Our First New Year Together

I was looking through the pictures on my digital camera and found the ones we took on New Year's day. Chad was working New Year's eve and I spent the evening at KOMO while he worked. Here's me looking silly.









We got a great view of the fireworks at the Space Needle. While most people had to watch from the streets in the cold and rain, we watched from KOMO station, just across the street from the spectacular display of light.

Beautiful Winter Days

It's a really wonderful walk to Fremont from our place. A walk along the Burke-Gilman trail on a sunny winter day last week was for me, as therapeutic as a massage. I could enjoy the sun in my face without having to constantly wipe down beads of perspiration. I enjoyed people-watching, watching the birds and other little animals and trying to figure out the mechanisms of the drawbridge. I discovered the Sunday market and enjoyed its sights and especially enjoyed its smells. I worked up an appetite with the walk and so it took a lot not to just buy every type of food on sale there.


The ache in my calves the next day also reminded of the great aerobic exercise I got just walking briskly up the slope all the way back home. I really appreciated the nice winter day. The next day was just as nice and off I went again. And so was the day after that. No one goes for a walk on a sunny day at 1:30 pm in the afternoon in Singapore. It's just too hot and humid. I'm hoping there'll be more beautiful winter days like this one.

Look Who's Behind the Wheel

I learnt today that driving a car is not like riding a bike. My last lessons were twenty odd years ago in Malaysia and I was not to bad at it. I was not able to get my licence in time though, as I was soon in Singapore with a lot on my plate just keeping up with my studies. As I got older and out of school, the combination of a great public transport system and a ridiculously high cost of owning a car in Singapore, was little motivation for me to actually get a licence.

I took my first lesson with my driving instructor today. It did not all come back to me. It's a skill I've lost completely and have to start from scratch. Having a spouse as a driving instructor is probably not usually a good idea but Chad was really patient. We both survived the lesson and I am even looking forward to my next lesson. What about you, Chad?

pre-President Obama at KOMO-TV

I'm so excited about Barack Obama being elected as our 44th President. I've got high hopes for the next eight years but also have to remember that he is just one man. He won't be able to fix the problems and mistakes of the past administration instantly so I must remember to be patient. This picture is when he visited KOMO-TV in 2006 and was a guest on "Northwest Afternoon" to promote his book. This was before he had announced his bid but everyone felt it was just a matter of time before he would. The audience was full of people excited to see him and I remember he was about 15 minutes late for the show, so the hosts had to do some improvised filling. After the show, people lined up to have him sign books and have their picture taken with him. Me, I didn't have a book, but offered him one of my business cards. He laughed as he gave me his autograph and then one of my co-workers took two pictures of us.