tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55236712024-03-07T01:55:18.676-08:00Ne Cresin so ArthaeyPersonal journal about random things. In 2015, it will be all about my year abroad in Mexico, working on my Spanish.
I shamelessly backdate posts.Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.comBlogger732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-37320938911192310002018-04-07T11:32:00.004-07:002018-04-07T11:35:42.417-07:00St. Louis for the second time<p>I'm
currently in St. Louis, Missouri, halfway through a two-week trip for
work. The last time I passed through St. Louis was during our
cross-country road trip honeymoon, six and a half years ago. We
stopped for a pretzel snack near the Arch but otherwise didn't see
anything of the city. I remember it feeling kinda silly but
also fun, to have <em>pretzels</em> of all things, in St. Louis. I
also remember us being impressed with just how <em>wide</em> the
Mississippi really is. It's one of those things where "knowing" it's a big river is really different from <em>seeing</em> it.</p>
<p>I wish Drew was here with me this
weekend. Nostalgia feels more bittersweet when it can't be shared.</p>
<p>I'm going up to the top of the Arch later today; I don't usually do the
typical "tourist" activities when I travel… but I don't want to
let some stupid hipster notion or simple laziness keep me from doing
something unique and iconic, either. Especially since the Arch feels
kindred with the Space Needle. I'm hoping that I've explored enough of
the area in the past week to appreciate the view, at least somewhat.
'Cause it feels like a waste to me, when I go to a scenic viewpoint but
can't recognize anything that I'm looking at.</p>
<p>The "history-ness" of St.
Louis feels more palpable to me here than in many places on the West Coast
that I'm familiar with. The buildings here are old enough that I
can't help but imagine past lives, past centuries superimposed on the
landscape. According to a plaque on Fourth Street downtown, the Revolutionary War came
as far west as here (presumably for control of the Mississippi River).
Being in visibly-old cities gives me a sense of place in the larger country,
world, history. It's like the sense of awe and connection to the universe I get when stargazing, except on a more human scale. Maybe I've just grown too familiar with Seattle to feel
that way there, but I feel it here.</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-63818707186047874442018-03-31T17:31:00.000-07:002018-03-31T17:31:02.137-07:00We have a sailboat!!<p>Happily, there were no real surprises with the boat survey! The surveyor agreed that the sails were on their last legs but still serviceable — until they blow out and we have to replace them. So we'll budget for that eventuality and stay in the Sound for now.</p>
<p>The surveyor also pointed out the small amount of water damage around the chainplates where they attach to the bulkheads, which we had previously noticed and worried about, but in his opinion it isn't <em>that</em> big of a deal, just fix it. He said that the repair procedure Drew had researched sounded exactly right.</p>
<p>Of course, the boat gods couldn't let the purchase go <em>100%</em> smoothly... So there was some minor drama involving a late-breaking second buyer offering cash at the seller's full asking price. We ended up agreeing to buy the boat at the slightly reduced price we'd previously agreed to, but finished the transaction a couple days faster than we'd wanted to, based on the surveyor's verbal comments rather than his detailed written report.</p>
<p>In any case, we now own the boat!</p>
<p>My friend Lee happens to be visiting the area this week, so we're going to motor around the Tacoma area and have a picnic lunch aboard our shiny new-to-us boat. <tt>:)</tt> I'm sheepishly excited to get to show the boat off to an enthusiastic friend, even if we won't be sailing with guests until I get a little more practice as crew.</p>
<p>Sadly, I'll probably miss the "delivery" sail from Tacoma to Ballard due to an unfortunately-timed work trip. But I absolutely am looking forward to all the other sailing adventures in our future!</p>
<p>The waitlist for day sails with us starts now! </tt>;)</tt></p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-54124031754751471292018-03-26T13:49:00.003-07:002018-03-26T13:49:24.805-07:00Sailing Anticipation<p>
No change in the scheduled boat survey this wednesday, so there's
really nothing "new" to report. That said, were both super excited
(also nervous!) about the boat that will hopefully soon ours.
</p>
<p>
Like I mentioned before, it being only a 25' boat means it's
less than many used cars. But it's still a couple thousand dollars,
which ain't nothing. We both feel simultaneously excited but also
worries about a large purchase (especially while we're still in the
middle of remodeling the house!). To be fair, we'd be foolish not
to think about that, so the very fact that we're also anxious
paradoxically reassures me. And it's coming from a bucket of money
that is explicitly not for "usual" expenses, so there's that.
</p>
<p>
Another Yamaha 25 popped up on Craigslist this weekend. The
asking price is a couple thousand less than the one we've put an offer
on... but it definitely sounds like a "project boat," not one that's
ready to go. We're okay with having to update the sails and maybe
even the standing rigging of a boat… but this other boat needs
more work than that. So it was actually a good comparison
against the boat we <em>are</em> looking at.
</p>
<p>
When I'm not thinking about the financial commitment, I'm
daydreaming about new sailing adventures! We could join the Duck
Dodge in our own boat. We could sail to one of the canal restaurants,
dock at their pier, and combine a day sail with dinner. We could
explore the cities of Lake Washington from their waterfronts.
We could visit our friends who live on the Kitsap Peninsula
by water. We could take a weekend or weeklong trip up to the
San Juans, which I still haven't seen but I hear are beautiful.
We could join local sailing clubs' potluck raft-ups, to become part
of the local community. And especially, we could just go sailing
nowhere it particular, enjoying the wind and the sun, the sky
and the water, and the lively boat we sail with.
</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-32435563982381379272018-03-22T08:12:00.000-07:002018-03-22T08:12:42.609-07:00We Should Buy a Boat<p class="tldr">If all goes well, next week we should be the proud owners of a 25-foot Yamaha sailboat!</p>
<div class="photo">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/39146272000/in/dateposted/" title="I should buy a boat"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/39146272000_7a8373e76a_n.jpg" width="320" height="242" alt="I should buy a boat">
<br/>
<span class="photo-title">I should buy a boat</span></a>
</div>
<p>It's amazing to me how much Twitter and Facebook have siphoned off what I otherwise would have probably consolidated into longer blog posts. But really, I miss the more "coherent" nature of a post here — especially when I can use my <a href="https://www.neosmartpen.com/en/neosmartpen/">Neo N2 smartpen</a> that my mom bought as a gift to replace my clunker, less reliable Livescribe. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p>Anyway! Rather than "catch up" on all that's been going on in my life since I last blogged (returned from my year in Mexico, new job at Pivotal Labs, remodel continues apace)... I'm going to jump right into the exciting thing going on right now:</p>
<p>BOAT!</p>
<p>We are in the final stages of buying a sailboat! The survey happens next Wednesday, and if the surveyor finds nothing egregious, we'll be exchanging money for boat! I might be excited. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p>She's a Yamaha 25II, built in 1977. So a rather small boat, really, but plenty of space for a couple to do daysailing and short trips, plus space to bring a friend or two along if they don't mind being cozy. Her lines are well-laid out, all coming back to the cockpit where you can reach everything you need to control without having to scramble all around (as you have to on some bigger boats). Other advantages of a smaller boat: the physical forces generated by the sails are less, so some things you can have a chance of manhandling when necessary, and it's less likely to hurt you quite as badly if things go wrong. (But things can still hurt you even on a small boat; you still gotta pay attention!)</p>
<p>Finally, a 25' boat turns out to be significantly cheaper than even ones a few feet longer. Drew* says the price can really jump even for a 31' boat. But we spent more on a then-13-year-old Toyota Tacoma pickup truck than the purchase price of the Yamaha. (Double, actually, if I do the math!) Her sails will need replacing soon-ish — the genoa is the original 1977 sail! — but they're in usable shape for daysailing right now. And the seller's asking price is substantially less than what other Yamahas have sold for... just about the cost of a new set of sails, in fact. <tt>;)</tt> so that seems fair to us, plus <em>we</em> get to pick out the characteristics we want in the new sails.</p>
<p>I've only taken a 2-weekend sailing "class" (I found the instruction disappointing) in tiny FJ's back in 2016, and have been out as mostly a passenger (rather than crew) on the Yamaha's test sail and on a club's Catalina 24'. I'm scheduled to take a weekend ASA Keelboats 101 class at the end of April, but really I've done practically no sailing yet. So yeah, it might seem a little crazy that we're buying a boat "so soon."</p>
<div class="photo-even">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/40062018595/in/dateposted/" title="Yamaha 25II"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/807/40062018595_daf1fd1ebd_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Yamaha 25II">
<br/>
<span class="photo-title">"Yamaha 25II</span></a>
</div>
<p>But really, Drew is the one buying the boat, and sailboats are anything but new to him. He grew up on a different Yamaha 25' before his family moved into a larger Jeanneau 45'. While I was taking my little FJ classes, he was more seriously getting back into sailing. While I was in Mexico, he was joining friends for day sails and Duck Dodges. He'd made a Craigslist alert for Yamaha sailboats and been keeping an eye on how often they came up for sale, in what condition, and for how much. So when he saw this Yamaha in nearby Tacoma, we went to see it.</p>
<p>I've been enjoying learning how to sail. It's like a whole new language of nautical terms, so that appeals to the language nerd in me. There's a whole new welcoming community of sailors that I didn't know existed. There's lots of hands-on skills to practice, master, and geek out about. And I'm just plain excited to have new adventures to share with Drew.</p>
<p>Hopefully by this time next week, we'll be working out the logistics of transferring the boat to our ownership! <tt>:D</tt></p>
<p class="footnote">*Forrest is going by Drew now (it's one of his middle names).</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-55655279608270344892015-11-15T10:50:00.002-08:002015-11-15T10:50:13.390-08:00Using Livescribe for a Year<p class="tldr">The <a href="http://mbsy.co/livescribe/18611326">Livescribe 3</a> has its annoyances but overall I'm still happier to use it than not. But if I were buying a new smartpen now, I'd probably buy a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ST8GT8W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00ST8GT8W&linkCode=as2&tag=necresinsoart-20&linkId=27NK5OF43MXYCTET">Neo N2</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://arthaey.blogspot.com/2014/09/livescribe-3-smartpen.html">A year ago</a>, I bought a <a href="http://www.livescribe.com/int/smartpen/ls3/">Livescribe 3</a>. It costs <strong>$150</strong> and requires special paper (which you can <a href="http://www.livescribe.com/int/support/wifi-smartpen/howto/print_dot_paper.html">print yourself</a>, if you don't want to buy a pretty <a href="http://store.livescribe.com/livescribe-dot-paper/livescribe-notebook-by-moleskine-1.html">Moleskine</a> or other notebook), so it's not just a simple impulse buy sort of gadget.</p>
<p>Several folks have asked me what I think of it. It's a little complicated, so I've decided to write up my thoughts in one place, here on my blog.</p>
<h4>Cons</h4>
<p>First off, you should be warned that there are several MAJOR caveats in my Livescribe recommendation:</p>
<ul>
<li>The older, non-smartphone-only pens, have a little LCD screen that dies every 2 years, according to user reports on <a href="https://getsatisfaction.com/livescribe">their support site</a>. (Despite this, some of those users say they just buy a new one every 2 years. Crazy.)</li>
