The grey season is upon us, which means it’s so much easier to hibernate in your house. But here are 9 weird and wonderful things Seattleites do year-round that can get you out meeting people and exploring our beautiful (even when it’s raining!) city. Our own Mónica Guzmán mentioned them in her Ignite talk last night. Check ‘em out!

Your call, Amazon. Yesterday was a big deadline in the business world, as more than 100 towns and cities scrambled to make their case to be Amazon’s second home. Our booming tech company said about a month ago that it’s looking for an “HQ2,” and now that the applications are in, Amazon’s got to make a pick. But might the lucky winner regret it down the road? “What was once a quirkily mellow, solidly middle-class city now feels like a stressed-out, two-tier town with a thin layer of wealthy young techies atop a base of anxious wage workers,” Paul Roberts wrote about the effect Amazon’s had on its first HQ — Seattle.  (Politico Magazine)

And speaking of Amazon … KUOW just launched a podcast that’s all about how the company’s changing our city. It’s called Prime(d). “We’re in a long-term relationship with Amazon. You just started dating,” its creators tell Amazon’s TBD second city. “We need to talk.”

Know your newbies. Here’s a quick, five-question quiz from FYI Guy Gene Balk to see how much you know about all the city’s newcomers. We were way off on question 3, which asks which state sent us the second most new people last year. (The state where the most newbies came from is — surprise surprise — California). Let’s see how you do. (The Seattle Times)

It’s all in the raindrops. There are loads of unscientific reasons why Seattleites tend to shun umbrellas. But here’s a fact-based and really fascinating one: We have tiny raindrops. That’s right. The winds that keep light raindrops from falling until they’re heavy tend to be weak around here. That means we get lots of light, misting drizzle — and the hoods on our jackets handle that just fine. Intrigued? Read more about our raindrops in this oldie but goodie from KOMO weather guy Scott Sistek. And thanks to reader Naomi Tomky for the tip! (KOMO)

THE EVERGREY IS TURNING 1 🎉

Thanks to everyone who’s sending us ideas for DJ’s, food, design, and more as we put together The Evergrey’s anniversary party Nov. 29. We’re pumped to celebrate with you all in style, so keep the good connections coming! Just hit reply or email [email protected]. We’ll have more details soon.

Have an awesome weekend. — The Evergrey.