Another weekend came and went…why does it do that??? I love them so dearly and they always seem to blink by as opposed to the weeks that can drag on. Though I have to say that I never wake up and go “Man, I really don’t want to go to work today”. That has to be a good thing right? And work has been going much better. I needed a change, a deviation from the ongoing, ever-present project that I had been working on. This week I have been working on three very different projects and that variety is going to continue into the future. I have been working on excavation design for the 2nd station with my pal Marika which requires a lot of laughter, I have been gathering and updating drawings to submit for our 2nd progress printing due next week which requires a lot of organization, coloring, and meetings with the CAD guys, and I have been working on a 2D beam model to support the hand calcs I had done previously for the settlement analysis of the tunnels themselves which has required a lot of geometry.
I am actually very excited for the next few months. My supervisor asked me if I had interest in learning Sketchup and boy do I. I’ve heard the program is easy to use and looks super cool. Plus I can download it on my own personal computer to better teach myself and there are many uses for it…which I will soon learn what those uses are. But it is really to relieve some of the bulk of the work that my good buddy David has constantly on his plate. So now David is my mentor, too cool! And much of the Sketchup work that is done in the office is for marketing (the reason David got to go to New York for the bid proposal meeting a few months ago). And that is a whole new sector of the company I might get a little more in touch with. I can’t wait and hope that I do indeed like it.
Socially things are going smoothly too. On Thursday Bryan requested round two of roast pork sandwiches after he became enamored with them and we watched the crazy but interesting Martin Scorsese film, Shutter Island. Friday I volunteered at the Q Cafe for the first time in a very long time and of course it was great listening to music and drinking an iced latte (reached 50 degrees outside!). Saturday Bryan and I tried out the Afghan restaurant, Kabul, on 45th for an AMAZING dinner before meeting Amy at the Neptune Theater for the Martin Sexton concert. Jazzy, jam session, and amazing.
Sunday Lululemon surprised me again with a Barre fitness class that I finally got Amy to go with me. The dance fitness class was actually totally fun and my muscles feel the toning today. Then Amy showed me her apartment and then we headed to this great lamb cooking demo at Dish It Up! in Ballard. that featured famous area chefs demonstrating and sampling their lamb dishes (why sure!) and you might as well hold that in conjunction with a wine tasting (okay you twisted my arm!). And it was complimentary!! We got to taste ground lamb meatballs with pickled shallots and a zesty mustardo sauce and a Morrocan lamb stew that was also right up my ally. The wines were from the Foundry wine vineyards in Walla Walla, WA. We got to try three: two blends of mostly Merlot and Cabs and one excellent Shiraz. It was all so fun and informative, they preached buying local lamb, and now both Amy and I want to test our lamb cooking skills soon, and we also got some lamb swag: recipes, a reusable grocery bag, lamb rub and a meat thermometer. Sweet!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 