In the city that's been waiting to blow since "Big Butts" and "Teen Spirit"...

...I've been making music. You'll soon hear it. I'm going back into the studio with the band tomorrow, which should be a nice break from the stress of the job hunt. I thought I actually had some marketable experience, but I'm coming up short like Shaq at the foul line. I do have a lead with Amazon.com, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be employed in Dot Com Land again soon.

In the mean time, I've been hanging out with Katrine non-stop and working on photographs (like the one above) for a gallery that I will be displaying in our hallway. Exciting stuff. I also went out to Mona's (in Fremont) for half-off bottles of wine with Sarah and Jeanna the other night. I particularly enjoyed Sarah's observation that she often finds her drinks "either full or completely empty" and Jeanna's story about a new gay bar where straight men will work and wear colorful shirts that read "Forbidden Fruit."

People in Seattle I still need to see include:

• Shelter girls
• Chris Brown
• Theanne
• Willoughby

If I haven't seen you and your name is not on the list, then it is of the utmost priority that you contact me immediately, for I have not seen you in some time and have forgotten about you. I'm off to band practice. Hooray.

I just completed my second, final day at Bumbershoot. The people were crazy. The food was questionable. Good times were had. Before I hop in bed, here's my concert review...

Blondie was an act that I originally forgot to include in this list. Why? Everything about the show was horrible -- so horrible that my journa-buddies and I left after a few songs. Grade: F

Hawthorne Heights was like every other emo band I've heard. Little musicianship was displayed. The lead singer kept telling the crowd what to do without really earning it. Everyone played the same riffs and every song sounded the same. Grade: C+

Yellowcard was basically a step above Hawthorne Heights. The band members showed some actual talent, especially the drummer. I thought I'd be annoyed by the fiddle player, but I wasn't, and he actually had a decent voice. Grade: B-

AFI put on a solid show. The entire set was white, which added a neat visual appeal. The band's performance was a little too glam-rock for me, but it worked. I could do without some of the soap-opera acting during the singing and the constant jumping off the drum kit. Overall, the showmanship was a little too much for my tastes, but the music was solid. Grade: A-

Common Market brought gave Bumbershoot a much-needed dose of Northwest hip hop. It was rad. A couple years ago, Ally and I saw Ra Scion (Common Market's MC) perform a cover of "Come Together" by the Beatles. We were wowed, but I hadn't heard the cover since. I've been waiting for that damn cover and, finally, my day had come. That along with a cover of "Crazy Love" and the Common Market standards made Paolo a happy boy. Grade: B+

Blue Scholars is the truth. I said this jokingly about AFI the previous day, but I really mean it here. Geo and Sabzi were on point and ran a marathon of songs, including a new cut and the remix of Modest Mouse's "Float On." The crowd was feeling everything they heard and so was I. Grade: A-

Kanye West was interesting. He produces a lot of songs for big name artists, but even on his own albums, he doesn't rap a lot, so he could only really play half of his songs. The crowd, warmed up by the Blue Scholars, was definitely in the groove as Kanye basically went through a chronological greatest hits. Kanye was off stage in between songs, I'm not sure why, but his orchestra and DJ were tight and kept the set rolling strong. Grade A-

Matt and I discovered a cool, "it's a small-world" situation the other day. As it turns out, Matt's dad, Gail, a sports reporter for The Olympian, was going to interview my dad, the women's soccer coach at The Evergreen State College, for a pre-season article. Gail did a great job, so I'm including part of the article below. The Olympian can reprimand me for doing it, but I don't care. I'm a proud son! Way to go Dad! (BTW, Dad and I have the same name, so don't get confused.)

Committed to coaching
Evergreen's Mottola among new soccer coaches at South Sound's colleges
By Gail Wood

It turns out that cooking and coaching aren't all that different.

Just ask Paolo Mottola, who was weaned on both Italian soccer and Italian cooking. He's an entrepreneur with a kick.

After working 12 hours a day, six days a week for 20 years in a successful family restaurant business, Mottola sold a chain of four Seattle-area restaurants six years ago to do what he's always wanted to do -- coach soccer.