<li>Speaking of their support site, no one has replied to posts their in 7 months (as of today).</li>
<li>Two things the OCR does <em>not</em> handle well: separating paragraphs, respecting indents, and crossing out mistakes. (Three things. I'll come in again.)</li>
<li>Their software looks like it was designed by Big Corp. Meaning, it works, mostly, but its usability is not that slick. Some tasks have more steps than they really need to have. Sometimes you have to "turn it off and back on again" before it actually works.</li>
<li>Every once in a blue moon (ie, months will go by just fine), the software just flat out refuses to do its OCR magic on a paragraph or two. Tech support is stumped as to why this is, so I just had to manually transcribe those couple paragraphs.</li>
<li>It's a tad bit bulky, although <em>just</em> this side of doesn't-get-in-my-way.</li>
<li>Its <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HMD5P4Y">ink cartridges</a>, while not totally proprietary, are a little hard to find. I've ended up ordering mine (including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010WMWUS">red</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E8B0IEK">green</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVZX66">blue</a> inks!) off Amazon and it shipped from Japan in a couple days. <tt>:P</tt></li>
</ul>
<h4>Pros</h4>
<p>Now, why do I like it so much if it's got these significant drawbacks?</p>
<ul>
<li>It's a fun tech toy. <tt>;)</tt></li>
<li>The OCR works amazingly well, maybe 90-95% accurate. (It even understood most of my husband's messy handwriting!) I always proofread what it generates, but usually I only have to clean up the equivalent of a typo here, a typo there.</li>
<li>Because its output is "just text", I can email that output to a computer script that then does all sorts of magic to it. (Eg, <a href="https://github.com/Arthaey/livescribe">I wrote a program</a> that guesses where paragraph breaks are, turns *asterisks* into <em>italics</em>, looks for custom syntax like "#Flickr: foo" and inserts HTML that displays & links to my Flickr photos, etc. Or, if the text starts with #NaNoWriMo, it processes it slightly differently, then hands it off to <a href="https://github.com/Arthaey/google-apps-scripts">a different program</a> that sticks the text in my Google Docs while updating a Google Spreadsheet & the official <a href="http://nanowrimo.org">NaNoWriMo</a> word counts.)</li>
<li>I really, really hate transcribing. I don't mind proofing, but I <em>hate</em> transcribing.</li>
<li>I love, love, love how it enables writing in the dark. When I'm working on a piece of fiction, it seems that my brain always comes up with an extra scene or two while I'm trying to fall asleep. I used to lose these scenes, or scribble notes that I'd then dread to transcribe the next morning. With the Livescribe's OCR, it's just as easy to transcribe neat daytime writing as messy nighttime scribbling. For example, the last short story that I wrote, 80% of it was done in the dark when I should have been sleeping. Because of my aforementioned scripts, I was even able to know what my updated word count was while still lying in bed. <tt>:)</tt> </li>
<li>When I do have problems every so often, their <em>email-based</em> support staff has always gotten back to me within a couple business days.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Alternatives</h4>
<p>Livescribe isn't the only "smartpen" on the market. It's the only one I've used, but I did do a little bit of searching around to see what the competition was like:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.neosmartpen.com/">Neo Smartpen</a>, which sounds like a direct competitor to Livescribe. It's $170, so right around the same price point. It looks slimmer, thus less crampy to write with. It also lets you print your own paper. And <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Neo-smartpen-Android-Smartphones-Tablets/product-reviews/B00ST8GT8W/">several Amazon reviews by previous Livescribe 3 owners</a> unanimously prefer the Neo N2. <strong>If I'd known about it (and/or if it had been out when I was looking), I would have <em>strongly</em> considered it instead.</strong></li>
<li>There is an entirely different design of smartpen, which lets you write on any paper you want, but requires you to clip a sensor to the top of the paper. But my research turned up lots of users complaining that if anything got in between the sensor and the pen, it could get distorted and confused. So I wouldn't recommend that other design, although feel free to do your own research. <tt>;)</tt></li>
</ul>
<p>If you're still interested in getting a Livescribe after all that, here's my referral link: <a href= "http://mbsy.co/livescribe/18611326">http://mbsy.co/livescribe/18611326</a> <tt>;)</tt></p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-88943255940101058652015-02-22T20:29:00.000-08:002015-02-23T08:58:27.327-08:00Wandering around Querétaro<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>He estado quedándome con una familia de Couchsurfing <del with="en">por</del> mis primeros días aquí en Querétaro. Hoy la otra huésped, una alemana, se fue, y la familia me llevó al centro mientras <ins>la</ins> llevaban <del>a ella</del> <del with="a la">al</del> terminal de autobuses. Por eso, no empecé el día en el <em>centro</em> del centro, sino cerca de los arcos del acueducto, a una distancia corta del centro.</p>
<p>Me reí <del with="de">a</del> mí misma por llamar<del with="le">se</del> <ins>en mi mente</ins> "el acueducto romano" <move dir="left">en la mente</move>, como si fuera construido por los romanos. <tt>:P</tt>
<p>Caminaba por las calles hasta el centro, tomando fotos de iglesias, árboles, estatuas, y otras cosas de la ciudad de Querétaro. Hacía mucho calor (para mí, al menos: 28°C o 82°F), así que compré un raspado <ins>de</ins> limón <del with="a">de</del> un vendedor que estaba <del with="en el">al</del> mirador de los arcos. Fue <em>tan</em> dulce! No pude terminarlo <del>por la dulzura demasiado fuerte</del> <ins>porque estaba demasiado dulce</ins>, sólo comí el hielo raspado de arriba, <del>que contó con lo mínimo del jarabe</del> <ins>donde el jarabe era menos fuerte</ins>.</p>
<p>Encontré el Palacio de Gobierno <del with="a">en</del> un lado de la Plaza de Armas. Miré los murales de la independencia y la revolución. Entonces un tipo (con <ins>una</ins> etiqueta <del with="con su">de</del> nombre) me invitó a escuchar su plática sobre la historia local con los otros visitantes. El tenía un humor un poco extraño, y usó muchas frases coloquiales que no entendí bien, pero me gustó a pesar de esto.</p>
<p>Después, regresé a un restaurante inglés/indio/thailandés que había visto más temprano en el día. Mientras caminaba, vi a un cura bendiciendo un coche de una familia. Muy extraño.</p>
<p>En el restaurante comí curry amarillo thai y pollo a la mantequilla. El curry fue más como un caldo (pero todavía con un buen sabor). Y el pollo a la mantequilla no tenía nada que ver con el plato del mismo nombre de los restaurantes estadounidenses, porque sus especias fueron completamente distintas (pero todavía con un buen sabor <tt>:)</tt>).</p>
<p>Por el resto del día, <del with="anduve">andaba</del> por las calles del centro hasta que llegué a un café, donde me senté para leer y escribir.</p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/185054908862262579147042125045452180586/">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1092904">Ines</a> and <a href="http://lang-8.com/1010754">Juanfry</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>I've been staying with a Couchsurfing family for my first few days here in Querétaro. Today the other guest, a German woman, left, and the family dropped me off downtown while they took her to the bus station. Because of that, I didn't start my day in the *middle* of downtown, but near the aquaduct arches instead, a little ways from downtown.</p>
<p>I laughed at myself for calling it "the Roman aquaduct" in my head, as if it were built by the Romans. <tt>:P</tt></p>
<p>I walked through the streets toward downtown, taking photos of churches, trees, statues, and other things in the city of Querétaro. It was really hot (for me, at least: 28°C o 82°F), so I bought a lime-flavored shaved ice from a vendor who was at the vista point for the aquaduct. It was <em>so</em> sweet! I couldn't finish it because it was too sweet, I only ate the shaved ice at the top, where the syrup was least strong.</p>
<p>I stumbled upon the Palacio de Gobierno along one side of the Plaza de Armas. I looked at the murals about the Independence and the Revolution. Then a guy (with a nametag) invited me to listen to his talk about the local history with the other visitors. He had a strange sense of humor, and used a lot of colloquial phrases that I didn't understand well, but I enjoyed it despite that.</p>
<p>Afterward, I returned to a British/Indian/Thai restaurant that I'd seen earlier in the day. While I walked, I saw a priest blessing a family's car. Very weird.</p>
<p>At the restaurant, I ate yellow curry and butter chicken. The curry was more like a broth (but still with a good flavor). And the butter chicken was nothing like the dish by the same name in American restaurants, because it had completely different spices (but still with a good flavor <tt>;)</tt>).</p>
<p>For the rest of the day, I wandered through the streets downtown until I arrived at a cafe, where I sat to read and write.</p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico20.5887932 -100.3898881000000120.3510022 -100.7126116 20.826584200000003 -100.06716460000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-78590642271796663482015-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:002015-02-22T20:41:00.042-08:00Routines<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Durante las seis semanas que <del with="estuve">estaba</del> en Guanajuato, nunca tenía ganas de escribir. No sé por qué era así, pero mi teoría es que <del with="estuve">estaba</del> allí <del with="el">por</del> suficiente tiempo <del with="para">que</del> desarrollar una rutina, y ésa no incluía escribir.</p>
<p>Y ahora que me he traslado a Querétaro, de repente quiero escribir otra vez.</p>
<p>Es un poco triste. Quiero tener una rutina que sí incluy<del with="a">e</del> la escritura. Y por eso, me he inscrito en otro <a href="http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40114&PN=1">reto de HTLAL</a>: escribir 100 páginas y grabar<ins>me</ins> 100 horas <del>de</del> habla<del with="ando">r</del>. Para forzarme <ins>a</ins> escribir y hablar más, <ins>lo</ins> que es sorprendentemente fácil <ins>de</ins> evitar.</p>
<p>Quizás <del with="encuentre">puedo encontrar</del> a un compañero de estudio, como un compañero de ejercicio pero para la mente. <tt>;)</tt></p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/140029827583641068143109459419863125098">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1143489">Moiradora</a> y <a href="http://lang-8.com/980425">Diego</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>During the six weeks that I was in Guanajuato, I never felt like writing. I don't know why that was so, but my theory's that I was there for a long enough time that I developed a routine, and it didn't include writing.</p>
<p>And now that I've moved on to Querétaro, suddenly I want to write again.</p>
<p>It's a little sad. I want to have a routine that does include writing. And so I've signed up for another <a href="http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40114&PN=1">HTLAL challenge</a>: write 100 pages and record 100 hours of talking. To force myself to write and talk more, which is surprisingly easy to avoid.</p>
<p>Maybe I can find a study buddy, like a workout buddy but for your mind. <tt>;)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico20.5887932 -100.3898881000000120.3510022 -100.7126116 20.826584200000003 -100.06716460000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-19777745361255909002015-01-06T23:59:00.000-08:002015-01-08T00:07:00.967-08:00Couchsurfing with Luz's Family in León<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>La <del with="cola">línea</del> de inmigración y la aduana fue muy larga y lentísima. Pero al final, no había ningún problema con mi visa <ins>de</ins> residencia temporal ni <ins>con</ins> las cosas de mi mochila. (Pero todavía tengo que ir a la oficina de inmigración para finalizar mi visa — el sello del aeropuerto solo me autorizar <ins>a</ins> estar en México por 30 días.)</p>
