I've been in Seattle a couple weeks already now. I've already done almost three weeks of pre-class research for the seismology department at UW, I started the day after I got out here. I guess I should have given myself some more free time, but that was my way to force myself back into the American speed of things. Plus I had free time for the last two months or so (since I didn't do a whole lot of work on my masters thesis), it's not to bad to have some purpose again...plus I'm getting paid hourly until the semester begins - doesn't hurt.

The research is sort of interesting...I've mainly been working on a model of the Seattle basin that we can use to simulate what areas would shake more for earthquakes of various magnitudes coming at different angles and from different depths. It's mostly boring computer work but the end result is cool - assuming we can make the results match up with real data (if we can't, the model is worthless - you can make a model look however you want otherwise). We can even make movies of it now and you can see the waves propagating like in water, but with mysterious forces pushing them around in funny ways (due to differences in the seismic velocities of soil/rocks that it's going through). Though I can't claim credit for much of the cool results, the model is my office mates phd, I am just helping with some of the grunt work for now. But today I started looking at seismic data recorded on a curious landslide in Colorado. This one has some real potential to become my project...and I'm revved up about it because I feel like it's not going to be one of those narrow, dropping into a funnel, kind of projects. It has a lot of potential for expanding into multiple fields of study and hopefully learning some generalities that could be applicable to all mechanics of surfaces sliding against each other. The landslide behaves in some ways like earthquakes...it has faults with slidequakes on them but also slips silently and/or with a little noise.

So I was looking at the data today and I found this event with an intriguing look...it looked like an earthquake moving slowly up the landslide, gradually progressing to different sensors. A real Eureka moment! So I printed up pictures and sent an excited email to the two advisors for this project...and they swiftly replied with a crushing email pointing out that it looked an awful lot like a person walking up the slide...probably one of them when they were out there this summer collecting that data...so my excitement has been crushed, though admittedly it is kind of cool that you can watch someone progress up the slide. Maybe I can track the activities of bears crossing the slide using seismology. Would the scientific community accept that as a valid phd project?

As for real life outside of ze office, it's pretty good. Andy and I have gone hiking a few times, we went backpacking in the Olympic National Park and camped on top of a giant boulder next to a bright blue glacial lake below Mount Desperation or some other discouraging name. We've eaten every kind of asian food there is multiple times, seen a few friends who moved out here from Boston and I met a lot of Andy's oceanography friends. I haven't really made many of my own yet...there hasn't been a whole lot of opportunity really. It turns out it's a lot easier to make friends when you're stuck with the same group of people all the time like I was in Europe. Now I have to go find my own and no one is around...they are just starting to come back from various summer vacations and field excursions.

I got a purple bicycle and I put a basket on it today. Though Seattle is by no means the biking paradise everyone seems to rave about. The bike lanes are pretty sparse and if they are there, they go next to parked cars which can open their doors at any moment. Second, the city is full of hills which look more like mountains from the seat of a bicycle. The planners of Seattle just laid a grid over the land regardless of the topography below, so there are some pretty steep sections. Third, this city is HUGE! I am used to Boston and European cities, not vast sprawling neighborhoods extending for miles and miles in all directions, filled to the brim with parents with giant double decker extra wide jogging strollers. Everyone seems to have exactly two kids too...it's amazing. I guess people are just looking to replace themselves - either that or some magazine told them it was the perfect number. But I digress...the only thing that really makes Seattle bike friendly is the shear number of people who bike (mostly on waaaaaaay overpriced bicycles with shoes that clip in and matching outfits)... granted there are a few nice bike trails that go only to limited places...but if you happen to live along them, it's fabulous.

I found an apartment not too far away from one of the best bike trails and I'll move there in October so hopefully my commute will become a lot nicer than the 5 mile mountain climb death march/roll it is right now. It's on the third floor with a view of the cascades and it's right in between the two little neighborhood centers that I like...Wallingford and Fremont. They just put in new windows, there are already colors I like on the walls, there is even a dishwasher! Big step up from a kitchen 4feet wide in France and for sure better than cooking on the floor like in Italy. It is even going to be a big improvement on current living conditions... in a half-finished basement of my friends house. The entrance to the basement is almost outside even and my head almost scrapes on the ceiling and I stepped on two slugs two nights in a row - in bare feet. Needless to say, I am happy that the landlord is going to give the keys early so I can get out of here before October 1st. I'm pumped.

Orientation begins tomorrow so finally I'll get to meet some more of my fellow grad students. This weekend they have two trips for first year geology students. First we'll go to an island north of Seattle with interesting glacial deposits...then on Sunday...the moment I've been waiting for will finally arrived...V.I.P. access to the crater of Mt St Helens! I can't wait! Andy got my new boots for my birthday so I'll test them out on the desolate slopes of the infamous volcano.

Hm...what else...I don't know. I guess I'm readjusting alright to the US. It's hard to believe that a little over a month ago I had trouble remembering what it was like in the US, and I hardly feel like I was ever there. Oh the joys of having a foggy memory. I really miss my friends a lot though, I keep thinking that I will see them any day now. Plus I'm tired of everyone having the same accent and same way of life and blah blah. It's so bland.

Sorry no pictures today. It took two weeks to muster up the effort to even type an entry after working on the computer all day. Maybe next time.

Ciao.