Flight and 1st day in Mildenhall, England

Right now, I'm about to go to a pub in Mildenhall after being up for over 29 hours. My journey started Tuesday morning at 6am when I woke up in Seattle and spent the morning with Wes. We hung out, got coffee, etc.. before he took me to airport around 9:45am (pacific time).

My first flight was about 4 1/2 hours to Cincinnati. I sat next to this friendly guy from Seattle who runs a shoe company called Chooka . He was on his way to the Kentucky Derby to meet with some business clients and try to get celebs to wear his products (rubber/rain boots). He ended up falling asleep right when the movie "The Golden Compass" started playing. It was an interesting fantasy movie. It has hit the press, because of the controversy to its reference with 'god'. I would recommend watching it, it was pretty good.

We landed and I had to catch my 8:00pm (eastern time) flight to London/Gatwick. There was about an hour to spare, so I walked up and down the international terminal and grabbed some food. The flight to London was pretty empty, so I got my own little area to myself. Being unlucky, I picked a row, that its arm rests didn't move up, so I couldn't lay down.

Guess what movie they played first on this flight... o yeah that's right "The Golden Compass" AGAIN! During the 2nd movie, I was trying to fall asleep, but really only dozed off and on for about 45 minutes. After 8 hours of sitting in that seat, we landed at 9:15am in London!!

It took me 4 transfers to meet Jessica up at the Redbridge station on the Central Train up north. From the airport I got onto the Gatwick Express to downtown London (30 minutes), then transferred to the Victoria to the Central Train (15 minutes), then took the central train up to Leystone (25 minutes) and finally switched Central trains so I could make it to redbridge (15 minutes). I was only 45 minutes late to meet Jess, but she had only been there about 25 minutes.

It takes about an hour to drive back to Jess's house in Mildenhall. We got there and started playing Rock Band and then ran some errands. Nicole and I had to get passes to go onto the airforce base to run errands with Jess, so that took quiet a while. Once on the base, we got coffee, chatted with the caterer, went to the store and hung out with Jess's Mom and Bro.

After running all those errands, we ate at a Chinese restaurant called Dragon House for dinner. It was very good and they didn't over stuff you with food. Once we were full we headed back to Jess's place and played some more Rock Band. I'm starting to get good at the drums!

Since there was still 4 hours left of the night, we headed to a Mexican restaurant were we drank, ate and had some good conversation. The restaurant/bar was pretty empty, so we took off and headed to the tanning salon. I did the stand up for 5 minutes and then we went home for bed.

Beantown on Boston Townhomes - Queen Anne Hill

I've been watching all of the new construction happening on the northeast side on the top of queen anne hill. Most recently they have been building these new, hip, industrial, modern, trendy townhomes on Boston and 3rd. I've been trying to find information about these townhomes online for the past month, but couldn't find anything. Today, while I was driving by, I grabbed a flyer with the real estate company on it.

These townhomes are 2 to 3 bedrooms ranging from $469k - $589k. I think that is a pretty decent price for a brand new place in queen anne.

Take a look at the online listing: Beantown on Boston $469,000

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Puget Sound

Has anyone volunteered for the Big Brothers & Big Sisters program? I'm really interested in it and I think it would be a fun and rewarding experience. If you are interested in spending 1 hour with a kid once a week either in a school or community environment, then this might be for you.

Here are the two programs:

Community-based Mentoring : For as little as 2-4 times per month, Bigs and Littles meet in their community to share fun activities and a little bit of themselves. Learn more »

School-based Mentoring : Bigs and Littles meet once a week for an hour in schools to talk and have fun and work on academics. It’s not about being a tutor … it’s about being a friend. Learn more »

Aurora Bridge Suicide Project

The Aurora Bridge (highway 99, in between Queen Anne and Fremont) is the suicide bridge of choice in Seattle. You are able to walk across it on the side walk and can easily jump over the fence off the bridge. Not only do these suicides affect the jumper, they also affect all the people who work and live in the areas below the bridge. On average someone jumps off the bridge every three months.

Recently they have started a prevention strategy, by installing suicide signs and phones that you can dial the suicide hotline. This year they are starting to design new tall fences that prevents people from being able to jump and commit suicide. They will start constructing these fences in 2009.

Project Facts

• On average, someone attempts suicide by jumping from the Aurora Bridge every three months. In 2006, nine people jumped from the bridge to their deaths. This tied 1972 as the worst year on record for suicides from the bridge.
• A community non-profit, Seattle Friends, is working to eliminate suicides from the Aurora Bridge.
• The Aurora Bridge was built in 1931 and is officially named the George Washington Memorial Bridge. The Aurora Bridge has been the site of more than 50 suicides since 1995.

911 Call Rescue Rope 3700 Aurora Av N April 16th 10pm

Wes is stuck going north on 99 right before the aurora bridge. He thinks that someone might be jumping off the bridge, because there are tons of flashing lights. I took a look at the emergency 911 website and there were 19 units called and the emergency was titled "rescue rope". So either, some did really jump off the bridge or a car fell off the bridge.

Here's a screenshot of #5 on the 911 website:

Once I found out what happened, I'll update my blog!

Tumwater Falls

Have you been to Tumwater Falls in Olympia, WA? Wes surprised me and took me there this weekend. What a great place to take a short walk and enjoy the outdoors with your family. They even allow dogs to walk around, unlike Snoqualmie Falls.

While we were walking down to the falls, a garden snake slithered right in front of Kokanee's feet. I pulled her back and screamed so loud, but I really think snakes are cool. Wes was laughing at me.

House being moved on Lake WA

Today after work around 6pm , I was driving over the 520 bridge and saw a house on a barge being pushed/pulled by a tugboat. Why is this house being moved over Lake WA? Does this cost more than moving a house by a semi on land? Where were they moving it to and from? So many questions... Take a look at this pic and tell me what you think?

Here's the picture zoomed in:

Jamba Juice - Free Breakfast April 8th, until 10am

Next Tuesday, April 8th, Jamba Juice will be giving away free breakfast until 10am. You can get a 12oz drink at participating stores. Check out the menu here: Jamba Juice Breakfast Menu

Toll Approved for 520 Bridge

Does anyone live in Seattle and work in Bellevue or vice versa? If you do, get ready to pay anywhere from $6 - $10 dollars a day to drive round trip across the 520 bridge. There has not been a toll approved for the I-90 bridge, but expect one to come. People are going to try to avoid the toll on 520 and drive across I-90. This is going to create an I-90 mess, even worse than the current 520 mess.

The $6 - $10 dollar toll is going to cover an expansion of the 520 bridge. This new six lane floating bridge is expected to be completed in 2015.

Since the toll will be in effect starting sometime next year, are you going to move across the lake or find another job? At $10 dollars a day, 5 days a week, that's $2,400 a year. Is your commute toll+gas+parking worth that?

Seattle Times Article: Gregoire OKs tolls for 520 bridge