<p>Después de obtener mi sello oficial, encontré a mi anfitriona de Couchsurfing, una mujer de casi mi edad que se llama Luz. Ella viv<del with="e">a</del> en León con su familia (pues, no con sus hermanos ya casados) y es posible que me quede en su casa hasta ¡viernes!</p>
<p>Todos <ins>los miembros</ins> de su familia son amables — <del with="conocí">encontré</del> a sus padres y a un hermano. (También a uno de sus primos, <del with="e">é</del>l que nos <del with="llevó">manejamos</del> desde el aeropuerto, pero él no hablaba mucho y no se quedó después de llegar a la casa. Pero sí le gusta la música metal, al menos de Rammstein... <tt>:)</tt>)</p>
<p>Cuando llegamos a la casa, admití que tenía un poco de hambre. Afortunadamente había una tienda al otro lado de la calle. Salimos, ella compró pan dulce y jugo de naranja para mí — le dije que <ins>le</ins> pagar<del with="ía">é</del> por algo para ella mañana — y regresamos en menos <del with="de">que</del> cinco minutos. Los dueños de la tienda eran una pareja amable, pero el hombre estaba tan cansado que se equivocó <del with="en el">del</del> cambio dos veces. (Con sonrisas y risas, no fue nada malicioso.)</p>
<p>En la casa otra vez, comí mi pan y bebí mi jugo. También pregunté sobre estos pedazos de cosas que resultaron ser tamales de azúcar. Lo calentó y lo probé. No <del with="era">fue</del> muy dulce, solo un poquito; <ins>el</ins> sabor de masa <del with="tampoco">nada</del> mucho más. No fue mi nueva comida favorita, pero me gustó y lo comería otra vez. </p>
<p>Después de comer, Luz me mostró <del with="mi">la</del> habitación <del>mía</del>. Era un espacio sencillo pero cómodo, y era obviamente donde ella practica su música, porque hay un piano y también otros instrumentos.</p>
<p><del with="Por">En</del> la mañana, quizás <del with="vayamos">vamos</del> <del>a ir</del> juntos al museo de arte e historia. Luz me dijo que ha necesitado una excusa para ir, y soy yo esa excusa. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/298758878753977785240954202533738253418">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1106304">Maria</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>The immigration and customs lines were very long and extremely slow. But in the end, there were no problems with my temporary resident visa nor with the things in my backpack. (But I still have to go to an immigration office to finalize my visa — the airport stamp only authorizes me to stay in Mexico for 30 days.)</p>
<p>After getting my official stamp, I found my Couchsurfing host, a woman almost my age who's named Luz. She lives in León with her family (well, not with her married brothers) and it's possible that I can stay with them through Friday(!).</p>
<p>Everyone in her family is friendly — I met her parents and a brother. (I also met one of her cousins, who drove us from the airport, but he didn't talk much and he didn't stay after dropping us off at the house. But he did like listening to metal music, at least Rammstein... <tt>:)</tt>)</p>
<p>When we arrived at the house, I admitted that I was a little hungry. Luckily, there's a shop across the street. We went out, she bought sweet bread and orange juice for me — I told her that I'd buy something for her tomorrow — and we returned in less than five minutes. The owners of the shop were a friendly couple, but the man was so tired that he gave the wrong change twice. (Which smiles and laughs, nothing malicious at all.)</p>
<p>At the house again, I ate my bread and drank my juice. I also asked about these little pieces of something that turned out to be sugar tamales. She heated it up and I tried it. It wasn't very sweet, just a little bit; not much more than masa flavor. It wasn't my new favorite food, but I liked it and would eat it again.</p>
<p>After eating, Luz showed me my room. It's a simple but comfortable room, and it's obviously where she practices her music, because there's a piano and maybe some other instruments too.</p>
<p>In the morning, we might go together to the museum of art and history. Luz told me that she's needed an excuse to go, and I'm that excuse. <tt>:)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0León, Guanajuato, Mexico21.1250077 -101.6859604999999620.888017700000002 -102.00868399999996 21.3619977 -101.36323699999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-84329480672113312172015-01-06T15:00:00.000-08:002015-01-07T23:22:40.418-08:00Flying to Mexico<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>En mi puerta del aeropuerto LAX, casi todos los otros pasajeros eran hispanohablantes. Me parece que los americanos angloparlantes no visitan la ciudad de León con frecuencia... La agente de la aerolínea cambió mi asiento porque se requieren pasajeros que hablan inglés sentados en las filas de emergencia.</p>
<p>Hablé con dos mexicanas, ningunas <del with="de ellas">las que</del> hablan ni una palabra de inglés. Incluso les ayudé con los anuncios de los agentes.</p>
<p>Para pasar el vuelo (que duró 3 horas) vi "Frozen: Una Aventura Congelada" por la enésima vez (pero solo la tercera vez en español). Me resulta aún más fácil entender cada tiempo que la veo, y qued<del with="o">a</del> entretenida.</p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/102372219553776726266606303911745641100">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1117047">DavidLz</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>At my gate at the LAX airport, almost all the passengers are Spanish-speakers. It seems like English-speaking Americans don't visit the city of Léon often... The gate agent changed my site because they require English-speaking passengers in the emergency exit rows.</p>
<p>I spoke with two Mexican women, neither of whom spoke a single word of English. I even helped them with the agents' announcements.</p>
<p>To pass the time on the flight (which lasts 3 hours) I watched "Frozen" for the umpteenth time (but only the third time in Spanish). It's becoming easier to understanding every time I watch it, and it's still entertaining.</p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0Los Angeles International Airport, 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA33.9415889 -118.4085299999999833.8888974 -118.48921099999998 33.9942804 -118.32784899999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-22904011265088621582015-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:002015-01-07T00:03:45.420-08:00Leaving California<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>¡Omgomgomg estoy en el avión, ya saliendo del aeropuerto de Oakland, California! Estoy tan emoci<del with="onada">ante</del>, y también una poca ansiosa. Voy a extrañar me de mi familia, mis amigos, mi ciudad, mis gatos, y sumamente mi marido. Pero, como me dijo mi amiga LisaD, es<ins>t</ins>o es una aventura de "<del with="una sola">la única</del> vez de la vida", así que me enfoco en "emoci<del with="onada">ante</del>." <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/188590589832695757740556481258203713274">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/632948"> BennyDelon</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>Omgomgomg I'm on the plane, leaving the airport in Oakland, California! I'm so excited, and also a little scared. I'm going to miss my family, my friends, my city, my cats, and especially my husband. But, as my friend LisaD said to me, this is a "once in a lifetime" adventure, so I'm going to focus on "excited." <tt>:)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0Oakland, CA, USA37.8043637 -122.271113737.603596200000005 -122.5938372 38.0051312 -121.9483902tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-52307071162795830212015-01-01T23:59:00.000-08:002015-01-06T23:58:24.458-08:00Visiting Forrest's family in Santa Cruz<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Nos quedamos una noche en Santa Cruz en un "pop-up tráiler" que encontré por AirBnb, que por casualidad estaba muy cerca a la casa de un<ins>o></ins> de los amigo<ins>s</ins> de la niñez de mi marido. Nunca <del with="había">he</del> dormido en este estilo de tráiler, así que fue como una diversión quedarnos allí.</p>
<p>Ha hecho <del with="bastante">bien</del> frío por esta semana en California. Y el trailer sólo tenía un calefactor de propano, el <del with="cual">que</del> no es buena idea encender mientras duerm<del with="e">a</del>s. En vez de tener un calefactor durante la noche fría, dormimos <del>de</del>bajo de cuatro o cinco cubrecamas. Me desperté varias veces <del with="en">por</del> la noche por el frío, pero cerca de las cuatro de la mañana, finalmente dormí sin despertarme. No querría quedarme más noches allí sin calefactor cuando sea tan frío, pero me gustaba el tráiler en general.</p>
<p>Después del tráiler, fuimos al puerto para pasar tiempo con los padres de mi marido. Charlamos un rato, y luego él y yo caminamos por "Arana Gulch," que suena demasiado como "araña", <ins>más de lo</ins> que preferiría. <tt>;)</tt> El sendero va por un campo pequeño de hierbas salvajes y por robles viejos y torcidos. Sólo vimos roble<ins>s</ins> venenoso<ins>s</ins> dos veces, pero sabemos que hay mucho más sin hojas obvias en la región.</p>
<p>Forrest me dijo sobre el campo, que era un espacio libre en su tiempo, pero ahora se están construyendo vallas para limitar el acceso público a parte del campo. Él y sus amigos solían recoger zarzamoras <del with="tirando">por tirar</del> sus bicis <del with="por encima de">en</del> los arbustos y entonces ponerse encima de las bicis para evitar las espinas.</p>
<p>Al final del sendero está nuestro hotel, donde nos quedaremos hasta el 4 de enero. Dormí una siestecita (porque estuve cansada y son vacaciones, pues ¿por qué no?) y regresamos por otra ruta. Discutimos los planes de renovación de la casa, especialmente sobre automatización de los electrónicos y las luces. ¡Estoy emocion<del with="ada">ante</del> <del with="por">para</del> ver qué cumplirá Forrest en un año!</p>
<p>Cuando llegamos al barco, su hermano menor, Ari, ya había llegado también y todos nosotros platicamos más.</p>
<p>Comimos en un restaurante chino (con servicio muuuy lento pero con comida rica). Nos trasladamos a un café, donde yo escribí y mi marido leyó mientras sus padres y hermano jugaron juegos. Finalmente, regresamos al barco para tomar unos tragos de crema de tequila y ver Rick y Morty, una serie de televisión que Forrest quería mostrar a su hermano.</p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/65142229378691741199181245816604266234">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/550304">Judai</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>We stayed one night in Santa Cruz in a pop-up trailer that I found on AirBnb, that happened to be very near the house of one of my husband's childhood friends. I'd never slept in this type of trailer, so it was kinda fun to stay there.</p>
<p>It was quite cold this week in California. And the trailer only had a propane heater, which it's not a good idea to run while you sleep. Instead of running the heater during the cold night, we slept under four or five blankets. I woke up several times during the night because of the cold, but around 4 AM, I finally fell asleep. I wouldn't want to stay any more nights there without a heater when it's so cold, but I liked the trailer in general.</p>
<p>After the trailer, we went to the harbor to spend time with my husband's parents. We chatted for a while, then he and I walked up "Arana Gulch," which sounds too much like "spider gulch" for my tastes. <tt>;)</tt> The path goes through a small field with weeds and old, twisted oaks. We only saw poison oak twice, but we know that there's a lot more without obvious leaves around there.</p>
<p>Forrest told me about the field, that it was an open space when he was a kid but now they're building fences to limit public access to parts of the field. He and his friends would pick blackberries by throwing their bikes down on the bushes and then climbing on top of the bikes to avoid the spines.</p>
<p>At the end of the trail was our hotel where we were going to stay until January 4th. I took a short nap (because I was tired and it's vacation, so why not?) and then we returned by another route. We talked about our remodeling plans for the house, especially about home automation of the electronics and lights. I'm excited to see what Forrest accomplishes in a year!</p>
<p>His younger brother, Ari, arrived and we all chatted some more. We ate at a Chinese restaurant (with verrrry slow service but good food). We then went over to a cafe, where I wrote and my husband read while his parents and brother played games. Finally, we went back to the boat for some <em lang="es">crema de tequila</em> shots and a few episodes of "Rick and Morty," a TV show that Forrest wanted to show his brother.</p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-62927540102134323142014-12-30T23:59:00.000-08:002015-01-06T23:39:05.371-08:00Christmas Trees & Not Ice Skating<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Forrest y yo <del with="pasamos la noche">nos dormimos</del> en un hotel bastante lujoso, el Fairmont de San Jose. Forrest encontró un descuento en línea, y por s<del with="o">ó</del>lo una noche él quer<del>r</del>ía quedarse en un hotel bonito.</p>