In 2000, Mottola changed careers and committed himself to coaching, beginning a fast rise up the ranks through youth, high school and college soccer. As the new women's soccer coach at The Evergreen State College, he's hoping he has the right recipes to get his team back into the playoffs.

"Soccer is my first love," Mottola said. "It was time for a change. I felt I had a lot to offer. My European background gives me a different edge."

Born in Seattle, Mottola lived in Naples, Italy, for three years, from when he was 10 to 13 years old in the early 1970s. He returned to Italy every summer through his high school years to play soccer, giving him an early insight to the sport.

That exposure, his commitment and his skill helped him develop into a player who made the Olympic Developmental Team, gaining all-region honors.

"I've been infatuated with the game since I first moved to Naples with my family," Mottola said. "I grew up playing in academy programs."

…Mottola brings an impressive resume as a player. Mixing time between winters in Seattle and summers in Naples, Italy, Mottola grew up playing soccer year around. But when it came time to choosing a career after graduating from Rainier Beach High School, Mottola chose business over a chance of playing college soccer, seeing the handwriting on the wall.

"By going into the family business, I knew I could make three times what I might have made playing professional soccer," said Mottola, who is married to his high school sweetheart, Vicki, and has three grown children.

Six years ago, Mottola threw himself into coaching. He's now the director of the South Hill Soccer Club, which has 1,000 participants ages 9 to 14 and has 94 teams. Mottola crossed the bridge to college coaching when he coached the last two years at Tacoma Community College, leading it to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges playoffs.

Besides his involvement at South Hill and Evergreen, Mottola also coaches soccer at Lakes High School, giving him a full plate. But that's how Mottola, who replaces Erik Snyder at Evergreen, likes it.

"I'm doing what I love to do," he said.

I've begun my last work week at PRWeb, and the hunt begins for my Seattle job. Actually, I've applied to approximately 15 companies, to no avail, within the last couple weeks. While I'm not fresh out of college, I don't have the "preferred five years agency experience" that most places are looking for. I'm hoping by the end of September I'll have a job set up. If not, I'll be serving food, I'm sure.

I did get everything moved into the "Ballard Burrow" over the weekend. Moving is a bitch. I basically almost killed myself getting my furniture into the U-Haul on Friday. Thankfully, Nina was there to help with some of the larger items. I was suprised by how much she could lift. What a beast.

Moos drove the U-Haul after she loaded her furniture and I followed her to Seattle. Katrine, Matt and Wes helped us unpack late Friday night. I went on a late night walk with the guys to explore the neighborhood that night. What a location! A 24-7 QFC is just around the corner. Market Street, two blocks away, is loaded with restaurants, coffee shops, banks, gyms, a movie theater and lots of night spots. Katrine's new shop, Cafe Fiore, is within walking distance, too.

I spent most of the day Saturday unpacking and setting up. The Ballard Burrow will dominate.

Saturday night, focuspoint had a gig in Tacoma. We came. We played. We conquered.

I drove back to Ballard Sunday morning to unpack and hang out with KaMoos (Katrine and Moos). I'm really happy with how much we accomplished in such a short time. KaMoos are excellent interior decorators and our place looks like a rainforest with all of the plants they loaded into the place. Pictures will come soon, my dears. I'll be down in Ballard for good late Thursday night or Friday, just in time for Bumbershoot!

The media jumps on and off stories like its playing hopscotch, and, just when I become interested in a story, it gets dropped. I'm left hanging like the storyline at the end of a "Lost" episode.

This leads me to ask, "Whatever happened with..."

• ... the Avian Flu. Weren't we all supposed to be dead by now?
• ... Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Aren't there people still living in FEMA trailers?
• ... government wiretapping. Did I miss out on some prosecutions?
• ... Valerie Plame and anonymous sources. Is is safe for me to publish an article yet?
• ... Sadaam's trial. How does this receive less coverage than the O.J. Simpson trial?
• ... Mexican immigration. Did anything happen with border security? Can we sing the national anthem in Spanish now?
• ... Dick Cheney. Did he shoot another friend recently?