How do you know when it is a bad sailing day?  When the water is so calm that:

Boats in the race have time to fish.

You can see jelly fish.

You don't get yelled at for taking pictures.

Last night I went to the Seattle Symphony to hear Mahler's 8th Symphony. I went purely because a friend of mine was performing in the chorus and it was his first time performing at the Symphony and I just think that is pretty darned cool...even if he was one of A LOT of people on stage. Apparently, this symphony has been nicknamed, "Symphony of Thousands," and that really is not far from the mark:

• It looked as if there were just as many people ON stage as there were in the audience. The stage had even been extended into the first 4 rows of seats to accommodate the 3 choruses and orchestra. I was astounded that the stage didn't collapse.
• I think Mahler wanted to use absolutely every instrument he knew of - there was everything from a gong to a mandolin on stage. Not one, but three harps. Oh, and a full organ (that is permenantly built into the back of the stage) also kicked off the symphony.
• The fact that there were so many instruments, meant that some musicians had to wait a LONG time for their moment. The harpsicord guy was reading a novel while waiting his turn. I had no idea that was acceptable. The gong guy - he had to wait until the final 10 seconds of the piece during which he hit the gong a total of 5 times. I really want his job.
• Even the audience was varied. As usual in Seattle, you have some people who look like they are going to a black tie wedding, and some people who, well... take things a lot more casually. Yesterday I saw a man dressed in full bicycle gear - including biking shoes, shorts and helmet in the will call queue. Seriously. Only in Seattle.

Did you know that chocolate is a fermented food? Did you know that cocoa beans are essentially ROTTED in order to turn them into what we like to call chocolate? They sit in a compost heap FOR DAYS, outside, under banana leaves, before being dried. The better the rotting process was handled, the better the chocolate.

I went to a chocolate lecture last night at a local chocolate store. As a serious chocolate lover, I don't know how I feel about this knew piece of information I now have...I mean, if I knew that about chocolate before I ever ate it, I probably wouldn't have....but at least I do feel better armed for my next trivia night.

Have you ever driven 16 hours roundtrip to see a couple of plays? In about a 48 hour time span?

As of this past weekend, I officially have done this crazy idea. But it was totally worth it.

If you are ever in the PNW, or even in Northern (seriously northern) CA between April and October, you need to make the pilgrimage to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. This festival is listed in a book of "1,000 things to do before you die." It totally deserves a spot on that list. Ashland itself is in the middle of what I'd describe as "Marlboro Country." It kinda looks like the area around Santa Barbara. The town is quaint with lots of Victorian architecture and cozy B&Bs. There are vineyards, hikes, bikes and golfing to keep you occupied between shows. The shopping is also a treat because OR has no sales tax. Whoo.

When you come to the festival, you must see at least two shows. They do more than just Shakespeare, but you really should see at least one Shakespeare play, and on the Elizabethan Stage - an outdoor theater that will just knock your socks off. You will feel like you are at the orignal "Globe Theatre." Be sure to bring a wrap of some kind, or blanket, because by the second act, you will get chilly. I don't have pictures of this theater because, well... photography was not allowed.

The level of performance was far and away the best I've seen since I've been out here. It is almost on par with Broadway. The whole experience is unforgettable, and I can't wait to go back again next year.

I recently conducted a social experiment. It should come as no surprise that Seattle is a very liberal city that is essentially run by Democrats. Over the past year, I've determined that the sentiment in this city in general is that anybody who is even just barely right of center is considered persona non grata, brainwashed or just plain stupid. If you don't think that Obama is the next Messiah, you just need to keep your trap shut about it.

I knew there had to be Republicans in this city - I had heard about a "young Republican" club that meets regularly and decided to check out their happy hour. I was fascinated about this group that was so willing to congrigate out in the open and very curious to see where they would meet, how they would meet (I invisioned cloaks, passwords, secret handshakes, etc), what kind of people they were. The experience was enlightening.

They met up at a very swanky bar, that had mandatory valet parking (not free). The group was surprisingly large, but entirely pushed into the far corner of the bar, tables littered with "Rossi" stickers (Dino Rossi is the R candidate for governor of WA). There were at least 5-6 tables between the group and anybody else at the bar. I inquired if they usually meet at places like this, and they do. If only to lower the chances of having people throw stuff at them.

This group is very politically active - at least as much as can be effective by Republicans in Seattle, but they spoke of how difficult it is to be conservative in the city. How when they are with their Seattle Democrat friends, they have to bite their tongue during any political discussion for fear of being crucified. How they don't put stickers on their cars because it is an open invitation for vandalism. It almost felt like I was sitting in on a support group.

