When I type I always put two spaces after each period.  It annoys slanky, so much so that when he was editing our new year letter he went through everything I wrote, which was practically the entire document, and took out all of the “extra” spaces (I think he also did this last year but didn’t complain quite so much so I promptly forgot all about it).  I learned to type in high school, on a type writer, and that’s what I learned.  Period, space space, beginning of next sentence.  Apparently, this is no longer the traditional typing method and in the digital world only one space after a period should be used.  We got into quite a discussion about it and here is what we found:  Double spacing at the end of sentences.

So we were all supposed to switch to the “french” spacing at some point in the last decade or so and I’m wondering how many of you have made the alteration.

One space or two?

As you all know, Gaje has been a part of our lives for a long time now. He turned 10 this November so that means we’ve spent a decade together. He was our first responsibility other than ourselves so I guess you could think of him as our practice run at children. He’s only a little quirky so I suppose that’s good news for our boys.

Yesterday we took Gaje to the vet to have major surgery. He’s had an exponentially growing lipoma on his side for the past two years and upon the advice of a vet we decided to have it removed so that it doesn’t start affecting his health before old age does. The surgery is risky but a common one for dogs, luckily Gaje did just fine and we get to pick him up today. The recovery will be about 3 to 4 weeks and he’ll be a fraction of his former self, which is a good thing.

These decisions are hard. This surgery is costing us a lot of money. He’s a dog. But he’s been a part of our lives for so long it’s hard to think about anything other than giving our all for his care. I’m so thankful that we have the means to do so. It’s hard for me to think about a time when he’ll no longer be here with us, sharing in our family moments, so instead I’m going to think about all the good times we’re going to have after he’s healed.

Gaje on his new bed

Ok, here’s my list of Tops for 2009. It’s by far not comprehensive and I feel like I’m forgetting a lot of stuff that happened in 2009 but so it goes. Perhaps I should blog more so I can look back on stuff..

Favorite Restaurant (or where we frequented most): The Loft, a sports bar type of place that allows kids until about 10pm. It’s nice and loud so Jonah blends right in.

Best Meal of 2009: we had some great food on our travels this summer but Slanky and I shared a wonderful meal at Elemental (for his Birthday, I think) and I could still drink then so the wine also helped make it a memorable evening!

Top Album (not necessarily made in 2009 but what I listened to most frequently): This is a very hard one. I don’t feel like I listened to much music this year, if you don’t count kid’s music and older music that we’ve had around for years. So, I guess for single most listened to albums, it’ll probably have to be The Beatles re-released Revolver album.

Top 3 Books I read in 2009: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and the Dead series by Charlaine Harris (I’m lumping those all together even though they are 9 books. I finished all but the last one in a matter of weeks and they all blend together to me now. Great fluff.)

Best Coffee Shop: Sip and Ship is still our most frequented but the best actual coffee I had was from the Lighthouse Roasters main place in Fremont.

Favorite Movie: I can’t totally remember all of the movies I saw in 2009 (not many but also not memorable) but what really sticks out for me is the new Star Trek one. I thought the prequel characters were dead on and I liked the playful quality of the movie.

Biggest Rant of 2009: Getting our stroller stolen off of our front porch. Very annoying and still makes me angry when I think about it.

Ok, that’s it for now. I’m sure there are more things I should document about ‘09 but they aren’t coming to me right now!

The other day I was driving by the Ballard Food Bank and operating just outside it was one of the Dante’s Hot Dog vendors. I’m just hoping they were giving hot dogs away for free because what kind of person tries to make a buck off of people who need to use the food bank? I mean if I were really hungry already and trying to get some food and this overwhelming hot dog smell comes wafting over I might go delusional and spend my last couple bucks on a dog. And somehow I think that’s just not quite right.

I’ve thought long and hard about this post (hence the backdating as some of you astute readers may notice) and what sort of song could possibly be put here on this particular day. I thought about sad songs, like that Death Cab one about how being with someone who passes is a true expression of love, or angry songs to express a sort of bitterness that a part of me feels. But my gut tells me those aren’t the stories I should be telling right now.

