I just typed out a couple of paragraphs about this week's work misadventures but then decided that was boring and deleted it. I'll just summarize by saying I'm pretty good at my job and accomplished a lot, and am glad the holiday weekend is here.
Work aside, it was quite the week. On Tuesday I met up with a real estate agent who agreed to show me around Hat Island, a private island east of Everett. There are about 260 homes there, most of which are used as weekend and summer homes, and only about 50 are lived in year-round. I'll link to my blog post when it publishes, but it was neat to get an idea of what life is like on an island with almost nothing on it. They have a 9-hole golf course, a yacht club, beaches, and a fire station that doubles as a gas station one hour a week. You can have a car there, but it doesn't need to be registered or insured. And you can get by without a car because they have a shuttle to and from the ferry. But that only runs twice on Thursdays and once a day Friday-Sunday. I think I'd definitely want my own boat if I had a place there.
Unfortunately, the boat ride out was really rough, and I got seasick. Of course my guide and her son told me how to best avoid seasickness after the fact, but I was sick for 24 hours. That's a bummer because my friend Elizabeth gave a talk that evening that I missed at the library about collaborating with the author of the children's book they just published. I'm very interested in this because I have one I should work on more. The concept is there, and I have a nice gimmick, and have even written the first couple of pages. Plus I've already found the artist I want to work with on it.
It occurs to me that I should set aside structured time each week. I could be writing it right now, haha.
I ordered Elizabeth's book and it arrived yesterday. Looking forward to reading it.
It was back to our own marina for my next walk. I still wasn't feeling great, so I only did a few miles.
Had some more fun with the IG layout feature while I was there. I think I've already said that I would love to have digital wallpaper, it'd be so much fun to easily decorate with my own pictures.
Panoramas are always a little wonky, but sometimes necessary.
One thing I don't like about Brinno cameras is they aren't very good at indicating low battery life. When I set this up, it looked as though I had half the battery life left, which would be enough for several lapses. It died during this one. Not sure how impactful that was, as I only walked three miles or so.
https://instagram.com/p/BxxOc4dlKyD
One of my favorite Instragram accounts is Sweet Walls of Everett and I had to turn around and drive back to this wall to take a photo and tag them.
That was on the way to Lowell Riverfront Trail. Thankfully even though the bushes were cleared where I like to set up my time lapses there, I'm still able to hide the camera pretty well. No video from that day, though, as it was boring. The walk was nice, though.
That area will change a lot over the next few years. I've previously shared photos tracking the progress of the new housing development on the former site of the Great Everett Tire Fire, as well as the townhouses at the north end of the area. There's a large flat area between them and IKEA originally showed interest in opening a store there, which would have been really cool. I think we'll be better off with what we get instead, though. There will eventually be a 1,200-unit apartment complex that includes shopping and entertainment. A movie theater is supposed to be included and I really hope it'll be a specialty one like Alamo Drafthouse. Even if it's just a regular movie chain, the location will be very convenient for me, just down the hill from our neighborhood.
Currently when I want to go to the movies, I can either go four miles to our local mall but get stuck in traffic on the way back, or eight miles to the one in Marysville. I prefer that because I'm going opposite the flow of traffic on the way back.
It'll be years before the new complex arrives, though.
No big weekend plans other than to see the inlaws tomorrow.