Earthquake Survival- New Information

The experts say that "The Big One" is right around the corner for those of us that live in Western Washington. I, personally, have never experienced an earthquake. There have been a few here in recent years, in particular a 6.8 that occurred in February 2001, but I was living in Yakima at the time, so I missed it.

I got this email this morning and I thought it was very interesting because it goes against everything you are taught and practiced in school on earthquake survival. It's worth a read:




EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries...I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'.



The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less an object compacts, the larger the void, and the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see in a collapsed building.



TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY



1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.



2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake... It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.



3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.



4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.



6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jamb falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!



7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads – horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.



8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.



9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway... The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.



10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.



Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!



'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'



In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program “Real TV.”

Quote of the Day

I shouldn't have titled this one "Quote of the Day", because I have no intentions on posting a daily quote, but it sounded better than "Quote of Whenever I Come Across a Great One and Wish to Put it on My Blog"

This is my favorite quote. I'd love to give someone credit for it, but I heard it so long ago...I think I heard it from one of my favorite teachers in high school, Mr. Baugh. Anyway...

"When opportunity knocks, you'd better have your bags packed and waiting by the door."

Melissa

I snapped this picture of my friend Melissa while we were in our friend Haley's kitchen earlier this evening. She was just looking so cute.

Melissa is beau-ti-ful. Her eyes are the most amazing shade of green. I didn't even know they were such a color until we'd worked together for about a year. She'd always worn blue contacts. One day she shows up for work, and I was like "You have green eyes?" and she's all "yeah, I tore one of the blue ones, and so I have to wear clear ones for now. I hate my green eyes." I then lectured her, saying that I would give anything to have eyes so beautiful, and that she should appreciate that God gave her such unique features. She never went back to the blue contacts again.

I am SO jealous.

Travel Awards

Sometimes while I am cleaning teeth I daydream. Ok, all the time. For some reason today, I was thinking about the places I have gone. I love to fly, and like to consider myself pretty well-traveled, so with that...I have decided to present a few awards.

Most Beautiful City to Fly Into: Seattle. No, not because that is home to me, it's the mountains, the water, the city, the islands. So pretty. Close second: Chicago.

Nicest Airport: Detroit. No need to adjust your glasses, I said Detroit. Close Second: Cincinnati.

Airport Where I Had to Dodge Falling Ceiling Tiles: Houston.

The Little Airport That Could: Portland.

Airport Where the Gate Workers Stood There and Watched Me Struggle to Fold Up a Stoller With One Hand While I held an 8 Month Old in the Other: Orlando

Airport Where Dale and I Were Running to Make our Connection and I Wiped Out in Front of About 100 People and Both my Shoes Flew Off: LAX

Airport of Total Mayhem: Newark

Airport Where I Saw a President: JFK (New York- I saw Jimmy Carter- how cool, huh?)

Best Airport Experience While Traveling With Kids: Baltimore

Airport With the Best BBQ: Dallas

Airport Terrain That You'd Expect to be Mountainous, But it's Surprisingly Flat: Denver

Most intimidating Airport Workers: Frankfurt

Nicest Airline Employees: Hawaiian

Rudest Airline Employees: American

Feel free to add to my list. Courtney, I'm expecting to hear from you!

Shopping With Erin

Since Erin and I both had the day off today, we decided to hit Tacoma for some shopping. It was the first day of the Nordstrom half yearly sale, so that was a must. We both found a few great items there.

Then I had some business at one of the bicycle stores nearby (if you are thinking about taking up road biking, think again. It is a crazy expensive hobby. You may end up having to sell off your firstborn).

After that, we had Pho for lunch and great conversation, then headed off to Trader Joe's. See, Dale's birthday is coming up soon, and I have been on a quest to find his favorite ginger gummy bears. They used to sell them at World Market in Olympia, then one day, no more gummy bears. When I asked them about when they would get more in, they had no idea what I was talking about. I have had no luck finding them online, even ebay, but then I heard they sell them at Trader Joe's. I was actually planning on buying their whole supply. Well...as my shopping luck would go, we got there and found no gummy bears. When I asked one of the workers about them, I got that old fashioned deer-in-the-headlights look.

