January 31, 2005

Starbucks Headquarters Got to tour the Starbucks headquarters tonight, from a flooring viewpoint. Dan's company, Greater Seattle Flooring, has the a mega-contract to install hardwood flooring in the building. It has more square footage than the Columbia Tower, so I'm told. The floors were nice, but my attention was of course drawn to the gorgeous graphic design throughout the offices. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling fabulous design. That's my kind of space. Afterward, Dan and I visited the Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery and Restaurant. I had a ceasar salad which was tasty, but expensive. A much better value was the lucious pint (ok, 2) of Snow Cap, a gorgeous full bodied seasonal ale, reportedly "crafted in the British tradition of holiday beers." Try one before the weather turns warm.

January 28, 2005

35th Street Bistro and No Star Dined at the 35th Street Bistro in Freemont this evening with Michelle, Julie Olufson and Brian. I had the Mahi Mahi; delicious and reasonably priced at $15. The ambiance was, well, bistro-ish. Comfortable, well-designed and friendly. It was difficult to hear someone across the table, however. Not due to music, just the acoustics of the place and the fact that there were a lot of diners. Afterward we went across the street to the Dubliner to hear Julie's friend, the lead singer in No Star. I had a pint of Druid IPA then moved on to a black and tan. Lovely.

January 26, 2005

The Hood The Smith Tower with 42 floors, opened in July of 1914 and was the tallest building west of the Mississippi for almost 50 years. Jay took me up to to observation deck when we were about 12 years old. Stellar view.

Gazing out at the Olympics The tradeoff for being unemployed is I get to sit on my sofa scouring the job boards and writing cover letters whilst looking out at the snow-capped Olympics. Hi Amanda and David!

The Pad Spare bedroom. Come visit.

Shooting Floors Got my first job since moving back to Seattle. I photographed some hardwood floors at ritzy residences. Have a peek. http://www.stacymunn.com/gsf_web

January 13, 2005

Waterfront runs I went for my second Seattle waterfront run this evening. Not crowded, but several other joggers along the route to keep me company. Gazing across Elliott Bay is tranquil on the way out. Then turning around the electrifying blue of the Seahawks Stadium powers me home.

January 12, 2005

The Seattle Scene Last night I went to the Elysian Brewing Co. on E Pike. I had a couple pints of their porter which was ever so tasty. England is big on beer, but I prefer the microbrews of the Pacific Northwest. I was at the brewery as part of a meetup.com group, the Seattle Digital Photographers Meetup Group to be precise. Shaun and Brian were good enough to join me so I didn't have to meet with myself in case no one else from the group showed. The night before, Debbi and I met with the Seattle Graphic Designers Meetup Group at the Aurifice Internet and Coffee Bar on E Pine. Had a cup of chai and checked out some stellar portfolios. Then Deb and I grabbed a slice of Greek pizza at Pagliacci's. We were gonna check out a band at Chop Suey, but we chatted so long that the band was finished by the time we got to the door. It's great to be back with my girls!

January 10, 2005

Reunited I'm getting reacquainted with the Jet City. That's what Seattle was called before they tagged it the Emerald City. Shaun and I went to Dragonfish. Shaun taught me about tilapia, a fine tasting fresh water fish which we wrapped with lettuce cups for starters. For our main course we ordered Chinese 5 spice salmon and red Thai curry noodle and shrimp. To compliment the food, we had a couple glasses of some velvety red wine. It was all delicious and well presented. My favorite was the talapia and the shrimp that was in the noodles. I'm so happy that I eat seafood now. I've been to the Pike Place Market three times already for fresh vegetables, ahi tuna and salmon. The fish is exquisite when cooked on the electric grill I bought at a Korean everything-you-can-think-of store on Aurora. And I'm so happy to be near Shaun.

Viva Las Vegas 4,049 rooms in the Venetian Hotel. It's gorgeous.

January 07, 2005

It's magic The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is now the biggest convention in Vegas, so likely the biggest in the world. Michelle asked a cabbie what was another big convention in the city and we learned that it was the the MAGIC show. For the rest of our time in Las Vegas, we pictured magicians in capes and tophats making plates at restaurant tables disappear and pulling coins from behind taxi drivers' ears and the like. On the way to the airport, a different cabbie clarified things for us. It's actually the Men's Apparel and Garment Industry Convention.

More Trick Cheap Trick played at the International Consumer Electronics Show on Friday at 3. When registering for the show, I read about the gig and made a mental note to try to be in the right hall at that time if our schedule permitted. Once I got to the show though, there were so many products to view and so much technical information to ingest, I put it low on my priority list. By Friday I had completely forgotten about the performance. The Trick gods were with me and ensured I was within earshot as the band played their first song. Michelle and I made our way through the crowds (much easier at CES than at a regular gig) and sang all the words to Surrender. Robin Zander was wearing the black and purple striped jacket.

January 06, 2005

2005 International Consumer Electronics Show Orb will stream your digital music, videos and other content from your home computer to your mobile device. Very slick design and the product is on the market now. When we asked when they launched, the two guys at the booth looked at each other and said in unison, "Yesterday." Go Orb! LG,out of Korea had an Internet integrated home. Put your roast in the refrigerated oven when you get home from the grocery store Sunday afternoon, then start the oven from your mobile phone on Monday afternoon. Check the weather forecast in the corner of your dressing mirror to select the appropriate outfit for the day. I didn't realize how prevalant Tivo is. This one is gonna be big. Smart TV recording. Record an entire season of your favorite shows, without the commercials and without re-runs. The technology will also let you record all programs with an actor or director of your choosing. You can also have it record programs it thinks you will like based on your preferences. Xm and Sirius are the two satellite radio contenders. I had a WorldSpace radio in London. Sirius and xm have the US airwaves. You can now get satellite radio in your home, your car and on small portable devices. Everything was connected to the Internet. You could start your refrigerated oven from the Internet. You could see the weather forecast in your dressing mirror to help you choose what to wear. I also saw spec sheet for a DVD that will hold 30 gigs of data. 30 gigs on a DVD. Astounding. The iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner looked like a good value, and quite fun.

January 03, 2005

Surrounded This is the view from my apartment this morning. And I'm going to get out of shipping?