<p><ins>Lo</ins> mejor <ins>es que</ins> afuera del hotel había una pista de patinaje tempor<del with="al">aria</del>, una miniferia, y una muestra de árboles de navidad que <del with="fueron">se</del> decoraron varios grupos sociales y cívicos. Una pasillo entera <del with="estaba lleno de">fue poblado por</del> árboles de tropas de Girl Scouts — con números de tropa de más de 60<del>,</del>000, cuando mi número de tripa era menos que 1<del>,</del>000. No sé si es el mismo sistema de números o no.</p>
<p>También <del with="había">fue</del> un árbol <ins>que lucía</ins> muy triste, con s<del with="o">ó</del>lo <move dir="left">un</move> hilo de luces de Navidad, como si el grupo <ins>se</ins> hubiera olvidado sobre la muestra hasta el propio día.</p>
<p>Caminábamos <del with="entre">por</del> los árboles y las atracciones cerradas de la feria <del with="callejera">de la calle</del>, cuando descubrimos una verdadera máquina de Rube Goldberg en frente del Museo de Tecnología de San Jose.</p>
<p>La miramos por diez minutes, esperando el momento en <del with="que">cuando</del> esas tres pelotas volaran en el aire, regresaran, y aterrizaran en una canasta <ins>de</ins> metal. S<del with="o">ó</del>lo un niño la miró con nosotros; los otros adultos no tenían interés.</p>
<p>Al final de la noche, fuimos a la pista de patinaje. Había patinado una vez antes y me divirtió. Pero esta vez, <del with="en el momento en el">al instante</del> que me deslicé por <del>la</del> primera vez, solamente pude pensar en la ocasión cuando me romp<del with="í">ió</del> el pie y tenía un miedo bastante irracional, pero no pude evitarlo. Ahora no estoy segura de si todavía me gustaría patinar con patines en línea, como solía gustarme...</p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/291132738535688271695528258648297921164">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1091411">mauerhase</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>Forrest and I stayed at a rather fancy hotel, the Fairmont of San Jose. Forrest found a discount online, and for just one night he wanted to stay in a nice hotel.</p>
<p>Better, outside the hotel there was a temporary ice skating rink, a mini-carnival, and a Christmas tree display decorated by various social and civic groups. An entire row was filled with trees from Girl Scout troops — with troop numbers higher than 60,000, when my troop number was less than 1,000. I don't know if it's the same numbering system or not.</p>
<p>There was also a very sad tree, with just a single strand of Christmas lights, as though the group had forgotten about the display until that day.</p>
<p>We walked through the trees and the closed street-carnival rides, when we discovered a Rube Goldberg machine in front of the San Jose Technology Museum.</p>
<p>We watched it for ten minutes, waiting for the moment when these three balls would fly through the air, make a U-turn in the air, and land in a metal basket. Only a little boy watched it with us; the other adults weren't interested.</p>
<p>At the end of the night, we went to the ice skating rink. I'd ice skated once before and I'd enjoyed it. But this time, as soon as I slipped for the first time, all I could think about was when I broke my foot. I had this irrational fear, but I couldn't avoid it. Now I'm not so sure if I'd still enjoy rollerblading, like I used to like...</p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-9821973688700431472014-12-29T23:59:00.000-08:002015-01-06T23:13:38.286-08:00Signing My Legal Powers Away<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Durante el año que estaré viajando es bastante posible que mi marido necesit<del with="e">aría</del> hacer algo financ<del with="ero">ial</del> que requ<del with="iera">ería</del> una firma mía. Por esta razón, pensábamos que sería una buena idea que yo le confiera un poder notario duradero.</p>
<p>El plan <del with="era">fue</del> <del with="firmar">que firmamos</del> los papeles legales antes de salir de Seattle para las fiestas. Pero una emergencia familiar — eso es otra historia para otro momento, <del with="ya">basta</del> que ahora todo está bien — me hizo cambiar las fechas de mi vuelo a California <del with="a">por</del> unos días <del with="antes">más temprano</del>, y salí sin firmar nada.</p>
<p><ins>A</ins>fortunadamente, busqué y encontré a una notoria pública que podra pudo venir a la casa de mis padres, así que al final sería facil para todos nosotros firm<del with="ar">amos</del> los papeles. Nombr<del with="é">o</del> <ins>a</ins> mis padres como mandatarios alternativos, y por eso deb<del with="ían">en</del> firmar también.)</p>
<p>Pero no fue tan fácil.</p>
<p>No he leído la letra pequeña del contrato que dice que los testigos no se permiten <ins>que</ins> <del with="sean">ser</del> parientes <del with="míos">de mi</del>. La notaria pública pod<del>r</del>ía ser uno de los testigos, pero necesitábamos dos testigos. Mi mamá llamó a una amiga y <ins>a</ins> dos vecinas hasta que alguien contestó el teléfono. La vecina de la esquina fue muy amable y fue a nuestra casa para firmar los papeles como testigo.</p>
<p>Un mini desastre, evitado. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/293773026399676369791685660029089700492">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/1104559">Cristina</a> & <a href="http://lang-8.com/1084810">Carmenauer</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>During the year that I'll be traveling, it's quite possible that my husband will need to do something financial that will require my signature. For this reason, we thought it would be a good idea for me to sign a durable power of attorney to him.</p>
<p>The plan was for us to sign the legal papers before leaving Seattle for the holidays. But a family emergency — that's another story for another time, but suffice it to say everything's okay — made me change the dates of my flight to California to a few days earlier, and I left without signing anything.</p>
<p>Luckily, I searched for and found a notary public who could come to my parents' house, so that it would be easy for all of us to sign the papers. (I name my parents as alternate agents, so they have to sign too.)</p>
<p>But it wasn't that easy.</p>
<p>I hadn't read the fine print that said the witnesses couldn't be blood relatives. The notary could be one of the witnesses, but we needed two witnesses. My mom called a friend and two neighbors before someone answered the phone. The neighbor in the corner was very nice and walked over to my parents' house to sign the papers as a witness.</p>
<p>Mini-disaster, averted. <tt>:)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-22027383956147225682014-12-26T15:25:00.000-08:002014-12-26T15:25:55.902-08:00CEFR Spanish Language Levels<div class="photo">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/16113921632" title="CEFR Spanish Language Levels by Arthaey Angosii, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7525/16113921632_6276ebc0dd_m.jpg" width="240" height="108" alt="CEFR Spanish Language Levels">
<br/>
<span class="photo-title">CEFR Spanish Language Levels</span></a>
</div>
<p>Just to document where I'm starting out in my Spanish abilities, I took a <a href="http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/Selfevaluateyourlanguageskills/tabid/2194/language/en-GB/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">guided "quiz" of the CEFR rubric</a>, which placed me where I expected for my level of Spanish in the various language skills: C2/C1 reading/writing & B2/B1 listening/speaking.</p>
<p>What I'm hoping to get out of my time in Mexico is bumping my verbal skills up into the C-level too.</p>
Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-16997128378172100522014-12-21T23:59:00.000-08:002015-01-06T23:12:25.301-08:00En California con la familia, preparándome<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Solo quedan dos semanas hasta que viaje a León, para empezar mi año en México. Ya tengo todas las cosas que necesito para el viaje — y, de hecho, un poquito demasiado, porque quiero que mi mochila pese como 5 libras menos que su peso actual de 26 lb.</p>
<p>Estoy en California ahora, para pasar el tiempo <ins>aquí</ins> con mi familia <move dir="left">aquí</move>. Y también estoy preparando todo el contenido digital de mi celular y <ins>mi</ins> portátil. No voy a leer ni mirar entretenimiento en inglés, así que he buscado libros y películas en español (nativo o doblado).</p>
<p>¡Quizás leeré o escucharé Harry Potter (los libros) por fin! <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p class="footnote"><a href="http://lang-8.com/23407/journals/59504399283790866117578973601884736618">Corrected</a> by <a href="http://lang-8.com/745056">An1</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>There's only two weeks left until I travel to León to start my year in Mexico. I already have all the things that I need for the trip — and, in fact, a bit too much stuff, because I want my backpack to weigh like 5 pounds less than its current weight of 26 lbs.</p>
<p>I'm in California now, to spend time with my family here. And I'm also preparing all the digital content on my cell phone and laptop. I'm not going to read or watch entertainment in English, so I've search for books and movies in Spanish (native or dubbed).</p>
<p>Perhaps I'll finally read or listen to Harry Potter (the books)! <tt>:)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0Walnut Creek, CA, USA37.9100783 -122.0651818999999737.8098338 -122.22654339999997 38.010322800000004 -121.90382039999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-69981917351232353772014-09-15T10:44:00.000-07:002014-09-22T21:22:39.192-07:00Guanajuato, donde empezará mi aventura<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>Cuando le digo a alguien sobre mis
planes de viajar por México en <ins>el</ins> 2015 siempre
me preguntan a dónde viajaré y a qué me
dedicaré durante <del with="ese">el</del> año. Preguntas razonables.</p>
<p>Y <ins>a</ins> la mayoría de la gente, después de que
les digo que no tengo un horario detallado
— ni <del with="ninguna">aún cuál</del> ciudad <del with="y">en cuál</del> mes <ins>específico</ins> — expresa sorpresa. Solo en algunas ocasiones,
me encuentro a una persona que entiende
la idea de viajar como mochilero, sin
planes fijos, mudándome a cualquier
lugar que me interes<del with="e">a</del>.</p>
<p>Pero esta <del with="incertidumbre">falta de horario</del> me encanta.
La llamada de una aventura inesperada.
No entiendo por qué esta idea es algo tan
increíble. Es una narrativa tan común como
la del "road trip" americano, ¿no?</p>
<p>Sin embargo. Lo único que yo sé
<del with="con certeza">por cierto</del>
es que quiero empezar mi aventura en
la ciudad de Guanajuato, en el estado
central del mismo nombre. Forrest y yo
fuimos allí en julio — sólo por 2 días,
pero la ciudad nos parec<del with="ío">e</del> encantadora.</p>
<p>He leído mucho sobre Guanajuato antes de
nuestra<ins>s</ins> vacacion<ins>es</ins> corta<ins>s</ins>,
y fue todo lo que <del with="había">he</del> esperado.
(Casi nos <del with="salimos">dejamos</del> de
San Miguel de Allende, la ciudad tan
popular con los expatriados americanos,
para regresar a Guanajuato por 2 días más,
nos gusta tanto.)</p>
<p>Es una ciudad vieja, construida por los
españoles por sus minas de plata. Geográficamente,
está ubicad<del with="a">o</del> en un cañón.
Existen túneles debajo de todo el centro
histórico, donde <del with="circula">va</del> la mayoría del tráfico
de los coches. Por esa razón, la zona
histórica es sorprendentemente segur<del with="a">o</del> para
los <del with="transeúntes">caminantes</del>. En el área más central,
el zócalo que se llama El Jardín, no se
permite ningún coche.</p>
<p><del with="Exaltando">En</del> espíritu mexicano verdadero, l<del with="a">o</del>s
superficies de los edificios son un <del with="alarde">caos</del> de
colores vibrantes. A mí no me parece muy
<em>bonito,</em> pero sí me da algo de ánima
por la <del with="júbilo">energía</del> de tantos colores.
<tt>:)</tt> Las calles estrechas son empedradas, y
por todos lados hay callejones aún más
estrech<del with="o">a</del>s que serpentean entre
las casa<ins>s</ins> antiguas.</p>
<p>Una tradición turística
y divertida es la "callejoneada," un paseo
por los callejones guiado por una banda
con guitarras y otros instrumentos musicales.
