1. Mixtura (Peruvian, have been there before but definitely want to go back)

2. The Oceanaire Seafood room (because Brian from top chef is there!)

3. Andaluca (because I always drive by it but have never been)

4. Market street (because maybe Ballard isn't actually that far away and I should stop avoiding it)

5. 35th Street Bistro (because they listed Paella on their menu)

So for those who know me, I've been going through a pile of paperwork to get my visa renewed. Yesterday I went to do my AOS medical, and overall it was a pretty crazy experience. I had to go to a state certified civil surgeon - and anyone who has gone through this process knows its really hard to find one that will take an appointment.

Luckily, I found one on the third try. Or at least I thought I was lucky.

[I'm not going to name the doctor, because they were actually SUPER nice and I have a lot of respect for them because they definitely take patients from all walks of life and are super nice to everyone that walks through their door]

Red flag number 1: I should have known that anyone who accepts an appointment as "Sure, come by on Tuesday at noon" is probably not running a very professional shop. I felt like I was making an appointment for a haircut or something.

When I called that morning to confirm my appointment and ask what to bring with me in terms of ID, they reminded me to bring payment, in the only accepted formats of cash or cheque. Red flag number 2: What kind of doctor only takes cash or cheque?

On arrival, I was greeted by a waiting room FULL of people. Red flag number 3: Probably all 12 people in this room have the same "noon" appointment that I have. Funnily enough, at least half the people there were holding the same form as I was, hoping they could get their AOS done too.

Red fag number 4: it was quite possibly the DIRTIEST most unhygienic doctor's office I have ever seen - except for the one in the middle of nowhere in vietnam which isn't saying much because it wasn't actually much better.

2 and a half hours later...I finally got into an exam room. Here are some pics from my experience:

Wood grain exam bed - very 70s

a very professional stool

some sort of scary equipment from the 70's I don't know what this is for, but it was in the room maybe they should dispose of their sharps? the container is scarily full.

(pics courtesy of dailypuppy.com)

I've been following the bears at the Woodland Park Zoo for a year and a half...I don't know what it is about seeing bears loll around all day that's so amusing but I love to see what they're doing - lying on the rocks, roaming around their area, dipping their paws into the water. High quality entertainment, I tell you (and yes I actually have gone to the zoo in person to see the bears).

Anyway, I went to the website yesterday and noticed that it was down - like wonky-my-tv-is-broken kind of down, so I emailed the zoo (web)keeper about it and I got back this email this morning.

Dear Karen,

A storm this winter has damaged the cam. Despite several ongoing attempts to fix, we will be pulling the cam until further notice.

Sincerely,

Woodland Park Zoo

I'm SO SAD! This is horrible! I'm considering asking around work to see if anyone in the hardware group could help with some new cameras but I don't know anyone who works over there ...

yay!

that thing takes a picture so fast its hard to be ready for it...i'm still looking at the screen

 t, local laundry detergent inspector and host of legendary events such as Ms. Russet's 17th Annual Sticky Wicket Social, is our 100th member. 

Saturday night I met up with Buster and Lele and headed over to a new place called Vessel. I'd never heard of it and Buster didn't know much about it other than Bethany mentioned it. Now, I don't know Bethany well at all, but I cannot believe she'd like a place like this - she usually has way better judgement than that. Buster really wanted to go because apparently they have slow melting ice. Yes, slow melting ice, like wtf does that mean?

Anyway, its another one of those places that's trying to be all chic but falls flat. It's like, "if we buy all design within reach furniture and make it all stark-modern with like neon lighting effects it will be cool, right?". The cheesiness of the place is only rivalled by Boka which has glass bamboo and a bar that changes color. The location is a bit odd as well, it makes sense if you work downtown since there aren't really any bars in the downtown core, but its an odd place to go on a saturday night because there really isn't anything else to do around there so you're kind of committed.  Anyway, I can't imagine I'll ever go there again, the drinks (which were OK) and the slow melting ice (aka a big ball of ice) aren't enough to bring me back.

• Like hello, best movie of the year! "Little Miss Sunshine" was SO funny - if you haven't seen it already, go see it! My absolute favorite part had to be when they got pulled over by the cop.
• My indoor soccer team kicked off last night with a 10pm game! 10! I must be getting old but really? That's pretty late to be playing, especially since there were no female subs so we ran around the entire game huffing and puffing. We won though (yay!) which is good. August is looking pretty light for sports, but I did pick up Football in addition to soccer. Football is fun!
• I learned how to drive stickshift! Well - sort of - i was mostly forced into it because t wasn't feeling well and we had to get back into the city somehow. I still need the lesson on hills but at least I got out of the parking lot for a change (and onto I-90!)
• and most importantly ELYSIAN FIELDS OPENS TODAY! (That's the new Elysian Brewery in Pioneer Square - 542 1st Ave S). Can you say Karen's new place to eat burgers like every day? OMG OMG OMG!