CELEBRATING!

My birthday in the mountain time zone!

A Toast!

Raising our glasses because it's officially my birthday in Fargo, North Dakota and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Birthday Eve Parking Spot

I picked a very appropriate parking spot for this evening, don't ya think?

Chocolate

I have loved this song since the first time I heard it back in March when my little brother Jimmy bought the album at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne. I am in melancholy mood today and this song has touched my heart more than usual.

Chocolate by Snow Patrol

This could be the very minute
I'm aware I'm alive
All these places feel like home
With a name I'd never chosen
I can make my first steps
As a child of 25

This is the straw, final straw in the
Roof of my mouth as
I lie to you
Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean
I didn't enjoy it at the time

You're the only thing that I love
It scares me more every day
On my knees I think clearer
Goodness knows I saw it coming
Or at least I'll claim I did
But in truth I'm lost for words
What have I done it's too late for that
What have I become truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I'll do anything you ask...this time

Every woman...

Received an email from a friend today with the following. I liked it so instead of forwarding it to the female masses I decided to share it here.

=========

A woman should have...
One friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry.

A woman should have...
A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family.

A woman should have...
Eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

A woman should have...
A feeling of control over her destiny.

Every woman should know...
How to fall in love without losing herself.

Every woman should know...
How to quit a job, break up with a love and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

Every woman should know...
When to try harder and when to walk away.

Every woman should know...
That she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.

Every woman should know...
That her childhood may not have been perfect..but; Its over.

Every woman should know...
What she would and wouldn't do for love or more.

Every woman should know...
How to live alone... even if she doesn't like it.

Every woman should know...
Whom she can trust and whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally.

Every woman should know...
Where to go...Be it to her best friend's kitchen table or a charming inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing.

Every woman should know...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day, a month and a year.

DaVinci View?

Lunch with my brothers David and Jimmy at DaVinci Subs in Seattle's University District offered a *DaVinci View* for sure! ;-)

Acting like a kid again

The streak in the middle of the picture is my little brother Jimmy diving off the high dive into Green Lake.

SWIMMING!

My "little brother" at Green Lake.

Poetry on the bus

I rode the bus to work this morning. Since 1992 the King County Metro has sponsored a poetry contest; the winny entries appear on the interior of their buses. The contest is called appropriately enough Poetry On Buses. The theme for 2005 was Self Portrait. I read and re-read this poem on the way to work this morning and really liked it.

Rust
Let it go, just let me go.
You've built a vessel, let it float.
Let it rust, let me live.
Iron can't rust without some air.

-Jane Minifie, 12th grade

Manhattan Sunset

Another pic courtesy of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

A Manhattan Sunset Credit & Copyright: Neil deGrasse Tyson (AMNH)

Explanation: Today, if it is clear, Manhattan will flood dramatically with sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely on the centerline of every street. Usually, the tall buildings that line the gridded streets of New York City's tallest borough will hide the setting Sun. This effect makes Manhattan a type of modern Stonehenge, although only aligned to about 30 degrees east of north. Were Manhattan's road grid perfectly aligned to east and west, today's effect would occur on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox, March 21 and September 21, the only two days that the Sun rises and sets due east and west. If today's sunset is hidden by clouds do not despair -- the same thing happens every May 28 and July 12. On none of these occasions, however, should you ever look directly at the Sun.