocolate and martini bar. Best german chocolate cake ever. And I know a thing or two about cake!
By the time we got back to the condo we'd started at the sun was just setting and I managed to snap a few final pictures in the remaining light.

Moving forward in a sideways kind of way

For those of you that haven't heard, Thyra and I will be moving out of our apartment at the end of April and into my parents' house in order to save money for the big move. Yes, that means I will be changing wards (or congregations, however you want to term it) and there will be some adjustments to be made.
I think the greatest challenge will be a lack of privacy. Anyone who's ever lived with a roommate can attest to this; there are certain privacies we enjoy living on our own that will be compromised or lost once we move in with them. But all for the greater good, right?
There's also some logistical hurdles such as laundry and shower scheduling, cooking duties, ensuring the house stays tidy, sharing the tv and so on.
My mother's main concern is that we'll come away from this hating her because she has a bad day and takes it out on us. Don't we all have bad days? I don't know about her, but a few bad days isn't going to ruin a relationship with me and although the relationship is still relatively new as of right now, it shouldn't topple the foundation she's building with my wife.
At any rate, that's where we're at right now.

My Picutres

So these are some of the wonderful pictures I've taken. Yes, these showcase just dogs (none of which are mine) but I wanted to give everyone the idea of what my camera is capable of. I currently shoot with a Nikon N55 35mm SLR, using a 30-80mm and 70-300mm Nikkor lenses. I love this camera dearly and the pictures come out pretty spectacular, despite lack of formal training and low-grade film. More to come soon!

All aboard the crazy bus!

Recently, the wonderful people over at Sound transit and King County Metro decided to cut express routes from major transportation points. ST Route 565 and 564 and KCM Route 194, to be exact. Granted, the 565 and 564 were essentially the same route, but they could have combined them into a single run that goes from South Hill in Pierce county to the Overlake Transit Center.
What was the reasoning, you ask? Because Sound Transit has a contract with the other transit agencies not to overlap routes, which cuts out most of the express runs between cities and major transit hubs. Also, they want to steer passengers toward the Sounder Light Rail system.
What it actually does is forces thousands to take slower buses that will inevitably be more crowded while they wait for the light rail to be completed in those centrally-located transit centers, scheduled for sometime in the next century. Sounds like fun, eh?