Study: Sunshine Impacts the Brain in Not-So-Mysterious Ways

Things are a little slow around the Nonerick household these days. A couple weeks ago, Ryan went to San Francisco for the annual Apple Developer Conference as a representative of his company, Omni Group. Ryan extended his stay through the weekend after the conference to get some quality guy-time with his friends Jeff Larsen ("Larz"), Jason Horwitz ("J-Ho"), and Jeff Lee ("J-Lee"). Jason and Jeff flew to the City by the Bay from the east coast and all reports indicated the guys had a good time. As an outside observer, however, I am a little concerned about the remarkable amount of time the guys spent playing video games. A big thanks to Larz for the hospitality and to the guys for a good time. We look forward to seeing you in October for the Doer wedding. Happy birthday to Jeff and Jason this week and next week!

Now to the subject affiliated with the title of this post:

Today was one of those Seattle days where can't imagine living anywhere else. The sun was out, temperatures reached the high 70s, and the volcanoes around Seattle were clearly visible. To the south, Mount Rainier loomed and the sight always seems to take your attention for at least a few seconds. Mt. Baker (located about three hours north of Seattle) was also within view. The Cascades to the east were jagged and had spots of snow clinging to the mountaintops. In the west, the Olympic Mountains dominated the Seattle skyline.

I left my bar review class feeling a little tuckered out (the topic was commercial paper... 'nuf said), so I decided to take Soma to Genesee Park next to Lake Washington. For those who have not traveled to Seattle, the city is squished between the Puget Sound on the west and Lake Washington on the east. Lake Washington is large enough for sailboats, two floating bridges and its own island (about 13-14 miles in circumference) full of the city's most elite - including the home of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

South Lake Washington
What you see is Mercer Island to the left (Bill Gates' house is somewhere over there) and a path that runs 8-10 miles along the lake on the right. Mount Rainier is visible around the bend (treed area in the distance).

North Lake Washington
The white bump is Mount Baker and the faint gray line on top of the water line is the I-90 floating bridge.

Me and Soma in the park enjoying the sun.

Soma's brain is clearly impacted by the sunshine and, to a lesser degree, his frisbee.

Other people enjoying the park must have thought I was nuts because I sat in the grass reciting rules from property law to Soma. Like me, Soma just wanted to play. Needless to say, I couldn't take it anymore - I had to run and escape law for an afternoon. We'll see what happens when I take a "simulated exam" on Thursday!!

I'm seriously looking forward to some camping and outdoor fun once this d*** exam is over. Until then, we are excited to show our town Ryan's childhood friend, Todd Gibson, and his wife Jen, this weekend. I'm also turning 30 this weekend. In fact this week/weekend is a string of birthdays for people we love, so happy birthday to J-Lee, Hannah Yorra, and J-Ho!!! Looks like we may have something to blog about...