Entretienen a los clientes con canciones
y chistes procaces. <tt>:P</tt> Este dura por más de
una hora, y creo que ocurre cada noche
del año; no sé cómo se adapta la gente
de la ciudad al ruido constante! Pero es muy
divertido y te la recomiendo. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p>Hay una universidad en el centro, así que
la edad <del with="promedio">mediana</del> es un poco más joven,
por causa de todos los estudiantes que
viven allí. También es popular la ciudad <del with="entre">con</del>
los turistas mexicanos (pero no tanto con
los americanos). Así que hay mucho que
hacer, y las cosas son barat<del with="a">o</del>s también.</p>
<p>Es casi ideal (para mí) para el comienzo de mi aventura.</p>
<p class="footnote">Corrected by <a href="http://lang-8.com/347901">Aldebaran</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>When I tell people about my plans to travel in Mexico in 2015, they always
ask me where I plan to go and what I'll do during the year. Reasonable
questions.</p>
<p>And most people, after I tell them that I have no detailed schedule - not even
which cities in which specific months - they're surprised. Only occasionally do I find
someone who understands the idea of backpacking without fixed
plans, going to any place that interests me.</p>
<p>But I love this lack of schedule. The call of an unexpected adventure. I
don't understand why this idea is so incredible. It's as common as the American
"road trip" narrative, isn't it?</p>
<p>Anyway. All I know for certain is that I want to start my adventure in the
city of Guanajuato, in the central state of the same name. Forrest and I went
there in July - only for 2 days, but the city was enchanting.</p>
<p>I'd read a lot about Guanajuato before our short vacation, and it was
everything I expected. (We almost left San Miguel de Allende, the city so
popular with American expatriates, to return to Guanajuato for 2 days, we loved
it so much.)</p>
<p>It's an old city, built by the Spanish for its silver mines.
Geographically, it's located in a canyon. There are tunnels beneath the
historic center of town, where most of the traffic goes. For that reason, the
historic area is surprisingly safe for pedestrians. In the central area, the plaza
is called The Garden, no cars are allowed.</p>
<p>In true Mexican spirit, building surfaces are a riot of vibrant colors. I
do not think it looks very <em>pretty</em>, but so many colors are energizing.
<tt>:)</tt> The narrow streets are cobbled, and everywhere there are even narrower
alleys that wind between the old houses.</p>
<p>A touristy and fun tradition is the "callejoneada," a stroll through the
alleys led by a band with guitars and other musical instruments. They regale
guests with songs and ribald jokes. <tt>:P</tt> This lasts for over an hour, and I
think it happens every night of the year; I don't know how people in the
city adapt to the constant noise! But it's great fun and I recommend it. <tt>:)</tt>
</p>
<p>There's a university downtown, so the average age is a bit younger,
because of all the students living there. The city is also popular with Mexican
tourists (but not so much with American tourists). So there's a lot to do, and
things are cheap too.
</p>
<p>It's almost perfect (for me) for the beginning of my adventure.</p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-49314636307062526472014-09-13T20:22:00.000-07:002014-09-13T20:22:40.003-07:002015: My Year Abroad<p>Since my first trip abroad, to Spain
one summer with my high school class,
I've longed to live abroad for a substantial time period. I've wanted the adventure, the thrill of
being in a <em>different</em> environment, the
mental challenge of being immersed in a
foreign language and foreign culture.</p>
<p>I made one more short trip to Spain with my mom, and I spent three weeks
in Oaxaca (in southern Mexico), attending a
language school and participating in the
life of a homestay family there. I wanted
to take a half year — an entire year —
and really live somewhere else.</p>
<p>But I graduated college without doing
any study abroad. It just never fit with
the class schedule for my major. I started
working full time. I got married, bought
a house. Although I still wanted to have
that adventure, it seemed increasingly
likely that it just wasn't ever going to
actually work out. The timing never seemed
right, and I saw no reason why the timing
would get any easier.</p>
<p>Yet I would still wistfully mention
it to Forrest. To his credit, he consistently
told me I should do it. I just felt like
it wasn't something that could reasonably
happen in reality.</p>
<p>When I started describing such a trip as
something I'd regret never doing, Forrest
finally told me that while he didn't have the
same live-abroad wanderlust that I
did, I shouldn't let that stop me. He told me I should just <em>make it
happen already.</em>
At which point, I started talking to
people about <em>when</em> I would spend a
year abroad, rather than <em>if</em>. It's
amazing how much difference a single
word can make, even just in my own
mind.</p>
<p>So after spending almost half my
life (damn! I make myself feel simultaneously old and young!) wanting this, and spending
the past year seriously turning to the
practical and logistical side of things, I
am finally going to make it happen.</p>
<p>Many of my friends and family —
and any strangers foolish enough to
express any interest <tt>;)</tt> — have already heard some portion of my plans. It's been over a year since my last blog post; this
seems like a suitable "announcement" to
break that silence:</p>
<p><strong>I will be spending 2015 in Mexico!</strong></p>
<p>I'm going to be rather busy up until
I actually leave. I'm no longer at Google, and
Forrest gave his notice earlier this month,
so we're planning to do some traveling
together before I go off on my own
adventure.</p>
<p>In September, I'm spending the
weekly camping at Lake Wenatchee State
Park with friends, attending <a href="catalystcon.com">CatalystCon</a>
West (a sexuality/sex-positive/education/activism con) in LA, and meeting up
with the old Jambool gang to go wine
tasting 4 years post-acquisition. Then, mid-October, we're going to
Disneyland with Jambool-Ben and his
friends.</p>
<p>On either side of the Disneyland trip, Forrest
and I will visit family in California
At the very end of October, we're then
heading to Baja with my parents. They'll
road-trip with us for ~2 weeks then head
back while Forrest and I continue wandering
around the peninsula. We'll
will return to California in time for
Thanksgiving, and also spend Christmas
and New Year's with family.</p>
<p>Once January 2015 rolls around, I'll
be heading for the city of Guanajuato
and the start of my one-year Mexico
adventure!</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-31597153260205191642014-09-12T13:13:00.000-07:002014-09-13T18:13:09.461-07:00Livescribe 3 Smartpen<div class="photo">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/15035958670" title="First use of Livescribe 3 smartpen by Arthaey Angosii, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/15035958670_367732fb38_n.jpg" width="320" height="108" alt="First use of Livescribe 3 smartpen"></a>
<br/>
<span class="photo-title">First use of Livescribe 3 smartpen</span>
</div>
<p>I've rediscovered how much I enjoy
writing things out long-hand, and I'd like
to get back into journaling regularly. But
I've also noticed that I tend not to
transcribe things into blog posts. It's been
over a year since I blogged!</p>
<p>Then I suddenly remembered that
"smart pens" were a thing. So I googled
what the current state of the world was
for smart pens and ended up convincing
myself to buy a <a href="http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/ls3/">Livescribe 3</a>.</p>
<p>(I just paused to see what the OCR
software made of my natural, unaltered
handwriting. Holy shit! Those first two
paragraphs above it made <em>zero</em> errors
into transcription! It didn't catch the
paragraph-break the way I would have
typed it manually, but I'll forgive it. It even correctly placed a comma I had gone back in and added after I'd kept on writing. It did miss an apostrophe, but
I suppose that one was nearly non-
existent. As for underlined words, it just
ignored it entirely. Which seems fair.
Smileys confuse it, though.)</p>
<p>The docs also say it can be multi-lingual...</p>
<p class="es" lang="es">Y ahora he cambiado el idioma.
Me parece que no es posible escribir en
dos idiomas a la vez — debes cambiar
los ajustes, que se aplican a una parte?
página? cuaderno? Sí es posible re-transcribir algo en otro idioma. Pero no
se puede mezclarlos.</p>
<p class="de" lang="de">Und kann ich auf Deutsch schreiben
auch! Sehr toll. <tt>:)</tt></p>
<p>Perhaps there shall be more blogging in the future...</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-73933041345439273682013-07-31T01:08:00.004-07:002013-07-31T01:08:56.063-07:00Broken Foot<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/9374077752/" title="X-ray of fractured metatarsal by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5533/9374077752_f3cd50aafd_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="X-ray of fractured metatarsal">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">X-ray of fractured metatarsal</span></a>
</div>
<h4>One Accident-Recounting to Rule Them All</h4>
<p>Many have heard by now about my foot, but I've been inconsistent in how much I felt like retelling the story when various people have asked. So I'm going to write it up here, and refer people here for the details.</p>
<h4>One-Stop Pub Crawl</h4>
<p>The in-laws visited last week. On Wednesday night, Forrest's brother, Ari, stayed over at our house so we could do a "pub crawl" with our friends Jerry and Aaron. We ended up staying at the first bar we went to: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/ballard-smoke-shop-seattle">Ballard Smoke Shop</a>, my favorite locals' bar in Seattle. They pour cheap but strong drinks, and are always friendly in a down-to-earth, no-nonsense sort of way.</p>
<h4>Walking Without Rhythm</h4>
<p>After several drinks, we started walking the 1.5 miles back to our house. We were definitely buzzed, but no one was weaving or stumbling or talking funny or anything like that.</p>
<p>I forget how the subject came up, but I started talking about the funny dance/walk thing that Christopher Walken does in the music video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ7z57qrZU8">Weapon of Choice</a>. The lyric goes, "Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the worm" (which is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)">Dune</a> reference). I started to demonstrate the silly walk.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I happened to start walking in this exaggerated, unstable manner right at the corner, where the sidewalk slopes down for wheelchair ramp access. My bad right ankle, which I have twisted before, rolled on the uneven ground. I fell onto my left side. Somehow, I skinned my left elbow and knee without tearing my jacket or pants — luckily, this means I got more of a "rug burn" than dirt and gravel dug into my skin.</p>
<div class="photo-even">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/9369711726/" title="Right foot bruising by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/9369711726_b50e5df3a3_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Right foot bruising">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Bruising at my ankle and toes</span></a>
</div>
<p>I'm pretty sure I would have twisted my ankle regardless of whether I'd been drinking before; this is the ankle I've rolled several times over the years, and it's prone to injury these days. But maybe I would have tried to catch myself while falling. But then maybe I would have hurt my wrist too? Or gone down harder on the knee cap itself, rather than distributing my weight over my entire side? Being tipsy might have actually been a blessing in disguise. (I <em>absolutely</em> am willing to "walk silly" in public without any alcohol, so that wasn't a factor in the inciting incident. <tt>;)</tt>)</p>
<h4>Painful Foot</h4>
<p>I knew right away that I'd hurt my ankle pretty bad. I didn't even try to get up on it. Instead, I asked my friends to pull my fully onto the sidewalk and out of the street I'd half fallen into. (I'm grateful this was past midnight, so traffic was very light.)</p>
<p>In an encouraging note for humanity, no less than 3 separate strangers stopped and asked if I was okay. I looked up at each of them and calmly told them I'd just twisted my ankle, my friends could help me get home, but thanks for the concern.</p>
<p>They helped me stand up, and I thought I could still hobble on it. So Forrest helped me cross the street, continuing toward home. But we didn't even get halfway across the street before I realized my foot was hurt much more than the "usual" twists and sprains I'd had before. I really couldn't put any weight at all on the foot. So we ordered up an <a href="https://www.uber.com/">Uber</a> taxi, even though we were less than a mile from home. (I learned that Uber has a $12 minimum. Worth it.)</p>
<p>Only 3 or 4 people could fit in the Uber car, so Jerry and Aaron graciously offered to walk home, leaving enough space for me, Forrest, and his brother to get back to our house. I'm really grateful that everyone was chill about me "ruining" the evening and having to cut the night a little short. Good friends.</p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/9373750015/" title="Swollen foot, day 2 by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7438/9373750015_969f470fbc_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Swollen foot, day 2">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Swollen foot, the day after</span></a>
</div>
<h4>Dealing With the Injury That Night <em>(smart)</em></h4>
