Notes From Seattle (a la My Dad)

Today was my first day in Seattle. Seeing as how I arrived at 2:30 am last night (i.e. today), I am actually on hour number 20. I slept in today to regain a little bit of the energy that was expended during the drive. Driving long distances is really hard. Driving late at night is also really hard. But hey, we made it.

So after I woke up today I talked to a friend on the phone and he mentioned he was applying to a certain grocery store. So I applied there and will see what they do. Then I decided to catch a bus and head down to the University District, just to see what the deal was.

I walked down the hill and started to wait for the bus. Chatted with another friend on the phone while I waited, and tried to make some plans to meet up with him later. The bus ride was interesting because being in a new city gives me a certain self-conscious aura.

I knew I wasn't doing anything weird or strange. I knew I wasn't standing out or anything. But in my own mind I just felt out of place. I had a book and I had my headphones, but I turned them both down. Instead I just watched the streets go by, got a sense for where I was and where I was going.

We drove through the University of Washington's campus and it was very nice. Nice campus.

Then the bus stopped and everyone got off. I asked the driver if this was the end of the line or something and he said 'yup, end of the line'. I sorta giggled to myself and said oh thank you and got off. Just felt silly cause I just didn't know where I was.

So then I was on University Way, the main street for the U-district. The ave, as people were saying. I walked a bit and looked at all the stores, having my eyes open for anywhere that I might want to work. Then I saw the University Book Store for UW. I walked in and asked a friendly woman if they were hiring. She searched something on a computer quickly and said ah yes, we still have some positions open, go upstairs and do this and this and this. So I walked upstairs, checked out the binder with the job descriptions, and got to filling out the application.

I applied for a job as a full time barista at their cafe. How nice that would be, right? I have 2 years experience from UMD's college book store, and I love coffee and books. So, I mean, hello? Hotness?

Well. I doubt I'll get the job

But allow me to indulge my hopes in writing for a moment.

I just felt like I did a good job filling out the application. Especially when they asked 1. why do you want this job and 2. what experience do you have that could contribute to it.

The first question is pretty obvious, I love books and I love coffee.

Second question, though, a bit more nuanced answer.

Basically I felt like I wrote a brief essay about how I am qualified, complete with persuasive words like 'moreover', 'further', and 'therefore'. I just told them that everything I have done has been customer service related, that I had a wide variety of customer service jobs, that one of them involved work in a university book store, and that my most recent one involved selecting and brewing a lot of coffee.

So, I am trying to sell myself. Two applications on my first day, whatever. Good enough start.

Being a barista would be a lot of fun though.

Then I walked across the UW campus to meet up with a friend of mine. He gave me walking directions that sounded like a 'quest' as he put it. Walk to the fountain, from there you will see a tall mountain peak. Walk towards that mountain until you come to a bridge. Cross that bridge. We had a glass of wine and chatted for a while about various things. Then we met up with two other friends of ours and ate at a restaurant called Shultzy's. I had something called a porktastic sandwich: pulled pork with two pieces of bacon. So good. Great fries too. Some beers. Had a good time. Hung there for a few hours. Then headed back to my aunts place. Had a nice chat with her for a while. Then that was it. That was my day. That was my first 12 hour excursion into this strange new life. Don't stop till I am allowed to stop. Until my mind allows me to stop.

Not sure when I'll get a chance to tackle some more of my abstract or philosophical writing. I have two essays left to write in my Society's Implicit War series. I really look forward to writing them. I gained a lot of intellectual momentum in the first 4 essays, and I think I am now set up to say some interesting things in these last 2. Great stuff.