Congratulations to my cousin Jenna on earning her diving certification! At age 13 she passed all the tests, including her open-water exams in Cayman Brac.  

Unfortunately we had a flu outbreak on our trip - My mom got sick the second day, and John got sick toward the end of the week. He's here sitting out the second dive on our last day. The guy coming down the ladder (Jeff) and his wife (Kim) were from Napa Valley and had some of the same flights home as we did. All of us ended up spending an unexpected night in Houston since the pilot told us that "they just couldn't seem to get the grounds crew in Cayman to move any faster". If you have ever been to the Cayman Islands, you will completely understand the validity of that comment!  

Since we spent mornings diving, we had afternoons to relax. This was our unofficial waterfront reading club. Left to right: Dan, Sally, Mimi, and me. 

Ah, what a great time we at last week in Cayman Brac. I can't believe we waited so long to go diving again! As they say, "third time's a charm"; I enjoyed this dive trip more than any other, largely in part, I believe, because I was more comfortable underwater and with all of my equipment. 

I've always wondered what it would be like to have long hair... 

This is a picture of the outside of the UW Law Library, which is attached to Gates Hall. For whatever reason, the UW has built its newer libraries underground, with these domed skylights at ground-level. Newbies to campus looking for the library often get confused, because the map shows a library where there seems to be no building. I guess this setup is a good idea in the sense that the people using the library get some natural light without being distracted by the outdoors. 

John/Laura/Brian, does this bring back any memories? I thought of you and Boston potholes when I saw this. 

Here are Chandana and Siddharth walking near one of their many flowering trees this weekend. Siddharth loves being outside more than any kid I know. He tends to be fairly naughty when he's in the house, but when he gets outside he totally chills out. I wonder whether it's the fresh air, extra space, or something else that does it for him. 

Any idea as to what this might be? It's randomly sitting among the trees at the UW campus... 

Another cool Seattle-area thing is its appreciation for art. Every summer on the first Thursday of the month there is an "art walk" in Pioneer Square, when the many (~35?) galleries in the area open their doors to offer wine and cheese while you browse their work. Lots of people also bring original creations to display on the street/plaza. In general, though, there's lots of public works of art on display around here, such as this cow. Kind of random, but cool! 

One thing I really like about the Seattle area is its public displays of flora. Especially this time of year, it seems that everywhere you go (even gas stations!) has done something to "green-up" their space. This particular pic is from the University Village shopping center near school.

Here's John getting ready to celebrate the first F1 race of the season! In a glorious finish, my favorite driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, maintained his starting grid position to win the Australian Grand Prix. 

This was taken with John's crappy iPaq camera, so bear with the quality, please. My MBA study group and I went to the Seattle RV show a couple weeks ago to interview attendees about a potential new road trip product. We felt compelled to have our photo taken in front of such a HOT RV - going for a mere $130k. 

This is a view of one of the two upstairs rooms of Jerzy's Coffee House. With free wireless, good coffee, leather couches, and always a whole room to myself (unless I'm with John), this is a pretty cool place to hang out. We were a little worried when the place first opened because whoever was in charge decided it was appropriate to blast high-energy music throughout the house, but fortunately they have toned it down to soft, soothing tunes. Both John and I have experienced great spurts of productivity while spending time here.

Yep, mercy, metal floors. You can see some in this picture. Although, the floors on the first floor are a very unique wood inlay. I'll have to get a pic of those to post next time I'm there... 

This is the outside of the main Seattle Public Library. The inside is at least as unique as the outside, making a visit to this library something special. Still, it's not the best library if you actually want to get some good studying in. The inside was not designed for quietude; the metal floors and stairs combined with the open floor plan makes for a pretty raucous environment.

Almost all of my classes are held on this floor of Balmer Hall. Our business school building at the UW is SO drab...Even the business school dean called it "the ugliest building he's ever seen". (The contrete outside is just as bad.) I suppose one would hope that instead of spending $ on structures the $ is going back to the students and teachers. 

Well, we have yet ANOTHER sunny day here in Seattle. Just to show how much this extraordinary sunshine has tricked the local inhabitants (including plants) into thinking it's spring, I'm posting a picture of our cherry tree blossoms. "Not yet, guys!" 

This double-wide seems pretty cool, although I think you'd need a pretty big deck/patio for it to work. And I wouldn't be interested in this particular piece because for whatever reason, this retailer thought it made sense to display outside in the rain. (!) 

What kind of wild animal is there behind the grass? 

Here goes nothing...

First blog post ever.