<p>At home, Forrest had the unenviable task of bandaging my skinned elbow and knee. <em>Damn</em> did that sting. (And, unfortunately, we didn't get the larger knee scrape cleaned enough. It's still sore a week later, so I suspect it might be mildly infected.) He helped me to bed, got me a bag of ice to get the swelling down, and gave me some ibuprofen. Once we'd done everything we could, I stayed lying down while he went back out to the living room to spend some more time with his brother.</p>
<p>In the half hour or so that it took for the combination of ice and ibuprofen to kick in, I was <em>very</em> uncomfortable and distraught with the pain of it. But finally the pain subsided to more manageable levels, and I fell asleep.</p>
<h4>Ignoring the Injury the Next Day <em>(not smart)</em></h4>
<p>In the morning, I figured out a funky way of moving on my left foot, sort of a "twist and shout" dance maneuver to get enough momentum to slide on my sock while only on one foot. I also used the wood trim of the house to pull myself along; it made surprising good handholds. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to go in to work that Thursday, so I stayed home.</p>
<p>Between my semi-mobility and Forrest still visiting with his family, I didn't think I needed to take the time to go to a doctor. I figured it would heal up and be fine, just like the previous times I'd twisted the ankle. We went to dinner at <a href="http://www.themetropolitangrill.com/">The Met</a> to celebrate his parents' 30th anniversary. I hobbled around, often with help from someone, definitely in pain, but I was determined to be as normally-mobile as possible. (Dinner was fantastic, as always.)</p>
<p>But everyone at dinner expressed concern about my hobbling, and insisted that I have a doctor look at my foot. So I agreed that I'd take a taxi to a walk-in clinic the next day.</p>
<p>We also stopped at the drugstore on the way home and bought me some crutches, so I could stop doing the twist and shout around the house. <tt>;)</tt></p>
<h4>Diagnosis: Fractured Metatarsal, Undisplaced</h4>
<p>And I'm glad I did have a doctor look at it. Because, as it turns out, I actually broke the damn foot.</p>
<p>The doctor gently poked at my foot in various places. Based on where it hurt (the ankle, a little; and especially mid-foot on the outside) and where it didn't hurt (anywhere along the inside of the foot), he said that pattern of pain was normally seen with a fractured metatarsal.</p>
<p class="footnote">How does twisting an ankle break the foot bone, you ask? Read <a href="http://www.footeducation.com/dancers-fracture-5th-metatarsal-avulsion-fracture">Dancer’s Fracture (5th Metatarsal Avulsion Fracture)</a> for details. But basically, there's a ligament that goes between your ankle and the outside metatarsal. When you twist your ankle, sometimes that tears. But other times, it holds, and instead pulls on the base of the metatarsal it's attached to so strongly that it actually fractures the bone. That latter scenario is what happened to me.</p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/9373576312/" title="Boot for my fractured foot by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/9373576312_4bc987d4db_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Boot for my fractured foot">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Boot for my broken foot</span></a>
</div>
<p>I took a wheelchair ride down the hall to get x-rayed, then was wheelchaired back. The doctor came back in and told me the x-rays confirmed the fracture. As far as broken bones go, mine was relatively minor: it's not "displaced," meaning it didn't completely break of a chunk of bone; and it didn't even go all the way through the bone, either.</p>
<p>I asked him to scare me with what would happen if I ignore his recommendation to keep my weight off the foot; he laughed and said, "Oh, you're one of <em>those</em> personalities." <tt>:P</tt> The potential Bad Stuff was sufficiently bad that I have not tried to walk on the foot since my doctor's appointment. Surgery and pins in my foot are things I'd like to avoid!</p>
<p>The doctor offered a prescription for vicodin, but last time I had it (for my wisdom teeth) it made me nauseous, so I declined. He told me to be wary of talking any NSAIDs like ibuprofen, because it might interfere with bone healing. He instead recommended acetaminophen, although you have to be careful with the dosage and avoid drinking while taking it.</p>
<p>Finally, he got me a "walking boot" to semi-immobilize my foot and told me to follow up with my regular doctor in a week.</p>
<p>I'll know more about how it's been healing up, and how long to expect complete healing to take, this Friday at that follow-up appointment.</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-25685428350398684532013-05-02T00:11:00.001-07:002013-05-02T13:28:46.178-07:00¿Otro Viaje a México?<div class="columns-2">
<div class="column-1">
<h4>Español</h4>
<p>
Hace algunos años — creo que fue <ins>en</ins> 2008 — mi mamá y yo planeamos un viaje a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=san+miguel+de+allende&tbm=isch">San Miguel de Allende</a>, donde asistiríamos en <a href="http://mexicospanish.com/">una escuela de idiomas</a> y viviríamos con una familia mexicana allí.
</p>
<p>
Pero <del with="tuvimos">teníamos</del> que posponer nuestro viaje. Así es la vida, algunas veces.
</p>
<p>
Ahora, cuando estoy pensando otra vez en una de mis metas de la vida — hablar español fluido — recordé est<del with="o">e</del>s planes olvidados. Llamé a mi mamá y la pregunté si todavía viajaría ella conmigo. Tiene que pensarlo más, pensar en el precio y el horario... ¡pero quizás me dirá sí! <tt>:)</tt>
</p>
</div>
<div class="column-2">
<h4>English</h4>
<p>A few years ago — I think it was 2008 — my mom and I planned a trip to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=san+miguel+de+allende&tbm=isch">San Miguel de Allende</a>, where we would attend <a href="http://mexicospanish.com/">a language school</a> and live with a Mexican family there.</p>
<p>But we had to postpone our trip. Such is life sometimes.</p>
<p>Now, when I'm thinking again about one of my life goals — to speak Spanish fluently — I remembered these forgotten plans. I called my mom and asked her if she would still go with me. She has to think about it more, think about the cost and the schedule... but maybe she will say yes! <tt>:)</tt></p>
</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-87737117967092639452013-05-01T23:52:00.000-07:002013-05-01T23:52:14.446-07:00Treadmill Desk, Two Weeks Later<p>On April 11th, after months of toying with the idea of setting up a permanent treadmill at my work desk and asking my coworkers if they'd be bothered if I did so, I bought a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X5J1S6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003X5J1S6&linkCode=as2&tag=necresinsoart-20">(relatively cheap) treadmill</a> off of Amazon. On April 16th, the treadmill was delivered. (Shout out to the amazing facilities crew at work, whose only questions were "when would it be convenient to you for us to bring the treadmill to your desk?" and "let us know if you need any help putting it in a vehicle later!")</p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8682271520/" title="Treadmill desk setup by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8125/8682271520_5b6cd61d86_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Treadmill desk setup">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Treadmill desk setup</span></a>
</div>
<p>It's been a little over two weeks of using the treadmill at work now, and I have to say: <strong>treadmill desks are awesome!</strong></p>
<p>I had been using a standing desk for months, listening to my body: sitting when I was tired, standing when I was restless. I'd gotten to the point that I was standing most of the time. I think this has helped in my quick transition to the treadmill desk, which obviously doesn't allow for a chair at all. And anyway, I think walking is easier on your feet than standing still, at least for long periods of time.</p>
<p>When my feet really do want a rest, I just take my laptop over to the couch that's just 50 feet away and take a short break.</p>
<p>I am "allowed" the treadmill in an open office floor plan only at my coworkers' good graces. So the first thing I did to the treadmill after turning it on was <a href="http://arthaey.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-disable-buzzer-on-treadmill-in-8.html">disable its super-annoying, constant beeping</a>.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the treadmill itself is only <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8683482147/">minimally noisy</a>. Honestly, I think the tiny fan I bought is noisier than the treadmill. The important point is that no one at work has complained about the treadmill yet. On the contrary, even strangers have wandered over to ask variations on "what the heck is that?" and "how did you get it?" and "can you really type on that thing?" <em>(Answers: a treadmill! with money! and yes, just as fast as before.)</em></p>
<div class="photo-even">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8681156699/" title="Treadmill "desk" — a $6 shelf from Lowe's by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8380/8681156699_58e5649d09_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Treadmill "desk" — a $6 shelf from Lowe's">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Treadmill "desk" — a $6 shelf from Lowe's</span></a>
</div>
<p>The treadmill's computer console does not disconnect entirely, but its cords are long enough that I can set it down on my old standing desk and get it out of the way. The handlebars are welded to the base frame, and as such are not (easily <tt>;)</tt>) removed. But they <em>are</em> horizontal enough that a $6 wooden shelf from Lowe's is extremely stable plopped across them. I thought I would have to somehow secure the plank to the handlebars, but so far it's shown no inclination to move and I haven't bothered.</p>
<p>From the photo of the treadmill's console hiding on the old standing desk, you might think that it's really inconvenient to use. Luckily, this treadmill model also has redundant controls at the ends of the handlebars, which stick out well beyond my shelf "desk". So I only need to reach across the desk to push the console buttons when I want to reset the statistics mid-day (which I almost never care enough to do; my <a href="http://www.fitbit.com/">Fitbit</a> tracks all the stats I want).</p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8681156919/" title="Treadmill console sitting on the standing desk by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8257/8681156919_0fd4928a06_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Treadmill console sitting on the standing desk">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Treadmill console sitting on the standing desk</span></a>
</div>
<p>As for the health benefits... Make no mistake, walking at a speed that doesn't interfere with creative computer work (<em>ie,</em> 1–1.5 mph) is <em>not</em> an aerobic workout. I barely break a sweat when I walk for an hour straight. But what it <em>is</em> better than is sitting my butt in a chair 8 hours a day, only to come home and sit on the couch until bedtime.</p>
<p>The treadmill does not replace my actual workout/gym time. But it does replace a large chunk of my 100% sedentary time that I otherwise couldn't get away from, given my job as a programmer.</p>
<p>Ask me how I feel about my treaddesk setup in two months... But after two weeks, I'm just mad I didn't decide to do this sooner!</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-6920028758387763282013-04-18T23:57:00.000-07:002013-04-20T23:57:24.550-07:00How to disable the buzzer on a treadmill in 8 steps<p>I bought a treadmill to use at my standing desk at work. It's just a cheap one, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X5J1S6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003X5J1S6&linkCode=as2&tag=necresinsoart-20">Exerpeutic TF1000 Walk to Fitness Electric Treadmill</a>. Given that it's not a, uh, <em>deluxe</em> model, there is no way to control the volume of the beep it makes, nor a way to disable it.</p>
<p>And <em>wow</em> does it like to beep. It makes two beeps when you first power it on, to say that it's boot-up test completed. Then it beeps when you press the Start button, and it does a 3-beep countdown as it's about to start, and it beeps every time you modify the speed — which you have to do a lot, since it changes in only 0.1–mile increments.</p>
<p>Since I'm using this treadmill in an open office plan, that beep had to go. Even if I were using it the treadmill at home, <em>I</em> want that beep to go! So here is what I did to kill the annoying beep (do at your own risk, unplug the treadmill & ground yourself, etc etc):</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 1: open the console</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8659448596/" title="Step 1/8: open the console by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8659448596_e095c4ecb2_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Step 1/8: open the console">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Open the console</span></a>
</div>
<p>Get a Phillips screwdriver and unscrew the back of the console.</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 2: unscrew the circuit board</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8659449246/" title="Step 2/8: unscrew the circuit board by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8659449246_ec0878ffe1_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Step 2/8: unscrew the circuit board">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Unscrew the circuit board</span></a>