Either way, it was a great day and I always have a good time hanging out with Erin (even if she does workout to Neil Diamond).

Here she is, waiting patiently for me.















Look! The dream dress I have been searching for.















What's a day out without a self-portrait?

Who Moved My Cheese?

I think it is part of human nature to fear change. Everyone is guilty of it to some degree. I certainly am. When things are comfortable and predictable it is easy to become complacent. Why take a risk when things are fine just the way they are? That is a mindset that I try to avoid as I age. I never want to get old and cranky and set in my ways. I have observed throughout the years that people who are resistant to change are often unhappy. Have you ever noticed that some people would rather be miserable than accept that things change and that's just how it is?

The ability to embrace change is an asset. My great friend and coworker, Janie, who is 30 years my senior, deals with change like that's what she was born to do. "I just roll with it," she says. She is one of the calmest, most lighthearted people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I read this book for the first time about 5 years ago when I received it as a gift, and I re-read it about once a year. I love how it is written. The author takes a complex subject and turns it into a simple, fun to read story. (I actually attempted to give a summary, then deleted it. It sounded too much like a
7th grade book report.)

So do yourself a favor, and buy this book. Don't get it from a library...own your own copy. You will need it to refer back to. It is an easy, fast read, and it will make you a better person.

My Mother's Day

Late last week, I told my coworker, Melissa, about my Mother's Day gift. She was like "UH! Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!!...And why isn't this on your blog??!" So here goes...An Official Blog Post About My Mother's Day Gift.

When I got home from work on Friday (before MD) Bella met me at the door and asked me to go downstairs and play with her. I was like "Hang on, Bella, I have a few things to do." She kept asking and I kept putting her off. About the fourth time, I agreed and followed her downstairs, where she led me into our workout room. When I walked in, I realised there was a sign hanging from my bike. It read:

STP or Bust
We want you to succeed
Happy Mother's Day!
Love, Bella and Rowan
(and dad, too!)

So of course I get a lump in my throat. Then I notice that the seat on my bike is different and I thought, Dale bought me a new seat for Mother's Day! How sweet! Then I looked at his bike (about 2 feet from mine) and see that he has the same seat then I look back at my bike and back at his and back at mine and then it donned on me that they were matching bikes.

Yeah! No more Target Special (that was what I called my old bicycle). My new bike is simply awesome. It has a aluminum/carbon fiber frame and the whole thing only weighs 15 lbs. The next morning I did an Olympia-and-back, and it only took 2 hours and 20 mins- That's 20 minutes faster than my best time on my old bike. It is fast and smooth. Man, I am starting to sound as annoying as Dale in this post!

The one thing that has taken some getting used to is that the shifters don't indicate which gear you are in (I am the type that has to know what's going on at all times...speed, distance, gear, time) and when I asked Dale about this, he was like "Why do you need to know what gear you are in? If it's too hard, shift down, if it's too easy, shift up." That's his logical brain for you. I often catch myself looking down and counting sprokets, just because. I guess I am weird that way. He did accessorize my bike with a little computer that tells me all the other stats. He was probably tired of me asking him every time we rode together "How much time has passed? How many miles have we gone? What is our speed?"

I am really, really excited to have a decent bike for the STP. I might actually be able to keep up with Dale (for the first 5 miles, anyway!)

Hygienists Get Cavities Too

A crazily insane day I had today.

The other day I was inspecting my teeth and I discovered what I thought might be a teensy little cavity on the cheek side of one of my molars (a buccal pit on #31, to be exact). So I find one of my trusty dental tools and stick it in the spot...sure enough, I gave myself a zinger and I knew that could only mean one thing. It was a cavity, sho'nuf.

Fast forward to this morning. I finished my 8:00 patient with a few minutes to spare. I reviewed the schedule for the day, decided that Dr. Bowers would have time to fill my tooth at 12:00, and went to tell him just that (or boss around the boss, a particular talent of mine).

*tangent alert* It was 90 degrees today. The schedule for the day was fairly light. So everyone agreed that we should rearrange the patients, and have the later afternoon ones all come in early/during our lunch hour, so we could all get off early to enjoy the fabulous weather. It sounded like a great idea.

