Happy July 4th (Independence Day) and July 1st (Canada Day)!
Since my last post, I managed to complete Pokémon Platinum and Pokémon Black. Due to burnout from half a year of work, I took the previous week off for vacation. Admittedly, I didn't really enjoy playing Pokémon Black and I didn't really enjoy my vacation either. On a positive note, I do feel well-rested and I managed to finish my personal errands.
Vacation
My vacation got off to a messy start. Initially, I had planned on taking the previous week off to relieve my burnout and to celebrate Canada Day and Independence Day. My plan for this vacation was to get some personal errands dealt with, then potato for the rest of the week. I did successfully finish my errands. For instance, I managed to find a new larger apartment unit, albeit in the same apartment complex. However, my vacation plans for the rest of the week did not go quite as planned.
Extreme Heatwave in the Pacific Northwest
The start of my vacation unfortunately coincided with an extreme heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. From Saturday to Tuesday of last week, the temperature in Seattle escalated to the high 30s and mid 40s (in degrees Celsius... I never figured out Fahrenheit). This heatwave was apparently caused by a heat dome enveloping the Pacific Northwest.
Anyhow, the heat was totally unbearable. This being Washington State, most homes do not have central air conditioning. I do have a portable AC unit; however, my AC unit was not able to keep up with the extreme heat. The worst was last Monday, when temperatures reached as high as 46 degrees Celsius. To put this into perspective, meat starts to cook at this temperature. It was so bad, I actually went into office on Monday, despite it being my day off :(
Visiting Seattle
Once the heatwave died down, I decided to finally take the plunge and visit Seattle this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had not stepped foot into Seattle in 1.5 years, largely due to my aversion to public transit during this time and anxiety towards highway driving.
During my visit to Seattle, I noticed that a lot of the shops I used to frequent are now closed. It's not clear to me whether the closures are temporary or permanent :(
Seattle Waterfront
One of the areas I revisited was the Seattle Waterfront. Things went pretty smoothly here. Got some ice cream and fed seagulls at Ivar's Fish Bar.
As I recall, the seagulls here are quite massive and quite hungry for fries :)
I learned recently that this species of seagull is the glaucous winged-gull and is different from the species of seagull I'm used to seeing in Toronto, ON, which explains why they are so massive in size.
Seattle International District
Another area I revisited was the Seattle International District. Things didn't go quite as smoothly in this area. First, 85 °C Bakery Café was closed. Second, I had wanted take a photo of the cityscape, but there was a suspicious looking individual loitering around. Third, a presumably drunk individual holding a bottle of alcohol in their hand appeared from an alley and chased me down one of the streets. Finally, there are seemingly no restrooms available in the Seattle International District for public use, so I had to take the light rail to Westview Station to use the restroom. All in all, I did not have a very good experience that day at the Seattle International District.
Pokémon Black
Most of my vacation was spent cooped up at home playing Pokémon Black. In terms of battle animation, I do like that it is much faster paced than Pokémon Platinum. For the 5th generation, battle animations run at 60 fps and HP bar animations are much quicker this time around. I also like that in double battles, when both Pokémon take damage, the HP of both Pokémon are updated simultaneously. I also like that there is no longer a battle phase to indicate the current weather condition. Weather conditions are now indicated persistently on the touchscreen. Encountering Victini for the first time was also pretty cool.
What I did not like about Pokémon Black were the version exclusives (aside from Reshiram), the very high frequency of wild Pokémon encounters, the repetitiveness of Pokémon battles, the low speed stat of the Oshawott evolution line, and the very low defense stat of the Purrloin evolution line.
I do plan on playing one of the sequels to Pokémon Black and White. I may choose Pokémon White 2 this time around, since I like its version exclusives more (e.g., Braviary, Reuniclus).
Canada Day (July 1st)
Kind of a disappointing day. Didn't get anything done.
Independence Day (July 4th)
Kind of a boring day. Personal fireworks are banned in King County, likely due to risk of forest fires. Probably should have went to Downtown Bellevue to watch the fireworks, but alas, it is too late now. I personally love watching and listening to fireworks, but a couple of my friends apparently do not. Also, I learned recently that aside from being a fire hazard, fireworks are quite dangerous to operate (saw a video of fireworks blowing off a dummy's arm), kill birds, and scare dogs.
I spent most of today taking photos of various flowers, birds and cottontail rabbits along Sammamish River Trail and the surrounding area. I've noticed that there are quite a few cottontail rabbits in the area :)