</div>
<p>Set aside the back of the console and unscrew the circuit board too.</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 3: identify the buzzer</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8658343425/" title="Step 3/8: identify the buzzer by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8111/8658343425_6f6ed9f0d0_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Step 3/8: identify the buzzer">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Identify the buzzer</span></a>
</div>
<p>See the little black cylinder in the top center of the circuit board? <em>That</em> is the buzzer that makes the terrible beeping!</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 4: flip the circuit board over</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8658345929/" title="Step 4/8: flip the circuit board over by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8115/8658345929_34f6ca1a3c_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Step 4/8: flip the circuit board over">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Flip the circuit board over</span></a>
</div>
<p>Be careful when flipping over the circuit board — the LCD screen is just taped onto the board, not soldered, and it will fall off if you bump the board around too much. (If that happens, just put it back in place. The circuit board screws hold it in place.</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 5: identify the trace to cut</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8659451360/" title="Step 5/8: identify the trace to cut by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8119/8659451360_233a82d22d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Step 5/8: identify the trace to cut">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Identify the trace to cut</span></a>
</div>
<p>On the back side of buzzer, identify the copper traces that connect to it. Those are the traces that need to be cut to shut up the buzzer. (See the next step, showing the trace cut, if you're not sure which ones I mean.)</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 6: cut the trace</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8658348463/" title="Step 6/8: cut the trace by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8118/8658348463_6d7a0c8d3c_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Step 6/8: cut the trace">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Cut the trace</span></a>
</div>
<p>Use an exacto knife or similar to cut the copper trace to the buzzer. (I didn't have an exacto knife handy, so I made do with a puship and a pair of scissors. I don't really recommend those tools, but they got the job done.)</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 7: confirm the trace is cut</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8659454372/" title="Step 7/8: confirm the trace is cut by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8659454372_af53f1d9cc_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Step 7/8: confirm the trace is cut">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Confirm the trace is cut</span></a>
</div>
<p>Get some good light in there to verify that the copper is no longer continuous.</p>
<h4 class="clear">Step 8: make sure the buttons are "loose"</h4>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8658350579/" title="Step 8/8: make sure the buttons are "loose" by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8116/8658350579_6ec0546b2e_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Step 8/8: make sure the buttons are "loose"">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Make sure the buttons are 'loose'</span></a>
</div>
<p>When I first put the console back together, I realized that my Start button was stuck down on the left side, and pushed up on the right side. So I had to open the console up again, unscrew the circuit board to un-stick the button, jiggle things around until the button was "loose" again, and the re-close the console.</p>
<p>So! Make sure your button is <em>not</em> stuck before closing up the console.</p>
<h4 class="clear">Success! No more annoying beeps!</h4>
Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-87114865863489886822013-04-12T11:48:00.001-07:002013-04-12T11:48:14.312-07:00CrossFit Seattle: not a "cult" gym<p>So <a href="https://twitter.com/phdinparenting/status/322761443961360384">@PhDinParenting</a> on Twitter shared <a href="http://impact-pt.com/fitness/what-crossfit-is-and-isnt/">a post their personal trainer wrote about CrossFit</a>.</p>
<p>And I have to say <em>whoa</em>, that is not my CrossFit gym <em>at all</em>! Thankfully!</p>
<blockquote cite="http://impact-pt.com/fitness/what-crossfit-is-and-isnt/">
"Everybody does the same exercise, with the same load, for the same reps with absolutely no respect to form and technique. Get it up with any means necessary."
</blockquote>
<p>This is so opposite of my gym, <a href="http://crossfitseattle.com/">CrossFit Seattle</a>! My gym won't even <em>let</em> you join the group classes until you've done three 1:1 sessions with a trainer to focus <em>exclusively</em> on form, because they don't want you to just jump into classes, not know what you're doing, push yourself too hard, and hurt yourself.</p>
<p>Then, once you're in the group classes, each individual is lifting different weights, depending on ability. And the trainers absolutely modify exercises for newbies or people with medical conditions. Because I'm a weak newbie myself (everybody's gotta start somewhere), the trainers have lowered my weights, reps, or changed the exercise entirely to something more appropriate for where I'm at <em>as an individual</em>. The other members are equally supportive of starting at where you're at, which is great.</p>
<p>I've also seen no evidence of other cult-like aspects I've heard ascribed to CrossFit. Namely, I've seen no one encouraged to "work until they puke"(!), pressured into adopting toe-shoes, or converted to a Paleo diet. Everyone looks like they're working with high intensity, but in a sustainable manner, not a crazed manner. People wear a variety of things, and no one seems judgmental or even <em>caring</em> about what you're wearing. I've overheard two members talking after a workout about how they eat, but it seems like a normal conversation about health, not anything evangelical.</p>
<p>In short, I'm thankful that I chose my CrossFit gym based on coworkers' specific recommendations of it as a "non-cult-ish" CrossFit place. I think I'm getting a challenging <em>yet safe</em> workout from CrossFit Seattle.</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-9527640368496674322013-02-14T12:51:00.001-08:002013-02-14T13:13:44.119-08:00Sneaky Valentine Cupcakes<p>
A few weeks before Valentine's Day, a <a href="http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/">local cupcake vendor</a> had samples at work and a sign-up sheet for people to send "cupcake-grams". I went and partook of the delicious samples and "casually mentioned" the sign-up sheet to my husband. He muttered that he had already been planning to do that and it took away the surprise for me to mention it.
</p>
<p>
Except that later, he sheepishly admitted that he had then completely forgotten about it until the vendor had left. I found it amusing, not disappointing, so it's all good. I don't really <em>need</em> cupcakes anyway, right?
</p>
<p>
Then today, Valentine's Day, I got up early, before Forrest, and walked in to work. (It's a 2.3 mile walk and I'm <em>really</em> enjoying the walk, which I've done every day so far this week. But I digress.) Not long after I get in to the office, I get a text from Forrest asking if I could meet him in the lobby of my building. It's our frequent meeting spot to exchange items forgotten, chat in person, or to meet up before going somewhere together, so I didn't think anything of it.
</p>
<div class="chat clearfix">
<div class="iChat-left">Can you meet me in the PKV lobby?</div>
<div class="iChat-right">Kk</div>
<div class="iChat-right">Here</div>
<div class="iChat-right">ETA?</div>
</div>
<p>
I got there in a minute, but Forrest wasn't there yet. I was mildly annoyed that he wasn't there already, because he personally hates being made to wait and complains about it. But I was generally in a good mood, so I just did language-learning <a href="http://flashcardsdeluxe.com/Flashcards/">flashcards</a> on my phone to pass the time.
</p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8474433590/" title="Valentine cupcakes & ladybug roses by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8252/8474433590_d8613596d8_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="Valentine cupcakes & ladybug roses"></a>
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Valentine cupcakes & ladybug roses</span>
</div>
<p>
A couple minutes later, Forrest steps out of the elevator. He smiles, hugs & kisses me, and says, "Good morning!" <em>This</em> is unusual. I interpreted this <em>as</em> his Valentine's Day gift to me, and it really did make me happy. I thought he'd taken the time just to come over and say hi and be friendly.
</p>
<p>
Little did I know.
</p>
<p>
Forrest goes back to his building and I go back to my desk. As I'm plugging my cell phone back into its charger, I notice a cupcake next to my charger cable! I suddenly realize that his asking me to meet in the lobby was just a ruse to get me away from my desk!
</p>
<div class="chat clearfix">
<div class="iChat-right">HEY!!!</div>
<div class="iChat-right">YOU ARE A SNEAKY SNEAKY PUNK AND I LOVE YOU</div>
<div class="iChat-right">(Unless the cupcake in the special cupcake container was sneakily left by a secret admirer, in which case nevermind. ;)))</div>
<div class="iChat-right">Omg another!</div>
<div class="iChat-right">And a baby one!</div>
<div class="iChat-left">=D</div>
<div class="iChat-right">My coworkers confirm that some suspicious-looking bearded dude was mucking around my desk. ;)</div>
<div class="iChat-left">hrmph</div>
<div class="iChat-right">Hehe</div>
<div class="iChat-right">Love you</div>
<div class="iChat-left">=)</div>
</div>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523671.post-6555357368920480262012-10-01T21:19:00.001-07:002012-10-02T13:51:25.126-07:00WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!<p class="tldr"><strong>WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! <tt>:D</tt></strong></p>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/7997703913/" title="Living room by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8035/7997703913_72879b8b74.jpg" width="500" height="341" alt="Living room">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Living room</span>
</a>
</div>
<h3 class="clearer">Spoiler version: a tale told in tweets</h3>
<ul class="zebra">
<li>[<a href="http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/246024359808991232">Wed Sept 12 4:15 PM</a>] Hey, we just saw you / and this is crazy / but here's our offer / so own you, maybe?</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/246060864959041536'>Wed Sept 12 6:40 PM</a>] You have to weigh the cost of a house vs the opportunity costs. I mean, that's a LOT of mochas & cookies worth of money we're talking about...</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/246346318216310784'>Thur Sept 13 1:35 PM</a>] So yeah, it turns out that it's really hard to concentrate on other things when you're expecting to hear back about your house offer... :P</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/246396330505818112'>Thur Sept 13 4:53 PM</a>] Our offer was accepted!! (contingent on inspection, of course) And our "personal letter" with <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/3357608771/'>this photo</a> helped get it!</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/246792035447734272'>Fri Sept 14 7:06 PM</a>] I'm making up a list of home maintenance tasks. OMG how is there so much to dooooooo? *whine*</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/247137318832578561'>Sat Sept 15 5:58 PM</a>] Alrighty. That's enough drooling over garden ideas for one day. ;)</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/248500496183214080'>Wed Sept 19 12:15 PM</a>] The sellers agreed to ALL our repair requests! We'd been warned how difficult it could be, but buying this house has been great so far. :D</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/248551740440465409'>Wed Sept 19 3:38 PM</a>] Since we're pretty sure we're going to close on this house without issues at this point, I feel okay sharing <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/sets/72157631561539362/'>photos</a>!</li>
<li>[<a href='http://twitter.com/arthaey/status/248594383568523265'>Wed Sept 19 6:28 PM</a>] Suddenly I am like, SUBSCRIBE TO ALL THE HOMES & GARDENS.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The long story...</h3>
<h4>"Just looking," ha ha</h4>
<p>
On September 8th, while I was visiting Forrest in Seattle for our 1-year anniversary, we decided to look at some houses for sale. It was mostly on a whim; while we'd be watching the market closely for an entire year, and we <em>did</em> have our down payment ready, we didn't think we were quite ready to actually <em>buy</em> a house. But going to open houses and touring some others with a Redfin agent sounded kinda fun, so we just went ahead and did it.
</p>
<p>
This was, of course, a dangerous idea.
</p>
<p>
Among the eight houses we looked at, we saw one that we actually really liked. It was a beautiful house with a huge, open, airy second floor addition. It had mature pear and apple trees in the front yard. It had a generous first floor with a kitchen that was well-connected to the living and dining rooms. It was the only house on the tour that we really <em>liked</em>, and that excitement was hard to ignore.