Well, when I told Dr. Bowers that I put myself in the schedule at noon, he said "Let's just get it done right now. Room 4 is open." Mind you, it's 8:50 and I have a 9:00 patient, and I reminded Dr. of this, but it didn't phase him in the slightest. "Don't worry", he says "I'll get it done quick."

So he gets in there and pokes around my tooth and sure enough, there was a tiny cavity. Then he says that the existing chewing surface (occlusal, for all of you in the know) filling of that tooth has seen better days, and since we are already filling the buccal pit, why not redo the whole thing? Sounded good to me, since that old filling always seemed kind of blob-like anyway. So he numbs me up and starts drilling away. And drills and drills and finally when he's done it's 9:20. Remember, I have a 9:00 patient patiently waiting to have her teeth cleaned and since I HATE running behind, I told Dr. Bowers not to fill my tooth, that it was good and numb and we could just fill it after I was done with my patient.

Well since I started on my 9:00 patient late, I ran late staring my 10:00 patient. Oh, and remember that in the mean time they called in all the afternoon patients early? The day quickly went from manageable to complete craziness. We have 5 rooms (operatories) and all 5 were scheduled back to back, which meant no where to squeeze me in to have my tooth filled. When I was finishing my 10:00 patient, my poor, drilled out, exposed tooth was waking up and aching big time. But again, there was no chair open for me, so I called Dr. Bowers into the sterilization room and told him to re-numb my tooth so I could have some pain relief. So he gave me a shot, literally as we stood there.

It worked and calmed my tooth down for another hour. We kept trying to find a time to finish my filling but it was a day of total chaos. Over and over I had to call him on the radio to meet me in the sterilization room to re-numb my tooth. The strange thing was that each time he injected it, the faster it wore off. (I actually learned about this in school, it's a condition called tachyphylaxis where you quickly become tolerant to the anesthetic when it's administered over and over. Oddly enough, I have never had a patient have it...yet it happens to ME!

Finally, 6 hours and 7 shots later, I received my new filling. Dr. Bowers felt terrible that I had to go through that and kept apologizing, even though I kept saying it was no big deal.

Oh, and remember how we were supposed to get off early since it was Friday and a hot day? Well, I not only worked through lunch, and saw all my patients and was myself a patient, I then had a stack of charts a mile high to catch up on at the end of the day...and didn't clock out until 5:15. Man...

But my day ended great. I rode my bike home (by the way, it was National Ride Your Bike to Work Day) and Dale had the kids ready to go and said he wanted to pick up something good for dinner and go somewhere fun to eat it. So we got all kinds of good stuff (sandwiches, sushi, edamame, eclairs, a Ritter Sport...) and headed out to Priest Point Park. Here are some pics:

Hey People...Help Me Out Here!

Ok everyone...I need your suggestions. You see, I have been riding my bike like, a gazillion miles a day. I get up early and ride it on the trainer, then get ready for work, pop the bike off the trainer, ride it to work, and ride it again home, AND have been doing Olympia runs on the weekends. So what I am getting at here is that I am SOOOOOOOOOO bored with the music on my MP3. I could go crazy. Actually, I haven't even been using it the past week or so because at this point I would just rather ride my bike in silence.

So what are your favorite songs to workout/run/bike/cut a rug to?
I want to hear from all of you!

Raindrops On My Hostas

My mom teaches at an alternative high school where each year they have a career day. Mom always recruits me, my sister and brother to speak at it. I discuss dentistry, of course, while Jenny and her co-worker talk about being an accountant/CPA, and Eric speaks on small business ownership (he's our little entrepreneur and recently opened his own machine shop- He inspires me!).
I'll be honest...I dread it. I mean really- who likes public speaking? Not me. But the goofy thing is that I get myself all nervous about it, then when I am up there, it's totally no big deal. It's never as bad as I think it will be. The kids are great and usually ask lots of questions so it makes the 40 minutes (yikes!) fly right buy.
Before I left the house this morning for my big, SO exciting, edge-of-your-seat presentation, I took these photos. I find that meandering around my yard taking pictures of random things is surprisingly calming (that and wandering through bookstores- I know- nerd).

