I'm surprised I stayed. But here we are.

I moved to Washington State in October 2023. Just in time for the rainy dark season. I lived in someone's basement in Marysville. With my dog, Hazel. 

I'm surprised I stayed.  

But, here we are in 2025 and I live in Greenwood in Seattle. Morning walk with the dog starts with a view of the Olympics and then up two blocks up the street, the Cascades. It's stunning. Automatic amnesia for the rainy dark times. 

I started my blog when I moved to North Carolina in part because blogging was the social media thing but also to keep my fans & friends updated on my new life in South.

I'll be in Washington state for the next 18 months, at least, so I'm exploring using blogging to keep in touch. 

A Rock Climbing Story: My Way Is Better

Usually when he falls or slips, he bangs the rock wall and gets angry red face. The wonderful thing is that by the time he's on the ground he's same friendly guy he was earlier when his belayer told him to climb on.

He's been working a grey 5.12 (very challenging) route.  His beta for the crux (the hardest part of the route) is not the intended beta (his moves are not the moves the route-setter had in mind). After a week of angry face and taking it out on the wall he gets it clean (doesn't fall).   But for him one clean climb isn't enough.  This damn grey 5.12 is on the climbing circuit every night for two weeks until he feels he's mastered his project.  His satisfaction is confirmed over a beer.  Project complete.

But the next week there he is again tied in at the grey 5.12.  I'm still trying to break up my knot from the climb I just finished.  I walk over to him and ask "Seriously?  I thought we were done with this?"

"Now I'm going to do it using Scott's beta."  Scott is the guy who set the route.

I roll my eyes and tie in.

I watch the familiar sequence of moves up to the crux. And we're at the crux (well really only he is actually physically at the crux, but I am on the other end of this rope so I'm a part of this).

He goes for the new move.  He doesn't make it.  I look down because sometimes angry face makes me laugh which is a completely inappropriate response to someone else being frustrated.  I hear nothing.  I look up.  No red face.  Just a grin.

"My way is better."

***

There's a fine line between being engaging with a challenge versus just being stupid. I mean, it feels good to care about things but at a certain point you can care too much, or care for reasons that start to become unreasonable, like wanting to give an outdoor climbing route one more try when it's really time to get going because the park is closing and the sun is going down and the rest of your party is bored or freezing.

I don't always know where that line is.  I definitely swear a lot (sorry kids) when I fall but there's rarely a physical manifestation of my frustration.  No red angry face.  Part of me wants to care about it as much as angry face but climbing is an important mental, physical and social endeavor and there is a bit of balance involved in that.

It's helpful to see climbers who I admire let go (physically and mentally). So, thank you angry face.

Our way is always better.

It's so easy to stop running. You just walk.

Lots of people say the hardest part is just getting out the door to go to the gym, go for a run or whatever.   You know, the hardest part is showing up.

For me?  I'm not so sure.

I'm training for a 10K using a training plan.  It's a struggle. 

I have no problem getting into my running clothes and out the door.

But the actual running part?   It's hard.  I'm the worst version of myself when I run.   

Because when I run, I just want to stop.  

And it's so easy to stop running.  

You just walk.  

 

If you just stop swimming you'll drown.  

Or biking you'll fall over if you were to just stop.

I'm motivated not to drown.  I'm motivated not to fall off a bike.    

I considered training with a treadmill.   Stop running on one of those things?  That shit's gonna hurt.

But, you can also just push a STOP button.   It's right there.  Big and red and ready for you.  If I stop running when I'm out on a trail at least I have to keep walking to get back to my apartment or car.

I  need to renovate my approach.   

I've already made a few helpful adjustments.

I'm bringing you along for the ride, er, I mean, the run.

It only took six and a half years

On January 19th, 2008, I wrote the following resolution (among many others).

