Seattle Weather

I see in the Seattle Times this morning that the weather is going to be in the 60's this week. Perfect weather! Yes! I'm glad that it is going to be comfortable. I'm not someone who enjoys hot weather. If I am in hot weather, I need air conditioning and I don't have it here in my apartment. I look forward to fall and winter weather in Seattle.

A Japanese Family at Target

I witnessed something yesterday that was beautiful. A young son, probably a university student that I am guessing is Japanese was showing his parents, probably visiting their son, the neat escalator at Target in Northgate. It made me smile. It was cute and precious. There was so much respect and love shown in this family--the son for his parents and the parents for their son. The son was showing the father that he could put his cart through a shoot and it would ride down the escalator next to them. I marveled at this when I first moved to Northgate too. I thought it was amazing that you could let your cart ride too. It was wonderful to see this family. I have so much respect and admiration for the Japanese. They value academic achievement in the family. They respect one another. I am attracted to Asian people and feel comfortable around them because they value academic achievement and show respect for each other.

Freeman Peel-Off Mask

I went into Walgreens in Shoreline the other day and I found one of my favorite products--Freeman facial cucumber peel-ff mask. It's so much fun to use. You goop it on your face. Let it dry. Then you have fun peeling it off. I know it is silly but it is really fun. It makes your skin look better. I like to put it on thick so it takes longer to dry. It's not easy not touching your face and waiting for it to dry. It takes about a half hour. You also have to be careful not to get your hair in it. I usually end up taking a shower after or you have to wash your face after all the peeling fun.

www.coursera.org

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/23/opinion/koller-online-college-courses/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

I just learned about www.coursera.org from my son, Daniel. It's amazing. This is the opportunity for anyone around the world to take university classes for credit FREE! It was started by Daphne Koller who is co-founder and co-CEO from Stanford University. The university line up is impressive with big names like Stanford, Columbia, The Ohio State University, University of Washington, Duke University, and more. There are 33 universities participating. You take real classes, watch the videos, do homework, receive grades, have deadlines and receive a certificate from the instructor. What a great opportunity for people around the world to learn and go to college. This makes it education for everyone possible and life long learning possible. I'm impressed.

I'm thinking about signing up for:
Principles of Obesity Economics from Johns Hopkins University or
Community Change in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University or
Think Again: How to Reason and Argue from Duke University

If I had a better background in math, I would also be looking at:
Cryptography from Stanford University or
Introduction to Logic from Stanford University or
Experimental Genome Science from the University of Pennsylvania or
Introduction to Astronomy from Duke University

Snoqualmie Casino

I went to the Snoqualmie Casino a second time last week on Wednesday. I had a great time. I spent $2.50 on a penny slot machine. My favorite machine is Relic Hunter. I love to win 20 or 50 or 120 more chances to play the machine. It's a fun machine. I had a nice lunch in the buffet area.

I don't think I can go back anymore because of all the smoke. My father smoked and he died of lung cancer. My husband smoked and he always had lung problems and died of esophageal cancer last year. It's hard for me to be around all the smoke. I've never smoked myself. I wish they had a high tech filtration system to get the smoke up and out and bring in fresh air. Or I wish they had completely different sections where nonsmoking was really a no smoke area.

I almost didn't get on the right bus home because there wasn't a sign in the window. I asked and was careful to make sure I was on the right bus.

I'm sad that just when I thought this was going to be a lot of fun once in awhile that I doubt I will go again because of all the smoke. If you smoke, it's a great place. Great food. A nice ride on the bus out in the country, like a mini vacation. Oh, well...............

Homeless Population

I'm sick today. I started to feel sick on Thursday night. A week ago last Friday on the 14th, I decided to ride on the bus and visit the Seattle Art Museum, one of my favorite places. When I came out I noticed a homeless woman sitting at the side next to the building. She asked me for money. I didn't have dollar bills in my pockets. I usually make sure I put dollar bills in my pockets when I am downtown. She asked for money for sanitary napkins. I said I didn't have change and that I was sorry. She lunged forward and grabbed my shoulders. I was scared. She said, "look into my eyes." I thought, Oh, no, I'm going to get sick. She was obviously sick. She spit mucus on the front of my blouse and was close to my face. I wanted to push her away and run. Then I thought, I'm not a good person because I don't want to hug her. I thought of all the Peace Corps volunteers and Doctors Without Borders who signup for this stuff to be around people who are sick and need help. I like to stay in the safety zone.I don't consider myself better than her. I'm having money trouble too. A few twists and I could be sitting on a corner. It was an awful experience. I honestly don't understand why cities don't help people who are homeless.

The solution isn't easy but allowing this kind of onslaught isn't fair. The best solution for the homeless I have ever seen is a model I heard about used in Woodburn, Oregon for migrant workers. There was a large apartment building and all services were on site. Help was given until they were ready to get jobs and housing. Why can't the homeless populate an isolated area and become totally self sufficient with services onsite. They can garden and grow their own food. They can build their own houses with volunteer help. I've always thought that Habitat for Humanity should also help the homeless by building apartment buildings or structures for more people. I saw a great design in the Seattle Times by a German architect who built small houses or cubicles for one person that could work.