</p>
<p>
It had some issues, though. For one thing, the basement was practically inaccessible. The sellers had built this big backyard deck built of <a href="http://www.trex.com/">Trex</a> — but they built it <em>on top of</em> the basement door. They had this cellar door type access to it, but without hinges — you had to lift the two doors up and set them aside, then drop down vertically to the basement door underneath the deck. Since Forrest wanted a workshop, we would have to make the basement access more sane, which would probably involve tearing out the nice, obviously new, deck.
</p>
<div class="photo-even">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/8045878543/" title="First house's covered backyard by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8041/8045878543_db781a8dbb_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="First house's covered backyard">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Covered backyard (of the house we DIDN'T buy)</span></a>
</div>
<p>
The backyard was a little small and right up against a busy street. The noise didn't really bother us, and I told myself that bigger yards really didn't exist this close to downtown Seattle... The half of the yard that wasn't taken up by the deck was covered with paving tile. Yet another thing we'd want to tear out.
</p>
<p>
A third problem was that the house was heated with oil. We wanted a gas stove, and gas lines to the backyard for brewing beer. That would mean converting the house from oil to gas, then properly decommissioning the oil tank.
</p>
<p>
The fourth, and major, problem was the foundation. It was post and pier construction, which does <em>not</em> do well in earthquakes. In fact, our Redfin agent told us that some insurance companies won't even sell you <strike>earthquake</strike> <em>regular homeowners</em> insurance if you have that type of foundation. It was enough to make these two native Californians nervous.
</p>
<p class="footnote">
<span class="attention">Updated, Oct 2:</span> Forrest corrected me that the insurance situation was even <em>worse</em> than I had realized.
</p>
<h4>Almost making an offer</h4>
<p>
But before we had really thought through all of the above negative points, we were just <em>excited</em>, liking the rest of the house. The master bedroom really was amazing, with very high, sloping ceilings and a balcony with a view (if you craned your neck <tt>;)</tt>) of the snow-covered Olympics. So we told our agent that we wanted to put in an offer.
</p>
<p>
Our Redfin agent was really great, both in telling us exactly what we needed to do to aggressively move forward with a competitive offer (there were already other offers on the house), who to contact to get pre-approved over the weekend (since we didn't think we were <em>really</em> looking at houses, we hadn't bothered to get pre-approved), and then was <em>extremely</em> kind and understanding when we woke up the next morning, freaked out, thought better of the whole thing, and decided not to put in an offer after all.
</p>
<p>
The very fast-paced almost-offer did help us out a lot, though. First, it clarified for us what was actually important in a house (we hadn't realized that an accessible workshop and a better yard were really dealbreakers for us) and what was merely optional (the decor was nice, but it didn't make up for the other things). Second, it made us get all our financial documentation in line, since we had forwarded it all to the pre-approval guy.
</p>
<p>
We decided to take it more slowly, now that we knew what we wanted and now that we had all our papers ready. There would be other houses.
</p>
<h4>Second time's the charm</h4>
<p>
Wouldn't you know it, "other houses" showed up <em>as Forrest was driving me to the airport</em> on the Tuesday after our weekend of open houses. This new house looked good on paper, and it had an open house the next day, mid-afternoon. Forrest agreed to check it out. (Because we had agreed on virtually everything about every house we looked at together, we were both comfortable with Forrest "ruling out" houses that I didn't need to bother seeing and letting me know if he found a house good enough for me to fly up to see.)
</p>
<p>
This is how I ended up buying a last-minute ticket back up to Seattle less than 24 hours since I had return to the Bay Area.
</p>
<p>
The Wednesday "open house" that Forrest had attended wasn't a normal open house, but rather a "<a href="http://therealestatecoconut.com/2008/10/22/what-is-a-brokers-open-house-anyway/">brokers' open house</a>", technically open to the public but scheduled midday and midweek and specifically meant for real estate agents. We didn't know this at the time, of course; the house showed up on Redfin and Forrest wandered on in. The brokers' open house explains why all the other "buyers" he saw there were dressed in business suits, and why the listing agent's assistant seemed surprised by Forrest's presence. <tt>;)</tt>
</p>
<p>
The house turned out to be even better in real life than on paper, so Forrest wanted me to see it and then make an offer. We contacted our Redfin agent, to whom we apologized for having cold feet on the last house <em>but this time we're sure, we promise</em>. She arranged for us to see the house bring and early (read: 9 AM) on Thursday morning.
</p>
<p>
When I saw the house, I completely agreed with Forrest: this house would be a great fit for us, and the price was right.
</p>
<p>
One thing that was unusual about viewing the house: the sellers were still living in it! They had cleared out the vast majority of their possessions, but we found their microwave hiding in an out-of-the-way closet, clothes in the master bedroom's closet... and the sellers themselves camped out in the basement, trying to stay out of our way as much as possible!
</p>
<p>
I think our agent was a little worried about them being there while we looked at the house. But they turned out to be very friendly, nice people. The woman reminded us of one of Forrest's aunts (in a good way). In some parallel universe, where it wouldn't be excessively weird to socialize with the previous owners of your new house, I wouldn't mind hanging out with her. Anyway, I chatted with them, pet their three cats, told them about our two cats, and asked for advice on how to maintain the garden. Later, our agent said she was <em>quite</em> pleased with how the conversation had gone. <tt>:P</tt>
</p>
<p>
After we were done looking around at everything, we walked from the house to a nearby cafe with our agent to put together our offer! There had already been two other offers, so we knew we had to be aggressive. We took our agent's advice in writing the offer (because really, that's what she was there for).
</p>
<p>
Then I mentioned that I had heard of people writing <a href="http://firsttuesdayjournal.com/buyers-get-personal-with-a-letter-to-the-seller/">personal letters</a> to include along with their offer. <strike>Forrest had never heard of it and thought it sounded a little weird.</strike> Our agent had definitely heard of the practice, though, and said that it couldn't hurt. So we went home to write a personal letter while our agent finished getting the rest of the paperwork in order.
</p>
<p class="footnote">
<span class="attention">Updated, Oct 2:</span> Apparently Forrest <em>had</em> heard of these personal letters before. My memory is of him being reluctant about the idea of writing one, but he says he thought they were a good idea. Not sure how to reconcile our opposite memories except to state both our memories. <tt>:P</tt>
</p>
<h4>Waiting is soooooo hard</h4>
<p>
We wrote up a personal letter talking about how much we loved the wood throughout the house, the intact period character, and the yard. We included photos of us and the cats. We saved the letter as a PDF so it would withstand whatever forwarding shenanigans it might go through, emailed it to our agent at 12:30 PM, and then we waited.
</p>
<p>
We were technically back at work by this point, but neither of us could really concentrate. We kept checking our emails and our phones for any contact from our agent. We pointlessly speculated. We called our respective parental units to share our nervous excitement.
</p>
<p>
Finally, at 3 PM, we got a good news / bad news call from our agent. Bad news: there was a higher offer. Good news: despite the higher offer, the sellers wanted us to have the house! But only if we were willing to match the higher offer. The way multiple bids work (at least in the Seattle real estate market) is a little like eBay: buyers submit their offer, their highest price, and the increments by which they will "automatically" outbid other buyers up until their highest price. The higher offer had pushed us to our highest price, then gone up by an increment to beat our price. The sellers counteroffered us, saying that if we would go up one more increment to match this higher offer, they would sell the house to us.
</p>
<p>
We thought about it briefly, but we were pretty comfortable going up one more increment (because we had previously been firm about not putting our "highest price" automatic bid number higher than we were genuinely comfortable with). We agreed to the counteroffer. The house would be ours — pending contingencies!
</p>
<p>
We later found out that the exposed wood trim, which we had complimented in our personal letter, had originally been painted when the owners bought the house. They had spent three years of their own time meticulously stripping the paint. So we suspect that they especially liked us calling out that detail in our letter. What luck! <tt>:)</tt>
</p>
<h4>Inspections go well</h4>
<p>
We had a general inspector out the next day, Friday, to look over everything. He said that when he looks at old houses, he usually has bad news to tell the buyers, but in our case the house actually looked in good condition. We were <em>so</em> relieved to hear that; I had been psyching myself up for multiple tens of thousands of dollars in terrible repairs, something bad enough to make us walk. But nothing like that was found!
</p>
<p>
The only major issue with the crumbling mortar of the chimney in the basement. But when we had the specialist chimney inspector come out to look at it, he said the rest of the chimney was sound. Only the obviously crumbling section needed to be <a href="http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-tuckpoint-brick-and-block-foundations.html">tuck-pointed</a>, and then it would be fine.
</p>
<p>
Even more exciting, the sellers agreed to <em>all</em> of our (intentionally modest) list of repairs to be completed or credited against the purchase price. At this point, there is really no reason for the deal to fall through!
</p>
<h3>The house itself</h3>
<div class="photo">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/7997709100/" title="Kitchen sink & nook by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/7997709100_a8e225b779_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Kitchen sink & nook">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Kitchen & nook</span></a>
</div>
<p>
The house is a 1925 Craftsman, with beautiful wood floors and wide exposed wood trim throughout. It's not too big — 980 square feet — and has a room layout that makes the most of the square footage. The previous owners didn't do any remodels, so it's kept its period character; and they <em>did</em> appear to do regular home maintenance, so it's in good shape.
</p>
<p>
It's technically a 2-bedroom house, but the front room adjacent to the living room will be a reading room (and sometimes guest room). I have <em>always</em> wanted a reading room (not a library; you're allowed to talk <tt>;)</tt>). The other bedroom — or in our case, the only bedroom — is in the back of the house, next to the kitchen and looking over the garden. In between them is the one bathroom in the house; luckily, you don't have to go through either bedroom to get to it. The rest of the house is a large living/dining room open area, which includes a fireplace.
</p>
<p>
It has an attic and basement, both unfinished and — happily — dry. So we have lots of expansion possibilities if we ever want more space, but really, the main level is all we really need; we would be content to always have just that floor finished. But it's good to have options for the unforeseen, right?
</p>
<div class="photo-even">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthaey/7997703387/" title="Backyard planters by Arthaey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7997703387_c6e630d374_m.jpg" width="240" height="159" alt="Backyard planters">
<br>
<span class="photo-title">Backyard</span></a>
</div>
<p>
The backyard is a pretty good size (again, for the area; one-acre lots like where I grew up just don't exist). It already has mulch down everywhere, so that should buy us a good amount of time to figure out what <em>we</em> want to do with the yard without letting the weeds take over in the meanwhile. We'll probably leave the fruits & vegetables in the raised planter boxes as they are. Mature tomatoes and thornless raspberries sound good to us. <tt>:)</tt>
</p>
<p>
Location-wise, the house is between the centers of Ballard and Fremont (1 mile from the former, 2 miles from the latter, and essentially flat to both destinations). It's half a mile from a grocery store, 1 mile from a close friend's place, and around the corner from a cafe, pizza joint, and some bar & grill type restaurants that look good. It's on a major bus line, so getting further afield without a car is easy too. We also have easy street parking, should friends who do drive want to visit.
</p>
<p>
But the key take-away is this: we're really excited/scared/excited <tt>;)</tt> about buying a house! It's going to be <strong>AWESOME</strong>.
</p>Arthaey Angosiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17107174886837969594noreply@blogger.com0