This week, the crow learned it still rains in Seattle, occasionally. What did you learn?

FEIYA, 29

What are you up to tonight?
I just finished going to a dance improv performance from Velocity, down on Broadway.

What line of work are you in?
I do help documentation.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done this summer?
Just this last weekend, I went backpack camping and I hiked 24 miles.

24 miles? That’s almost a marathon. Did you do this all in one day?
No, it was 5 miles on Saturday, Sunday 14 miles, and Monday another 5 miles out.

Where did you hike?
Thunder Creek, in the North Cascade Park.

When you’re not hiking or working, what do you like to do?
One of my friends has a “make stuff night” every Monday night, and I like to try and go to that a lot. And Ray Gun Lounge on Thursdays has story gaming, and I go to that.

Tell me about this “make stuff” night. Are people crocheting, welding, making atomic bombs…?
It’s pretty much anything. You can make anything from dehydrated fruit, or games, or…I knit.

So, people make dehydrated fruit while you knit? I think I love your friends.
You should come make stuff with us!

Sadly, I don’t’ make anything, except for surly comments. It seems like everyone in Seattle—regardless of gender—knits and/or welds and/or makes their own vests. It’s pretty impressive.
It’s all about making the time to make stuff, which is why we have it every Monday.

The first thing you have to make is time, I guess.
Yes, exactly!

If you could take off and go anywhere in the world this summer, where would you go?
I’ve really been thinking about going to Disney World.

Have you ever been there before?
When I was a kid. But it’s right next to Universal Studios, so I could also go to Harry Potter land.

That one sounds pretty neat, I gotta say. Do you live on the Hill?
I live on first hill, minor and Madison.

Where are you from originally?
I’m originally from Shanghai, but I came to the states when I was four. I lived in Laramie, Wyoming for nine years, and then we moved to the Tri-Cities. Then I came to Seattle to go to U.W.

Any favorite hangouts on the Hill?
I love Cal Anderson Park. I run three times a week, and usually run through there.

Any other thoughts on life on the Hill or life in general?
I think the most important thing about life is to do what makes you happy, even if it’s not what society expects you to do. It’s easier said than done, but everyone should think about that.

ZAK, 24

What brings you out tonight?
Going out after a long day at work.

Do you live on the Hill?
I technically live on First Hill—near the Convention Center.

What do you do for a living?
I’m a game programmer.

Where are you from originally?
Kind of all over the place. My dad was an engineer, too, so we moved about once every six months. He would come into the end stage of various really hard contracts in telecom, aerospace, that sort of thing.

What brought you to Seattle?
I was spending all my free time here, and I didn’t like getting stuck here overnight, so I got an apartment here.

Any favorite hangouts on the Hill?
Unicorn, Harry’s Bar up on 15th, and Wednesdays is gaming night with industry people at Clever Dunne’s. But a lot of the time we just sit around talking about work as much as playing games.

Do you have any favorite games?
Cards Against Humanity, or other video games that I can’t play right now because I’m too busy working.

When you’re not working or playing games, what do you like to get up to?
I like going out for random hikes or jogs. I’m extroverted, so I like hanging out with my friends, but I like hanging out with myself, too. I recently sold my car and bought a motorcycle, but I haven’t had the chance to ride it much.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done this summer?
We announced our project at E3 [the convention], so I don’t have to be so secretive about what I’ve spent so much time and effort working on.

So you don’t have to be in the closet any more about what you’re doing?
Yeah, it’s good to finally be out about it!

Any other thoughts about life on the Hill, or life in general?
I get off the bus every day, and I feel at home. No matter how stressful the day has been, I feel relaxed and glad to be here.

JOSIE, 35

Do you live on the Hill?
No, I live in the Central District.

What brings you out tonight?
Just hanging out with my boyfriend.

What line of work are you in?
I’m a software engineer.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done this summer?
I graduated from U.W.

Congratulations! What was your degree in?
Human-Centered Design and Engineering.

“Human-Centered,” as opposed to, say, “Hampster-Centered” design?
It’s kind of computer science related degree that focuses on human-computer interactions.

So, you’re designing Cylons and stuff? Tell me more.
It’s pretty cool because the program itself is pretty new, so it’s a mix of design and engineering, but it’s also a bit of psychology, sociology and industrial design.

And also cooking and interpretive dance?
That particular group of students is very multi-talented, so, sort of!

If money were not a consideration, what would be your dream job?
I think I would be an independent game software developer. I love what I do, but I’d like to be able to do it more on my terms.

Do you have ideas for your own games?
Lots of them. Sometimes I wake up from dreams where I’ve gone through all of the mechanics for a game. I have a sketchbook filled with notes, but at the companies I’ve worked at, I can’t develop those ideas because of a non-compete clause. In my spare time, I’ve been working on productivity apps, because those don’t compete with what I’m working on in my job.

Do you have any favorite hangouts on the Hill?
We go to the Unicorn quite a bit, but I’m also a fan of Six Arms and The Elysian—they’re kind of my favorite places. Also, the Mercury every once in a while.

Do you have to be super Goth to go to the Mercury?
No, it’s just no jeans, no white tennis shoes…

Nobody should wear white tennis shoes, ever–there should be a federal law about, punishable by death. Anyway, If you could take off anywhere in the world this summer, where would you go?
Tokyo.

Why Tokyo?
I go for two weeks every other year, but I haven’t been in about four years now. Last time I was supposed to go was right before the earthquake happened, so I decided to wait a while. I’m planning a trip to the Tokyo game show next year, and I have eight friends and coworkers who are signed up.

Any other thoughts on life on the Hill or life in general?
I lived on Capitol Hill for a really long time before I moved to the Central District, and it definitely feels like the culture has been shifting. It doesn’t feel like Capitol Hill did several years ago. It’s a little too straight and normal with all the gentrification. There are a lot of people who hang out in the neighborhood who don’t normally come over here. You have these weird issues with people being weird and obnoxious. The Central District now feels like the old Capitol Hill, but I do miss living on the Hill.

[Voices yell out of a car window in our direction] That! The yelling out of a car window, “You’re so gay!”

Did they yell that at us? Because they are going to be really, really hoarse by the time they get to the end of Pike.
Yeah, right?

More CHS Crow:

• Ryan, Chelsea & Matt — ‘I love talking to strangers, clearly’
• Julio, Brittany & Donovan — ‘I was in a punk band for a long time, but now I’m solo’
• Jacqui, Teppei & Julia — ‘There are the same type of people, only more of them’
• Silvana, Brandon & Luis — ‘I work seven days a week’
• More…