Land developers who profit from developing areas with public money should start paying for their own developments plus helping out the community by building housing for the homeless. I've always been amazed that developers who will profit use public money to build structures. Seattle does it better because there is better negotiation but still............. This is a time that you can leverage and negotiate for what you want city fathers. Use it to fix some of your problems. Nobody listens to me though or cares what I think.

The point is that what is being done isn't working. This makes me want to avoid going on the bus downtown, to be honest. I want to safely go to the Art Museum, the library, Science Center, the Aquarium.

Snoqualmie Casino

I had so much fun today. For weeks I have been watching the large luxury Snoqualmie Casino bus go by as I am walking to 24 Hour Fitness in the morning. It stops on 5th around 9:15 a.m. every morning. I finally got curious, googled, and called to find out details. I called a couple of days ago to set up a reservation to go today. I waited outside at 9 a.m. ready to get on the bus. I met some nice people who enjoy going to the casino until the bus came. The bus is air-conditioned, which I appreciate very much. You hand the bus driver a 10 dollar bill when you get on the bus and he checks a list for your name. We left Northgate at 9:15 a.m. and arrived at Snoqualmie Casino around 10:30 a.m. It felt like I was on vacation. It was nice to get away and enjoy the trees surrounding Snoqualmie.

The Snoqualmie Casino is in such a beautiful setting and the casino is a gorgeous building. When we arrived, we were told to go to the Crescent Club office to receive our 10 dollars back and a free lunch buffet ticket or a 10 dollar ticket to eat anywhere in the casino. Such a deal! I searched for penny slots because I don't know what I am doing in this area. I figured I couldn't get into too much trouble with a penny slot machine. I brought $20 and didn't take any credit cards. I found out that not all penny slot machines are a penny so I asked for a lesson from one of the people at the casino at the Crescent Club office. I found out that if you push the button for service, people come around and answer your questions. I ended up having a lot of fun for $7.50. I went to the lunch buffet. It was fabulous. It felt like eating on a cruise ship and not leaving land. I had a great salad, fruit, and Mongolian grill. Everything looked delicious. They have such a wide variety of foods and everything looked tantalizing. This is such a great deal. You hand the driver $10. You get it back and a ticket for free lunch. The lunch is an amazing 5 star lunch. You get to have fun and then they take you back home on a luxury bus. I got home around 4:30 p.m. On the way home, I sat on the bus with a lady who won several hundred in Keno today!

I'm definitely going to do this again. I had a great time. It felt like I was on a mini vacation. Great food. To find out all about it and to arrange a reservation, call 425-888-1234 or go to www.snocasino.com.

The Court at Northgate

I live at the Court at Northgate. It is a closed access huge apartment building. We had a barbeque last week. I really enjoyed talking to new people, I hadn't met before, and talking to people I have met before in the hallway or outside. I love parties. I love "working the room." I love finding out about each person and finding out what is important to them. Parties make me happy and I need more of this type of social interaction. The manager told me that we are having another in a couple of months so I'm excited. It will be fun. I met some neat people. My favorite was a young man from a family of attorneys and who is very intelligent--probably a Mensa. It is fun to just learn about people and see the variety, the difference, the unique qualities that make up each person.

Zumba Fever Tour

I signed up early for the Zumba Fever Tour to see featured Zumba dancers Armando Salcedo and Walter "Wally" Diaz. Both professional dancers are featured in the Exhilarate Zumba Fitness DVD's that I have. I got there early around 5:15 p.m. At 6 p.m. we were allowed in to meet the Zumba stars on a tour of 7 cities--Seattle, Portland, Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver. Wally signed a card for me. See photo above with me next to Wally. 24 Hour Fitness Northgate Seattle was crowded and the basketball court was packed with Zumba enthusiastists when it started at 7 p.m. Wally is my favorite. He grew up in Columbia with Beto, who created Zumba in 1999. There is so much to Zumba that makes you smile as you dance and move. Marci Shimoff, New York Times best selling author of HAPPY FOR NO REASON, a book I need to read, says "...the Zumba experience gives you a double dose of endorphins, because on top of getting your heart pumping, it makes your heart sing!"

I know that when I am in a Zumba class, I am truly happy. A smile is on my face. I am moving. I am alive. I am not thinking about anything but being part of the experience of movement, dance, following the instructor, the music, and being part of a group dance. I love it. It is the happiest time of my week when I am in a Zumba class.

I didn't stay the entire time last night. I made it through 45 minutes. I can not always do all the high impact, jumping moves. I had a wonderful time. I'm so happy I went and I will never forget it. At first I was in the line at the beginning with a neat person who lives in Tacoma that I found out later goes to Zumba Conferences. I got out of line to buy a Zumba shirt. I love talking to new people and finding out what they do and what they think about. Zumba brings a bond.