All of a sudden, I have now been here in Seattle for longer than I have left to be here. I’ve been here 20 days and have 11 days left.
Makes me feel even more slovenly since I am right now washing the bed sheets for the first time, although to my credit when it’s just me, no Mark, sleeping, it’s cool here and not a whole lot of sweating going on.
Today I thought I was supposed to call into a meeting at the iSchool, 11:00 AM there, 9:00 AM here, but things went awry. No serious harm done, I just worked here at home for awhile, and then took the bus down at the Central Seattle Library, and worked there too.
Avocado toast for 2nd breakfasts – I had had a banana and a latte during the window when I was supposed to login to the meeting, but since I was still home 2 hours later, I decided to eat again. Wheat toast, butter (because even avocado toast is better with butter), Siracha, and the last strips of those peppers I sauteed a few nights ago.
4th Avenue reflected in the gridwork of Seattle Public Library
I sent out a welcome message and the draft syllabus for one of my courses, and I’ve got all the readings in and am working on the assignments in the other, so I’m that far along, but I kind of knew this would happen. Since I’m freed from a lot of my normal chores at home I don’t have much to do except work.
After the library I went to the big Starbucks at Seneca & 4th. We spent a lot of time there in past visits to Seattle for American Library Association conferences, when we were staying at the Hotel Monaco, or Vintage. On one of our visits it seemed to be literally the weekend when Starbucks packed up all its other food and started serving La Boulange pastries and sandwiches (although seems that marriage has now ended in divorce, and the owner of La Boulange is working with Costco). Anyways, I remember sitting in that Starbucks, I bet it was January of 2013, and there was a giant stack of wrapped-up-like-airline-food La Boulange goods in the corner.
At Starbucks, I had a latte and a blueberry muffin, and read a few iSchool applications, and then went to Target to trade in the spent Sodastream gas tank for a fresh one. Then I felt kind of at loose ends – didn’t want to go for a walk with the heavy gas tank in my backpack, so I just rode the bus home. Mimi was walking to the bus as I was walking back. She’d taken the dog for a long walk, and also not going to be home for dinner – so another two less things to do this afternoon.
I’ve been amusing myself with doing laundry and snacking on bread and cheese and dates. And writing this post. Next I think I’ll wash my hair. And maybe rent a movie on Amazon.
Not to make it sound like I haven’t had anything to do.
Monday I met friends at Vendemmia for a nice dinner – except I had the cabbage & smoked pork pasta, and I think I should of had the spaghetti – there were plates of it at every table when I walked in.
Tuesday I went to the University of Washington campus, worked in the library, met friends for lunch, and went back to the library and worked some more. I took the light rail to Capitol Hill and then walked a bit to a different bus, the 2, instead of my usual 8, to get home, and made this chopped salad where you toast the beans and artichoke hearts and pepperoni (although I used fennel salami leftover from new year’s) for dinner, using Napa cabbage instead of iceberg lettuce. I logged well over 10,000 steps both days, unlike my measly barely 5K today.
And tomorrow night is Michael Nesmith with Ben Gibbard and Scott McCaughey at the Neptune.
It’s truly a social whirl.