If you never got the chance to know Kim Otten then I’m here to tell you that a there will always be a tiny something in your life that’s missing. As a mother, a wife, a friend, a family member, mentor and teacher she touched the lives of so many people who are now feeling the weight of her loss. But my feeling is she’d not want us to get bogged down in overwhelming sadness or bitterness we may feel. Those feelings will be saved for private moments. Instead, here, I’ll celebrate her life and the afterward that I dearly pray is all she hoped it would be and more.

What a Wonderful World
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss and originally performed by Louis Armstrong

Yes, I am one of the millions feeling somewhat shocked that Michael Jackson has died. I haven’t listened to Michael Jackson’s music in years, but his ‘Thriller’ album holds a special place in my childhood. I believe ‘Thriller’ was the first tape I bought with my own money, way back in 1983(ish) (though later as he fell out of coolness, I remember stringing the tape out through the house for fun). I also remember feeling oh-so-cool back in first grade when my parents let my brother and I and two family friends watch the Thriller video – I thought the dancing was amazing! Here’s to childhood memories and getting to revisit them again.

For those of you who haven’t been following the local news, you’ve missed some fun times here in the city!  Yes, that’s right, we do live in a city, though you may wonder at that fact after reading this!

From Myballard.com

Black bear sightings near Discovery Park
May 17th, 2009

Updated 7:30 a.m.  It appears the Magnolia bear moved on to Ballard overnight. Seattle Police and wildlife officers spent most of the early morning hours trying to capture a small bear who ran through yards and down back alleys, first spotted at 15th Ave. and 77th St. just after midnight. My Ballard reader Silver tracked the police calls in the forum here. Wildlife officers were armed with tranquilizer darts and a tracking dog, and they told the crew from My Ballard to stay in the car as they followed the chase at a safe distance.

But the bear was too quick. By 3 a.m., it had disappeared in the area around 11th Ave. and 92nd St. Officers decided to call off the pursuit, but the animal resurfaced at 5:30 a.m. at 133rd and Meridian. An officer on scene early this morning told us they believed this is the same black bear that was reported yesterday near Discovery Park, and that it probably made the swim over the Ship Canal to Ballard.

Two different people reported seeing a black bear in Magnolia early Sunday.  The first report came in around midnight from a caller who said that they believed a bear was wandering in their yard in the 5600 block of 39th Avenue West.   The caller reported that the bear then wandered out of the yard.  The second call came in at around 6:45 a.m. from a resident in the 4200 block of 34th Avenue West.  That person stated they believed the animal was headed toward a ravine east of Discovery Park.

Updated Tuesday:  Looks like the black bear is still on the run. At 9 p.m. last night, he was sighted near Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 160th Street — which meant he had crossed Interstate 5.  Then a little before 6a.m. today a jogger using the Kellogg Middle School track reported seeing a bear heading into the Hamlin Park woods near Northeast 165th Steet and 15th Avenue Northeast.  The district called police and is telling students to stay out of the nearby woods today, and if they see a bear, steer clear of it. The school is just east of the wooded Hamlin Park.

The young bear has been named the “Urban Phantom” by wildlife agents, led by state Fish & Wildlife Sgt. Kim Chandler.  “The whole idea of the search was to help him,” says Chandler. “But he doesn’t seem to want our help, and seems to be doing OK.”

Urban Phantom has had a busy few days. The black bear was first seen in Discovery Park on Sunday before running through the middle of Ballard Monday and making his way to Twin Ponds Park in Shoreline.  Fish & Wildlife officials don’t believe the small bear is dangerous.

Updated 3p.m.  That is one fast moving bear and he has now traveled all the way from Magnolia to Shoreline.  Wildlife officials believe the bear is in Shoreline at the Twin Ponds Park.  They have just closed the park to try to contain the bear.

Magnolia resident Albert Lee came face to face with the animal.

“A black bear jumped out over the edge of the flowers here and just lumped along and headed straight through to my neighbor’s house,” said Lee. He said he’s never seen anything like it. “My first impression was that’s a mighty big black dog, I wonder what neighbor’s dog (it is)…then it clicked in – look at the butt on that thing. That is a bear,” Lee said. “Probably two, 250 pounds. Butt, body, head. Pretty straight forward. I saw enough of it to know that it was clearly not a dog.”

There have been no additional sightings since Sunday in Magnolia. Seattle Police say they are aware of the calls and are monitoring the park.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Parks Department have been notified and they are aware of the possible sightings.

