Will play outdoors.

Ah, I've failed to post since my last Cup o' Joe Monday - and there *will* be a new post tomorrow, so I'm determined to squeeze one in before then so I can address everything else that's happened this past week.

By the numbers:
55 miles biked
30 hours worked at new job
28 miles run
1 swim in Lake Washington

So, the weather continues to be astounding. It's impossible to stay inside. I woke up this morning with a full day off ahead of me and tried a variety of projects - reading, working on my website, writing, catching up on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episodes, etc. - before gazing longingly out the window at the sunshine and the mountaintops and feeling entirely dull about my attempt to do things indoors. Silliness, on a day like this, when all I'm hearing from the seasoned Seattleites is "Muahahaha you just wait until your first winter up here..." I have to take advantage of the sun before he goes into hibernation!


The outdoors are great. Getting to work in a place that promotes them is even better. Making friends in new places is always a slow process, but I really, really like a lot of the people I've met here so far - many of whom are just as new to the area as myself. And some who aren't! Seyeon and I are planning a camping trip with a few friends in the next couple weeks that should be a real blast. In the meantime, I'm getting a kick out of all the end-of-summer festivities:


Tug-of-war between rival bike shops in the Seattle area


Pick up football with friends! Guess who scored not one, but TWO, touchdowns?! :)


Taking time to enjoy the scenery
Biking and running alike continue to be incredible ways for me to learn my way around the city and familiarize myself with its green spaces, trails, scenic hot spots, coffeeshops to potentially review on Mondays, and cute restaurants at which I'll someday be able to afford/enjoy a meal! I'm still not really comfortable biking in Seattle's traffic, nor on its insanely killer hills, but I'm sure I'll get there. I can already feel how much stronger my legs have gotten in running up hills...so it's nice to have hill-conquering goals to work toward on my bike as well. Goals are good.

Yup, I love this city.


P.S. Oberlin Run-in of the Week: Seeing a couple of lovely fellow 09-ers whom I met in my first week or two at Oberlin - this time of year, four years ago, really - as they were trying on shoes at REI over the weekend! And only to find out we live just a few blocks away from each other...awesome. Love the small world.