Health
My resolution for this year is not so much about weight loss as it is about strength gain. I am very close to being able to do a pull-up so I’m going to make doing that pull up my fitness resolution. I hope to have that nailed in the first two months of the year.

On January 1st, 2009 I audited myself.  

2008 Health Resolution Audit
No-pull up

This past Wednesday, kind of out of nowhere, I do a pull-up.  

I love you rock-climbing

Entschuldigen!

Can I fly when I'm in Germany?  No, I cannot.  

This country is very orderly.  

And lots of people drive Audi's.  Really fast.  

A kick

And I'm back from Africa.
For me, this trip puts the brain thing squarely behind me (I do hope to continue writing about it for both the humor and history).
Before I left I worried that going on this trip was somehow kicking my health in the face.  
But really, this adventure gave me a good kick in the pants.
Before I left I had been feeling cautious.  A reasonable response to injury and recovery but the cautiousness was pervasive.

I return from Africa feeling a little less scared, somehow.

It also confirmed that I'm happiest when I'm doing research in the field with a view towards some type of intervention, action, change to the environment - doing something!  I view my work as an extension of theoretical and lab work - not simply an the application of Behavioral Economics.  

Someone from the lab will likely come after me to write a post for the official work blog.  So, more on what I was actually doing in Africa instead of all this personal and professional reflection nonsense.

In the meantime, here's a picture of me training Research Assistants.  The team was extremely sophisticated and experienced and they certainly kept me on my toes.  As usual, the learning ran deep both ways. 

Next up on Jamie-Scapes

In about three weeks I'll be working in an open air market in Kampala, Uganda.

I'm there to learn about bio-fortified orange sweet potatoes and think about how to use behavioral economics to get more babies to eat them.  This potato is loaded with Vitamin A which is important for vision.

***

Dad:  Haven't you had enough adventure for the year?"

Jamie:  That was 2013.  It's 2014.  Time for a new adventure.

My sister made a little person

Milk Panic Guide

Running out of milk?  Now we're talking drama.

Preamble to the story of Jamie's Duke Brain Adventure

Dear Readers (Hi Mom),

I had brain surgery over the holidays. 

I am totally fine.

Writing about it will help me archive the experience and share the humor of it.   You have to laugh about things like this.

The really short story

I felt dizzy for a long enough time to lead me to get an MRI.  The MRI revealed that my brain bleed from four years ago had quadrupled in size.  When your brain bleeds twice and the bleed is big it’s time to remove the thingy that’s the causing the bleed.  So, the fine folks at Duke Hospital did brain surgery and removed the thingy (also known as a cavernoma). 

The surgery went just fine.  No complications.  I am otherwise is great health so my recovery has been great.  That said, it was brain surgery so for the month of January I am perfecting the art of taking it easy. 

The really long story will follow.  
I'll post installments as I write them. 
The first post is on November 28th - Thanksgiving!  So you'll have to scroll down or click back a few pages.  That's just the way blogger organizes things.

Again, I'm totally fine. 
I wouldn't be casually blogging about it if I wasn't.

Some days you just have to decide what type of minion you want to be

Stairs

My New Year's resolution this year is to walk up and down the stairs in my apartment.  Going up the stairs is easy.  When I'm at the top of the stairs I'm acutely aware of the fact that I'm at the top of a set of stairs.  This picture kind of captures that feeling.

I decide that I'm just going to postpone the vim and vigor of good intentions and resolutions for later.

Too soon for heels.

New Year's Eve party tonight.  I am going.  

I sleep most of the day.  I start to get ready and realize that the getting ready part of the evening could end up being my evening.  Beauty is exhausting.

I'm supposed to be using baby shampoo only but I totally break the rules and shampoo *and* condition my hair with my grown-up designer over-priced products.  I really want to blow dry my hair but the titanium screws in my head can't yet tolerate the heat and I decide that's a rule worth following.

It's a dress up party but the host sends me a message and said that I should feel totally OK showing up in PJ's or sweats or whatever. 

