Critical Exponent

This morning, I was witness to a crime. As they were getting off, two punks swiped the iPod of a guy sitting next to the rear door of the bus. The victim gave chase but couldn’t catch them. The bus driver called the police and several passengers provided helpful details on the perpetrators.

I felt horrible that this crime happened. We’re hearing of more frequent crimes in the neighborhood (residential burglaries) and I wonder how much worse things will get with the economic downturn.

I’m encouraging everyone to use preventive measures: security systems, lighted driveways, pockets that fasten shut, and wrist straps on small, valuable belongings.

It takes a lot of effort to fix what is broken—the more complex the system, the greater the effort. Blame entropy.

I was reminded of this truism today when we went to the Salmon Days celebration in Issaquah. That we need fish hatcheries and salmon ladders speaks to the fact that we have overfarmed this fish. I am just as guilty as anyone, of course. Perhaps this is another instance of the free market failing to account for externalities. I dunno.

At any rate, it was fun being at the fair. I enjoyed seeing salmon still swimming upstream in a creek that must once have been teeming with fish.

It was also quite interesting to see so many flesh-and-blood Republicans walking around, carrying their McCain-Palin signs. I don’t get what they think that ticket will accomplish, but they’re the reason Washington state, overall, leans only slightly Democratic.

City workers on the Fremont bridge, cans of solvent at their side, steadily scrubbing off the graffiti.

When we went to Portland for Soup Swap, we took our skis and snowshoes; who knew whether we’d have a chance to hit the slopes? As it turned out, we were largely urban this weekend. And yet…we managed to hit the Portland Nursery and stop by The Columbia Gorge.

As much as I sometimes miss the urban density of Boston and New York— boy howdy, the Northwest lifestyle is pretty amazing!

The first week of homeownership has been…exhausting. We’ve been moving in and unpacking while trying to continue a semblance of normal life. Every detail is cause for wonder or worry. Do we really not have hot water? No, the thermostat was in vacation mode. Can we actually store our clothes without having proper closets? Yes, there are enough open shelves and rods and, hey, we were going to downsize anyway. Will the cat adjust to the new digs? She’s doing quite well, thank you.

Thanksgiving was spent thus, both of us negotiating how to set up house. So far so good: we’re still talking, and we’re still crazy about the house. In fact, life in Judkins Park is quite good: my bus commute is now entirely urban, and Salima, the Cham restaurant down MLK, is a new favorite. Some neighbors even dropped off homemade applesauce to welcome us to the neighborhood!

We’re buying a house.

The real estate market in Seattle has finally started to stabilize this summer. Though we hadn’t been paying particularly close attention, all of a sudden we started noticing “For Sale” signs. Online, we found that more and more houses were staying on the market longer—and even dropping in price.

The significance of this may not be obvious to those who’ve not experienced the recent urban real estate bubbles. The past several years have brought a steady stream of reports on the ever rising home prices in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. As recently as this spring, when two separate friends each bought condos, bidding wars were the norm here in Seattle: you saw a place, you wrote an escalation clause, you crossed your fingers.

Now, with the subprime mortgage bust to thank (?), all that’s changed. We actually have time to look at places a second, third, fourth time. Our realtor gets calls back from selling agents anxiously inquiring whether we liked their properties. We can be picky and watch prices slip as we we walk away.

Buying a home is stressful (more about that later), but one of the pleasures of the whole process has been reaching a long-term milestone. I’d started putting money aside for a down payment years ago, thinking that someday I’d be in a position to get into the market. The pennies piled up, I got on with my life. And now that the opportunity presents itself, we’re ready. How awesome is that?

I beat traffic heading in to work from Doe Bay.

Terribly back-dated entry. Photo system was in flux.

Today, I bike-commuted to work and back for the first time since the bike accident. I’ve been meaning to do it a few weeks ago, but kept finding excuses. Mostly, I felt intimidated by having to hold up the bus as I put my bike on the rack (no biking on highway 520, and all buses must stop to let on cyclists), and slightly on guard remembering how easily it could all go awfully wrong….

We have formed a team, The Calftones, to participate in The Big Climb, a fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Please consider sponsoring me as I climb the steps to the top of the Columbia Tower:

• 69 flights
• 1,311 steps
• 788 ft elevation

Thousands of cyclists, noses dripping, thighs burning, converged on Bainbridge Island for, what to many of us, was the first serious bike ride of the season: the Chilly Hilly. Though only 32 miles long, it had some steep hills that required perseverance and low gears. Unfortunately, I seem to be having gearing problems on my new bike—it could just be grime from today’s rainy ride, but I think I’ll have to take the new bike for its first “well-baby” tune-up.