Anyway, here are my some pics of my dewey hosta leaves.

Wrong Dates

Oops! Before all my peeps out there shower their daycare providers with gifts tomorrow...I got my dates wrong. It's actually May 22nd.

Mark Your Calendars...

For those of you that use a daycare or have a babysitter or nanny, don't forget that May 9th is Childcare Provider Day. I know this pertains to most of my working mommy friends out there!

My Siblings

I know I talk a lot about my kiddos on my blog, and lots about my hubby, and I mention my friends often too. I realized it is time to shine some light on two of my very favorite people in the whole wide world...my brother and sister.

I love them very much. We don't say it much in my family (as is the often the case in families). They are just the greatest. We don't get to spend as much time together as we wish we could, but when we do, we pretty much spend the whole time laughing.

Jenny is 33 and one of the funniest people I know. I call her Jenn. She is also intelligent and beautiful. Growing up, we fought ALL the time. We would literally duke it out on a daily basis, with my mom in the background like all "Can't you guys get along?!" People would say, "Oh, you just wait! You guys are going to be so close!" and I remember thinking...never.
But we totally are!

Eric is 25 and I call him EZ, which evolved from Easy-E, which came from where? I don't even know. When we see eachother, our greeting is always a drawn out "Yyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooo!" Eric is also hilarious (perhaps humor was a survival tactic in our family?) and creative and gets along with everyone. I don't think we've ever had a fight!

Here's a quick photo we shot over the weekend.

My First Olympia Ride

So this morning, Dale comes to me with a (his words) GREAT idea, he says, and clasps his hands together like a football coach. "You need to do an Olympia-and-back." Now most of you readers out there know we are riding the STP in July and have been training, pretty much everyday, for it. Let me share a bit of myself here...I am a big old weenie/scaredy cat. I like to train A) on my bike trainer in the comfort and safety of my own home, and B) the Chehalis Western Trail where it is safe and flat with no cars threatening your life. I reminded Dale of this. He was like "Do you think they are closing down 204 miles of road so 9000 bicyclists can ride without the inconvenience of sharing the road with cars? No siree. You need to get out there and get some highway miles and hills under your belt. Trust me, you'll be fine." Ugh. He's always forcing me out of my comfort zone. (By the way honey, thank you pushing me to grow. I don't tell you that, and I know you don't read my blog, but either way, thanks.)

So I got my gear on while Dale gave me a little pep talk:
"There are going to be several big long hills that are going to be a b*tch. Remember to downshift before the hill gets hard because that's how you've been popping your chain off. If the hills get too hard, don't forget to stand up and ride. Your butt will get a rest. If all else fails, shift down to first and just keep going.
Careful on off and on ramps and hug the white line on bridges where there is no shoulder. Cars will give you space. They don't want to run you over either. I put your cell phone in the side pocket of your Camelbak and your ID in the other pocket...just in case."

Off I went down Hwy 101 with a bunch of crazy 70mph drivers. I decided, before I even put on my helmet, that no matter what, I would not stop and rest or (even worse) walk my bike. For the most part the ride was fairly uneventful. The big long hills were definitely hard, but I would downshift, ride some, stand and ride, downshift even more, ride, stand and ride, and when I got really tired I would count to 100. What happened at 100? Nothing, I'd just start back at 1. When I reached Olympia I was re-motivated because I was at the half way point and was still alive and well.
The ride back seemed way harder, because I was getting pretty tired. A car passed me that looked just like my sister's car, and I wondered if it was her.

I am proud to say, though, that I never had to stop and rest or walk my bike. It ended up being not as hard as I thought it would be. Looks like all my 5am rides are paying off. I tend to build things up in my mind, and I was pleasantly surprised. I believe I am capable of a lot more than I give myself credit for.

I hadn't been home five minutes when my mom called. "Was that you riding your bike on the FREEWAY???!"...Yes, mom..."Oh Jess you scare me to death, you know?

We gotta love our mamas.

Halibut Fishing...May 2005

My last post inspired me to share this story. Although it's not recent, it is pretty funny.