Personally, I found this to be really upsetting. I love where I live. I love the fact that Seattle is so open minded and tolerant that peoples' brains literally fall out of their skulls. Anything goes here. Except, apparently, being a supporter of the current administration or anything that has to do with Republican ideology. I find it incredibly disturbing that I live somewhere where people hesitate to speak their minds or show their political affiliation due to indimidation from the opposition. I know that there are places in this country where the reverse is true, where if you are on the left, you may feel out of place, but those areas of the country, unfortunately, are known for being intolerant on the whole. It just seems incredibly hypocritical of Seattle to give the impression that it will accept everything, while making a sport of browbeating the Republicans living in "their" city.

Trivia nights are huge in Seattle. Especially once the weather gets cooler. Almost every bar has a weekly trivia night. I've read that Seattle is one of the smartest cities in the country (the theory, I guess being that the weather is so bad so often, people have lots of time to just sit around and read) and based on how incredibly seriously Seattleites take their trivia, I'd have to agree. Trivia nights almost never have a "theme." In order to play well, you just have to know everything.

I've gone to many trivia nights since I've moved here, and my team and I have always ended up at the bottom of the pile. Until last night. Last night there was a theme: movies and tv. I was very proud of myself as I proved to be a valuable asset to the team. Sure, I would have been more impressed if I had been able to answer questions about history or nuclear physics, but at least I was able to contribute. It was the first time ever in a team trivia event that I was the only person at the table who knew the answer to a particular question. Whoohoo. We got second place. What did we get for placing second? Nothing. Not even an action figure doll, which was actually one of the prizes awarded to the winning team. Needless to say, I was disappointed that I didn't get to add that to my new collection.

I know it has been a while since my last post. I generally only post when I'm in WA. I'm back now, but for the past week or so, I was in NJ. Originally, I was supposed to be on the East Coast for the purposes of attending a wedding. Instead, I wound up saying goodbye to my grandmother.

Babcha was my last living grandparent. But even if she hadn't been, she would have been the one I knew the best. The one who knew me the best. Over the past 7 years or so, she'd been steadily, slowly declining and it was heartbreaking at times to watch. Babcha had a profound influence on my life and I don't think I fully realized that until she was gone. Isn't that how it often works? So here are just a few things I can thank and remember her for:

• Trying so hard to teach me Ukrainian - whatever Ukrainian has stuck with me is primarily her doing. Two semesters at Harvard didn't even remotely educate me as well as she did.


• Having a fabulous sense of humor - She had the most infectious laugh and smile. She had a amazing ability to reduce the family to a fit of laughter. I loved the fact that she was so willing to laugh at herself. I can still picture her laughing so hard that her tiny body would quake.


• Giving me some of my earliest cooking lessons - her ability to cook without recipes always impressed me. Trying to follow her as she made just about anything was a challenge.


• Instilling a love for the holidays - Babcha took the religious and cultural aspects of holidays seriously. Preparing for Christmas and Easter with her was something I looked forward to every year when she was still able to participate. Almost any memory I have of those holidays involves her in some way.


• Reading the best bedtime stories ever - seriously, I don't remember anything my parents read to me, but I can remember even the cover looked like of the book she used to read to us every night she was with us.


• Introducing me to bingo - a game I whole heartedly enjoy to this day. I think she would be really impressed by bingo dobbers.

I love you Babchu.

Labor Day weekend is a BIG weekend in Seattle. It is when the city hosts one of the biggest outdoor urban music festivals in the country. To give you an idea of how huge this event is, in three days, I heard 21 different bands. Bumbershoot takes place in Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is), which is super convenient for me... I can just walk there. No parking or traffic nightmares for me! In addition to learning a lot about kinds of music I had never heard before, I learned the following over the weekend:

• Seattlites like to expose their kids to music early. I saw lots of infants and toddlers attending Bumbershoot, which I found a little surprising since the music on the whole was very loud and sometimes, very vulgar. To give some parents credit, several kids did have enormous headphones over their ears to provide some protection from the high decibel level. I don't think headphones do anything to keep the kids from a contact high though, but I digress....
• The absolute most effective way to get a concert shut down is to crowd surf the lead guitarist as he is playing. While in a trash can.
• It is possible to crowd surf someone IN a wheelchair.
• Crowd surfing without a shirt and with pierced nipples is probably NOT a good idea.
• If you are a really cute girl wearing not a lot of clothing, chances are you will catch a longer "wave."
• And while we are on the subject of crowd surfing, no, I didn't participate. It became clear to me after witnessing this phenomenon for the first time live, I definitely lack the genetic component resulting in this behavior. At first, I thought maybe it didn't appeal to me because I'm no longer a teenager, but actually, I'm pretty sure that even as a teenager I would have found this activity horrifying.