I’ve just returned from a trip to Seattle for the wedding of one of my good college friends Maija Brissey (nee Schommer). She was one of my housemates for 2 years, along with 11 other friends, at 514 Monroe in Ann Arbor while attending the University of Michigan. This was the first time that many of us have been together at the same time since May of 1998. A lot has happened to many of us over the years and it was great to get a chance to catch up with each others lives. It felt like I had just seen them yesterday, and yet they were all experiencing very different life situations. Many of my friends are getting married or starting to have kids. One of my housemates has married and had a child. I’ve married. Two others have now married. One is engaged. I suppose this is the time of my life when it will happen the most. I can’t wait until the next time we get together.Seattle is a fun little town. We went to the Experience Music Project for the second time this weekend. The Space Needle is an obvious choice for the visiting tourist, though at $12 a pop, it’s a little pricey.There are so many outdoorsy things to do nearby, too. I saw people rollerblading, kayaking, and bicycling all over. The mountains virtually surround the area. I’d love to live there if it weren’t for a few things:1) Microsoft HQ (sorry Jess, I’m a Mac & Unix guy).2) Starbucks HQ (beware of phase two).3) Weather is too rainy (though I’ve never lived there so I can’t really say if I wouldn’t like it).4) No closer to my family then I am now.I’ve posted photos of the trip before and on the wedding day. The image resolutions have been reduced dramatically for the web. If you would like a copy of a particular original, suitable for printing, or the whole bunch email me and I’ll send them to you via email or on a CD via snail mail.I’ve learned some things about taking pictures this weekend.1) As artsy as some of the photos I took were, I need to get a tripod large enough to be sturdy but small enough to not dominate the space in my carry-on.2) I need a polarizing filter.3) I need to take lots of photos of the same scene in order to raise the chances of getting one that I like.4) I need to ask people to ditch their beer bottles or move stationary ones out of the way. They look really tacky.