We received a number of emails from residents who tell us the bear sightings are the talk of the neighborhood today.  If anyone does see a bear, call 911.

Update: Police and wildlife officials are tracking a bear in Ballard early Monday morning.  A police officer said they believe the bear may have swam over from Discovery Park.

Black bear runs through Ballard
May 18th, 2009 by Geeky Swedes

Updated 11 a.m.: Seattle Police and Department of Fish and Wildlife officers spent most of the early morning hours trying to capture a small bear roaming the neighborhood. As first reported here on My Ballard, police first joined the chase near 15th Ave. and 77th St. just after midnight. The bear ran through yards and down back alleys. It climbed a tree, escaping just before officers arrived.

Wildlife officers were armed with tranquilizer darts and a tracking dog, and they told us to stay in our car as we followed the chase at a safe distance. (If you’re curious if the animal ran by your house, My Ballard reader Silver tracked the police calls in the forum here, which we used to create the map below:)

But the bear was too quick. By 3 a.m., it had disappeared in the area around 11th Ave. and 92nd St., and officers called off the pursuit. But two hours later, a resident spotted the animal at 133rd and Meridian.

An officer on scene early this morning told us they believed this is the same black bear that was spotted yesterday around Discovery Park, and that it probably made the swim over the Ship Canal to Ballard. The bear was last seen in Magnolia at 10:11 p.m., and the first sighting in Ballard was around 11:30 p.m. at 63rd and 24th. (Thanks Silver for helping with the story this morning!)

Bear heads north to Shoreline, disappears
May 18th, 2009 by Geeky Swedes

Update 10 p.m.: The black bear that ran through the middle of Ballard early this morning made a stop Monday afternoon in Twin Ponds Park in Shoreline, temporarily closing the park to the public. But a half hour later, it ran south a couple blocks and hasn’t been seen since.

Fish & Wildlife officials, meanwhile, have discontinued the search because they don’t believe the small bear is dangerous. The bear had quite a day, swimming across the Ship Canal from Magnolia into Ballard late Sunday night, criss-crossing its way through the neighborhood with police and wildlife officials in close pursuit with tranquilizer guns and tracking dogs. The bear disappeared for several morning hours — wildlife officials believe it was taking a nap — before heading sharply north into Shoreline. There, the media joined the chase (video), with TV crews on the ground and choppers swirling overhead.

If and when Fish & Wildlife captures the bear, it will be “moved to where he belongs, to the woods somewhere,” said Sgt. Kim Chandler.

Bear spotted in Shoreline again
May 19th, 2009 by Geeky Swedes

The bear that ran through Ballard was spotted on the track at Kellogg Middle School up in Shoreline early this morning. Somehow, the bear made it across I-5. We’ve updated our tracking map here. And wildlife officials have now given the bear a name: “Urban Phantom.”

Here’s a google map of the bear’s route.

~~

Today the news is there’s been a bear sighting in West Seattle.  I don’t think they are sure that it’s the same bear but if so that’s one fast moving guy and it doesn’t seem like he quite knows where he’s going.  Doesn’t it seem like Seattle is not quite the big city we like to think it is?  A bear running around the city!  Crossing major roadways!

The other day while driving somewhere I listened to this story on npr. Here’s text to the story. At the right of the article you can click to listen, if you prefer. Some of you may have heard it. Anyway, I thought it was a signal of a pretty sad state of the real estate market and I’d been meaning to put a link up here and talk about it since I heard it. Well, I looked for it today and what do I come to find out? It was an April Fool’s joke. I guess it makes a little more sense now since it’s not actually real but I think, given the state of the economy, there’s a lot more believability to something like that than ever before. Anyway. I’m glad it was a joke!

I don’t watch the Daily Show very often, not because I don’t like it, but I just don’t really think about putting it in the rotation. It’s damn funny but for some reason I always forget that it’s on. Anyway. I just watched these clips (they take a while) and I have to say the first one especially is pretty darn depressing. I realize the Daily Show is meant to be comedy. But isn’t it sad that there’s so much truth to what Jon Stewart says? Why is a comedian so much more intelligent than like 90% of the news pundits out there?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:
I’m too busy reading this freaking hilarious blog that Andrew showed me.