Writers, Towers, Batteries, Light Bulbs, and Jobs

That damn writers' strike continues. (Now, that doesn't explain my own recent silence, but it *feels* related, doesn't it?)

Oh how I miss the Daily Show. Can't those giant companies just pay the writers for their work? Is that such a crazy idea?

Good story about the strike on NPR the other day. And if any of you are on facebook, I encourage you to join the group Petition: Bring back 'The Daily Show'!.



The other night (okay, last night), Emily invited me to the Providence holiday party at Smith Tower, the company's current downtown headquarters. (Alas, they soon will move out to the suburbs . . . ) Anyway, they sure love that building:

Smith Tower cookie


Smith Tower ice sculpture. And doesn't Emily look nice in that tie?

Good party: nice people, free drinks, scallops wrapped in bacon (serious decadence; and deliciousness--who says nuns don't know how to party?).


What else? Well, we recently joined Flexcar, a super-cool car-sharing company. Now when we need to drive somewhere, we can, but without having all the downsides of car ownership. Nice. (Driving from here to the suburbs during rush hour? Not so nice. Good to have the option, though, right?)

And where did we take this eco-friendly car (sounds impossible I know, but if any car is eco-friendly, it's the car you don't own)? We took it to buy some cute eco-friendly lights:



Speaking of power, my computer's been acting up, so I took it to an Apple store today to see a "genius." Now I don't know about the title, but he did give me a new battery for free, even though the laptop's not under warranty any more, so cheers to that guy!



Finally, I am not as desperate for a new job as I've been in past Decembers, since I can stay at SU if I want, and I like the job and love the city. Nevertheless, I've been doing a bit of applying. It's going fine, I guess. Point is, though, for anyone curious about what applying for philosophy jobs is like, I suggest taking a look at a philosophy job market blog. I've been enjoying it lately (that nice 'I'm not alone' feeling, you know?) A word of warning: it's a stressful life, and stress sometimes results in the use of foul language.



Oh,
and in case I don't see you before the end of the month, Happy Holidays, dear reader.

Yep, Snow

Merrica and Jeff drove in from Helena for the weekend. Was fun; and we got to see a rare snowy day in Seattle. (More on their drive home below.)

Cal Anderson Park, Saturday afternoon

Maybe the weirdest part was that as soon as they arrived Merrica (yes, Merrica!) suggested Japanese for dinner.

At Hana


Then it was off to a show:

Les Savy Fav

It was pretty good, but I may be getting a little old for it . . . (no comment on whether or not that also applies to the lead singer.)

Next morning, we took them to B & O, which was great as usual.

Isn't my cappuccino cute?



Merrica was a little tired at breakfast on Saturday (did I mention that the band didn't go on until 11:30?)


And it snowed!

In the snow


Jeff is a fan of beer (so of course I like him): we sampled the fare at Elysian Brewing Company on Saturday, and then at Pike Brewing Company later the same day.



I think there is a subtle clue in the photo that should enable you to provide your own caption . . .


As for the drive home, they made it, but it took a little extra time, since the weather was pretty rough. I hear they had to wait like an hour for the avalanche crew to work on the pass outside of Seattle. (Us? At a bar watching Kansas basketball, obviously.)

Taken from the Washington State Department of Transportation's webcam on top of Snoqualmie Pass right around the time Merrica and Jeff were up there on their way home


In other news, we started getting into the December spirit.

Mimi with our tree



First ornament on the tree



And just in time for her birthday (or maybe for Christmas?), Amelia's cape is almost done; and it *almost* fits Emily