Heck no.   I throw on a party dress.  I add heels.  Then I try to walk in the heels.  Okay, too soon for heels. 

My friend Mary is my chaperone.  She picks me up and is cool with taking me back home whenever I need, even if it's before midnight. 

It's 11:10 PM.  
I'm like "Yeah.  Going strong.  I'm gonna make it to midnight."

And then the crash.

It's 11:35 PM. 
I'm like "I'm about to fall over and the Christmas tree might come with me.  Home.  Now."

Mary takes me home and she heads back to the party in time for midnight.  I pour myself some Ginger Ale (it's bubbly) and fall asleep. 

***

Pre-party selfie while I'm waiting for my hair to dry and trying to come to terms with this outfit without heels.  

Service for Eight

I'm a minimalist.  And I don't cook much.  So, the fact that I only had four spoons was never really a problem for me.  I mean, you can only use one spoon at a time.  Two spoons tops.  This worked for me.  Until my dad started using my kitchen.

I had been meaning to buy flatware but every time I tried I would just stare at my options, get stressed out and leave the store.

And now I have service for eight people. 

I also bought a whisk and really small frying pan.  And then got stressed out an left the store.  

But, a few days later I went to Target and I bought ever more kitchen shit.  I was delighted that I could get so many things in orange and purple.  

One motivation for minimalism is thinking about having to move.  But, I realize I have two really large couches and having a set of mixing bowls or not isn't really going to matter.

Don't Drop The Soap

I feel steady enough for the standup shower.   If I drop the soap, I won't pick it up.  Like prison.  But not really. 

Cake cake cake

I try to read a book but I just can't really concentrate.  Then I realize it's a really boring non-fiction work book and I take a look at one of the books a friend loaned to me.  

Much much better.  I read all 600 pages of it in a few hours.  I feel like I've accomplished something.

Keep up the good landscaping.

There's a nursery (like for plants, not kids) pretty much across the street from where I live.  So my dad and I head over there for plants.

We talk to the plant lady and somehow it comes up that my dad is here from Florida.  And she asks what brings him to North Carolina.  Things are probably pretty slow in the plant store in December.  And we're actually having winter-ish weather.

He says "My daughter just had brain surgery."

And the plant lady laughs because she thinks he's joking. 

And then she realizes he isn't.  

I think it's funny as ever but I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable so I say something that lightens the conversation. 

And then we buy some plants.

The garden is complete.  Well, almost complete.  My dad was planting the final pachysandra when I took this picture.  He's made all the plants modular in order to keep the weeds away.  

And, if I move the plants can come with me.  Last time my dad was in town I lived somewhere else and we spent a few hours weeding the driveway.  And then I moved.  

Ta-da

The neighbors are thrilled.  One of them remarks "Keep up the good landscaping."

The task of no tasks.

My dad and I decide that this experience of no structure and plans is good for us.  We both love structure plans but my energy is too much of a wild card to make plans.  We decide it's a test.

I task my father with fixing up the small garden area outside my apartment.  He approaches this project with Dad-like gusto.

  

My dad and I understand each other.  That's kind of the foundation of our closeness.  It means a lot to me that he's here looking after me.

Majadara

It's Christmas.  I wake up early and empty the dishwasher.  My dad is actually still asleep and he's kind of grumpy that I was so noisy.  I tell him it's my birth right to wake up a parent on Christmas morning.

For the past few years I've celebrated Jewish Christmas with the Israeli's from the lab and few other random orphans.  We see a movie and then go to Happy China.  

I had planned on another Jewish Christmas but instead I make plans for us to join a more traditional Christmas celebration with a friend and her extended family.  There's a ham and we even hold hands and pray before we eat.  My dad is very religious, this is kind of a big holiday for Christians and today is also my dad's birthday.

We do, however, close out Christmas Day however with Israeli food.  The dish pictured below is called majadara.  It's delicious.