One of the patients in the office where I work lives in Westport and runs a charter boat for a living. His name is Jim, but I call him captain Jim (like when go get him from the waiting room, I say with enthusiasm, "Captain Jim!") Anyway, a few years back, Dr. Bowers and Jim struck up a deal to take our office halibut fishing. A few of the girls were immediately like, "No Way!" Looking back now, I realize they were the smart ones!

Personally, I thought it was a great idea, and was all for it. I had fished a gazillion times with my dad, and hadn't once gotten seasick. I never took the time to think that 25 miles out in the open ocean may be slightly different then the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's a lesson I would learn the hard way!

There were about 20 of us on the boat, counting those from my office and the other guys who paid good money to be there. We boarded at 4am, and by 5:00 I felt like something wasn't quite right and by 5:30 I was heaving overboard. I went back into the cabin after regaining my composure, and told my boss I earned the First Puker Award. I felt great after that, and thought about how happy I was to have that over with for the day. Silly me.

I was sick ALL day long, and for some reason, the ONLY sick one. I think the bait guy felt sorry for me, because he fished for me all day. He'd hook one, reel it almost all the way up, the call out to me to reel up my fish. Then when I did he'd call all kinds of attention to my catch. He was like, "NICE JOB JESS!" I remember after reeling one up I turned to him and was like "Hold this. I have to throw-up." It was horrible and embarrassing. And I say this without one ounce of exaggeration: It was the most miserable I have ever felt. It was even worse then being in labor for 31 hours with Bella or giving birth to Rowan without drugs.

Here I am with my 40lb. halibut that "I" caught.

Pacific Northwest Girl

I was perusing through Macy's the other day when I found these great "Pacific Northwest Girl" shirts. How fun! I had to pick myself one up and I had to get one for Kaylee, considering her blog is named Pacificnorthwestgirl. They only had extra tiny sizes, which I am not, but who cares? I couldn't pass it up.

Then I get this email forwarded to me recently and with the shirt and this list, I had the makings for a great blog post.

I had to add my own comments to each one, too:)



The Pacific Northwest According To Jeff
Foxworthy

1. You know the state flower (Mildew). Yes...unfortunately

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans
or paper in the trash. That's right! Don't forget cardboard!

3. Use the statement 'sun break' and know
what it means. Yep.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order
coffee. And do on a regular basis.

5 You know more people who own boats than air
conditioners. Who's got air conditioning?

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice
restaurant. Be nice, Jeff Foxworthy. We aren't THAT bad.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain
waiting for the 'WALK' signal. Absolutely!

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not
recently erupted, it's not a real mountain. The mountains in the east are soooooo tiny.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tully's. And have friends who own their own coffee shops with coffee blends named after them...I really do!

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho
and Sockeye salmon. And have caught them!

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim,Puyallup,
Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette. Hahaha- I lived in Yakima!

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport. It's not?

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese,
Chinese and Thai food. That's not normal?

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come
home in the dark while only working eight-hour days. That's why we all go on meds.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches
and a poncho. And those big blue tarps.

16. You are not fazed by 'Today's forecast: showers
followed by rain,' and 'Tomorrow's forecast: rain
followed by showers.' Not at all.

17 You have no concept of humidity without
precipitation. Right.

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not
just a state of mind. Yes.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if
you cannot see t hrough the cloud cover. I just look out my living room window!

20. You notice, 'The mountain is out' when it is a
pretty day and you can actually see it. Crazy we actually use that term.

21. You put on your shorts when the
temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka. Ok, I am not personally guilty of this.

22. You switch to your sandals when it
gets about 60, but keep the socks on. Never did that one either.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a
mountain. Yes.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are
either wimps or tourists. Hahaha I always say the only people in Seattle with umbrellas are tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you
cannot find the old ones after such a long time. Oh SO true!!

26. You measure distance in hours. What's wrong with that?

27. You often switch from 'heat' to 'a/c' in the
same day. In fall and spring!

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit
under a raincoat. Sadly, yes.

29. You know all the important seasons:
Almost Winter, winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road
Construction (Summer), Deer & ;
Elk season (Fall). My boss refers to fall as "hunting season" and spring as "fishing season". He's on a fishing trip right now, come to think of it...