Pickleball

The first time I heard of pickleball was when I was in high school, where I was introduced to it during gym class. It felt like a weird combination of ping pong and tennis, though more like giant ping pong trying to be more like tennis. At the time I thought it would be the last I ever heard of the game (similar to when I played sproutball at Interlochen).

I first noticed the popularity of pickleball in the Seattle area when I saw a pickleball court at a public park while I was riding the bus to Northgate. I was further alerted to the activity's presence here when I moved into a new apartment and the swim and tennis club next door had a pickleball court. Every once in a while I can hear the unmistakable sounds of pickleball being played throughout the summer.

I did a little research and learned that the game was invented in (very) close-by Bainbridge Island. There are even local rec leagues and a good number of parks/community centers/etc have pickleball courts that are accessible to the public. This feels so random...

Frustration and Jehovah's Witnesses

Frustration is a funny thing. It can be as gnawing as anger, but tends to be much more subdued-until a breaking point is reached. As such:

Apparently Seattle was the host to an international Jehovah's Witness convention this past Friday through today (Sunday). The article states that the convention (not usually an international convention) is usually held in Tacoma, but was held in Seattle due to the sheer number (as can be seen here). Apparently over 38,000 (yes, thousand) of them from 4 states and 40 countries descended upon Seattle and the UW campus, taking over the football stadium and bringing traffic to a standstill on and around campus before and after their events each day, and that's where the frustration begins to set in.

Usually the drive from my place to the airport takes about 20-25 minutes. Instead, I got caught in the traffic leaving campus Friday evening and I was stuck in the same spot for 30 minutes before I somehow took a turn onto a side road and drove around the entire standstill to reach the airport. Needless to say the bad driving habits of many of these individuals (including but not limited to not signaling while trying to cross two lanes to make a right turn at the next intersection less than 10 feet in front of you...and doing the same thing at the next intersection). Also, it took me half an hour to drive to work today (usually a 10-minute drive) and it seems like they took every last parking space on campus. UW is not really well-designed to host any large event, including their own home football games...