Summer, Oops.

Wow, where did July and August go? I definitely put my blog on the back burner this summer… I think part of the problem was that the template I was using required a certain sized photo for every post. That didn’t work for posting remotely or from a computer that didn’t have photo editing software. So, I changed it up yesterday and have a new template. The setup of the new template isn’t complete yet though, so suspend judgment. There’s supposed to be a really great gallery of photos down the side that I’m struggling with right now.

At any rate, I wanted to recap my summer. (Which is kind of appropriate because it’s been pouring rain the last two days, and it’s decidedly not summer anymore here in Seattle.) Here are some highlights:

• PopCap Internship: My 10-week internship with PopCap was great. I learned a lot and I left really excited about the coming together of my skills in consumer behavior research with social games. It’s an exciting time in the industry where everyone is trying to figure out how to do social games right. I appreciate PopCap’s approach, which is to create amazing content and then fill in some of the blanks through data analysis of, and, honestly, straight up intuition about, virality and monetization. I’m very much hoping to stay in video games after I graduate in March!

•  MCDM Classes: I took two classes this summer in the Masters of Communication in Digital Media program. I really love the MCDM and its contrast to the MBA program. The classes are at once practical and theoretical. I took two classes that parlayed beautifully with my internship and interest in gaming. They were (1) Psychology of Digital Media and (2) Evolutions and Trends in Digital Media. I’m hoping to post some of the reports and projects I did in these classes on here in the next month. Oh, and by the way, did I tell you that taking these two summer classes and a super heavy load last Spring is going to allow me to graduate early? Oh yes.

• Stephanie & Slade’s Wedding: I went to Utah back in late July for a wedding of a close friend, Stephanie. My history with Stephanie is a complicated one… she dated my little brother, so those of you who know that story can imagine that this trip was an emotional one. Stephanie is an incredible lady though, and I feel really lucky to be in her life. And, oh my god, the wedding was beautiful. It was held at the Alta Ski Resort. They were married on the porch of a lodge, with a huge mountain of green and granite behind them. Stunning.

• Wine Tasting in Yakima: Scott and I headed East with a group of MBA ladies to go wine tasting in Yakima. I really should do this more often… it was such a relaxed, fun time hopping from winery to winery. Lacey picked our route based on whether or not the wineries advertised they had dogs, so we got to meet some awesome ones. (In my next life I want to be a dog at a winery.)

• Bike Rides: I was pretty prolific on my bike this summer… in comparison to previous summer where I might have taken my bike out once or twice. I went on two long bike rides with Scott including the Burke Gilman Trail and Lake Washington Boulevard, which is shut down to cars on Sundays in the summer. Autumn and Jeremy also joined us  on our Lake Washington Boulevard ride. I have also been taking my bike to work, which is a quick 2-mile downhill ride on the way to work and a tough 2-mile climb back up the hill on my way home. I wish I were the type to continue riding my bike in the rain, but I’m just not tough enough for that!

• Seattle Tattoo Expo: I’m ready to get a tattoo. It’s been a long time coming, but I was inspired to get something in particular during my trip to Peru. So, I’ve been on the lookout for the right tattoo artist to design it. Tina Bufaro, where are you?! Tina did Scott’s work on his arm, and I’d love for her to do mine, but she’s seemingly out of town, or at least not answering phone calls, ever. I was hopeful that I would find someone at the Seattle Tattoo Expo, and I did. But he’s booked through October and then out of town until March/April. OYE! Someday the right combination will come together. Someday.

• Casual Connect Conference: I was really fortunate to be able to attend the Casual Connect Conference back in July. The conference brings together industry experts in everything outside of hard core gaming – so casual, social, and mobile games. The line-up was great… I learned a lot and was able to meet a lot of people in the industry.

• Scott’s Birthday: We celebrated Scott’s birthday by spending a really relaxed day around Capitol Hill. We went to the 12th Avenue street festival, bought some bike accessories at Velo, had a picnic and then laid in the park for hours and then went to the butcher for steak.

• Anniversary @ the Space Needle: We turned 3 this year and celebrated by having dinner at the top of the Space Needle. Neither Scott nor I had been to the restaurant part of the Space Needle in a long time, so we thought it’d be something very local and fun. And it was! (Scott read my vows to me afterward on the lookout deck… I need to keep track of everywhere he does this.)

Back on the July 4th Wagon

After a hiatus last year while we were in Peru, we held our traditional July 4th party last night! I have to say it was a success and very fun to have our friends over.

Throwing parties is incredibly satisfying. My favorite finishing touches were (a) this balloon, (b) the flags I strapped to the deck railing and (c) the sweet tea and vodka drink.

Playing Carcassone with my sister in Africa.

After getting burned by EA’s $6.99 Sims iPhone game, I had vowed to never pay so much money for iPhone app again. (The game never worked. EA’s customer service told me I should take the matter up with iTunes.) And then Carcassone came out and was priced at $4.99. Reviews for the game were awesome. I resisted the urge until I found out my older sister was going to buy it and that we could play it together. Remotely. She lives in Lesotho. Yeah, that tiny country enveloped by South Africa. How awesome is technology that my sister and I can play a board game, on our phones, from different hemispheres of the world.

Heather won our game this afternoon. I’m pretty proud that I held my own though! At one point I had it tied. Heather is an expert Carcassone strategist!

WaMu in the news.

One of my coworkers was featured on a Kiro 7 piece on Washington Mutual last week, and no, I’m not talking about Kerry Killinger. It has been interesting to watch Kerry Killinger and other top leaders at WaMu testify about the bank failure though! The event seems like it happened a very long time ago, and yet, many of my coworkers are still unemployed! I’m grateful to be back in school for the time being.

Here’s a link to the video!

Smith family Christmas traditions.

• Decorating sugar cookies
• Neighbor gifts
• A house full of candles on Christmas Eve
• Chili on Christmas Eve
• A designated “Santa” to dole out gifts under the tree
• Egg casserole for breakfast (with orange and banana fruit salad)
• Seeing the lights downtown
• Christmas music
• Ceramic winter village
• Luminarias in front of the house

p.s. I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting… These ones in particular hit me last night and this morning. Lots of memories! ‘Tis Christmas. I’m happy to be here in Utah with my family.

I’ll be in Utah for Christmas.

It is nice to be on holiday break these days! Finals went well enough. And Scott and I have been relaxing since… first in Whistler, and now we’re in Utah visiting family.

Our Utah visit was planned around a big surprise for my parents… Both of my sisters flew in from outside of the country. They knew about my older sister, but my little sister was a surprise. Everyone was sitting around the kitchen decorating sugar cookies when Lou came and knocked on the door. It all worked out really well. (There were tears. Success!)

We’ve been doing Christmas stuff this week. Eating. Shopping. Crafting. Singing! (Yes, singing at a huge sing-a-long held in the Jazz basketball arena.) And Christmas lights in downtown Salt Lake.

Mom and Dad’s Visit: Classic Seattle Touristing

My parents came to town last weekend for a visit and to drop off my cat, Luke!

Since they (my parents) have been to Seattle a few times, I was at a loss for fresh and exciting activities to do with them. It turned out my mom was interested in re-doing some of the classics: Pike Place Market and the Chittenden Fish Locks. We also visited the UW campus and took the ferry across the water to visit Bainbridge Island. It was nice to get my touristing on and rediscover some of Seattle’s gems. Love this city.