every so often, the utah cousins get together for dinner or some other fun activity. and every so often, cousin melanie takes the opportunity to rub it in the faces of those who are not close enough to participate. i mean sure, it may seem innocent. after all, she's only blogging about it. it's not like she's jumping around singing 'na na nee boo boo,' but really, who are we kidding, the rest of us know that's exactly what she's doing. the digital version of it anyway.
well take THIS utah cousins. take THIS melanie!
i keed, i keed!
the impetus for this cousin night o'fun was actually nic's 8th grade graduation. it just so happened the cousin ken was also in town for the event.
unlike my own memory of graduating from middle school, of which, i have none, it's kind of a big deal out here. it even has it's own name. promotion.
so a big (belated) congrats to the no-longer-an-8th-grader who graduated in pink and with a variety of honors to boot!
the (no longer) 8th grader has been planning for and looking forward to this day for quite some time, and there have been a multitude of dresses modeled and paraded for the last couple of months.
i had been forewarned about la pride. told that it would be the 'craziest' of all. i was a little uncertain about what to expect, and frankly, a little concerned. all for no reason it seems. had this been my first pride i might have been a little surprised, but being my third, there was nothing that i hadn't seen before. i would actually classify phoenix, my first, as by far the most scandalous. this event was for the most part, pretty tame. what was different was that there were a lot of booths with good giveaways!
totally gratuitous shot, because frankly, i think i look pretty smokin' here
i picked up some hair products from the got2b booth, some chapstick and hand sanitizer from the walgreen booth, and the biggest tchotchke score of the weekend was petco, right next to us. they just kept giving us stuff! I ended up with some of those doggy bag holders you attach to the leash, a portable water bowl (it folds up), balls, coupons, food samples. and almost as good as the giveaways were the staff. turns out that there were two older gentleman working the booth who do it in between acting gigs. one of them was recently in a movie called 'i love you, man' with paul rudd, the other plays a bartender on the holly hunter tnt show 'saving grace' (i dvr'd it last night just to see him - and i did!). they kept me entertained when the festival traffic was slow — which was a lot more often than i expected!
trying to make the best of the longest day ever
ironically, the most interesting thing about working la pride this weekend had nothing to do with la pride. rather, the most interesting thing was the house fire that started next to our hotel while melissa and i were on our 3 hour break. while three hours may SEEM like a long break, consider that even with the break, we would still be working about 11 hours in the booth. chalk it up to a control thing, or the fact that nobody does it better than us, but 3 hours was the most i was comfortable being away form our little slab of pavement.
trouble in paradise
on the first day of pride we had spent our wonderfully relaxing break at the rooftop pool at our hotel. we ordered lunch pool side and lounged on chaises in our cabana. we had every intention of repeating that bliss on day 2, but drama found me again. our lunch had just arrived and we heard a nearby siren. then we saw the nearby smoke. nearby as in, within spitting distance...if you are a really phenomenal spitter. the house next to the hotel was on fire. for the sake of full disclosure, there was a very small apartment complex between us and the fire. two levels, probably 4-6 units. so the fire wasn't exactly RIGHT next to the hotel, but it was pretty darn close. certainly closer than i've ever been to a fire like that.
should we stay or should we go?
we weighed our options: hightail it out of there, or watch and take photos. as you might imagine, we opted for the latter. we went up to the tennis court (a ½ level higher than the pool) for a phenomenal view. we couldn't (and never did see) the actual house as there was so much foliage, but we sure saw the flames. after getting some good photos and facebooking all the while (what is it with kids these days? ooops.), we decided to check out the action at street level. they had blocked off the street to vehicle traffic, but not to pedestrians, so we were able to watch from right across the street. the trees still obscured the house itself, but we were able to see a completely burned out truck, and watch as the firefighters fought the flames from the rooftops of the next door school, and that apartment building i mentioned. the apartments had been evacuated and while on the roof, we could see the smoke coming through their windows. i don't know how you get that kind of smell out.
up close and personal
our three hour break was over before we knew it, and our dreams of relaxing poolside had given way to the voyeurs inside us. the flames were still going by the time we left, although they seemed to be under control. by the time we finished out the night , some five hours later, most of the emergency personnel had departed, leaving only a couple of police officers to guard the remains of the house.
heading back to work
when all was said and done, the most appropriate word for the weekend was exhausting. i'm not used to spending quite so much time on my feet, and in such a small space. my body was feeling pretty abused after this one. however, i am lucky and grateful to have had melissa's help again. even when our bodies are falling apart and our minds have left the building, we still manage to have a really good time whenever we have the opportunity to work together.
i am, as far as i know, the third person reposting this video and i know some of you read all three of our blogs. for those who don't, here's a little treat for you.
after working for here for two years (and dealing with the hour and a half commute - each way), i am now totally nostalgic and completely amused. for those of you not familiar with the area, it's pretty spot on.
all caught up? over the shock of two posts on two consecutive days? well let's dive back in then!
monday morning found me a bit sad at having had so little time with dylan and kelly, but the revolving door continued its swinging, and i was to have another visitor to help lessen the disappointment.
the team
i met the girls for breakfast and we headed over to the booth for our first shift of the day. the exhibit hall was pretty quiet, although we did have some major internal drama with one of the other staffers. we tried to move past it, and spent the lunch break exercising some retail therapy. melissa and jessica were more successful than i, but it was a good way to kill some time.
me and jess; polka-dot girls
we headed back to the booth where an hour or so later i got the call that spencer was close, and i headed back to the hotel to meet him.
i didn't know what to expect. it's been almost exactly a year since we decided things weren't going to work between us. we parted on good terms, and really, the distance was the major factor in the decision. we remained in periodic contact, but i always thought that if i ever saw him again, it would most likely be on a visit to portland as a sidenote to spending time with dylan and kelly. i certainly didn't expect that i'd be in seattle for work, and that he'd be making the effort to come visit me. and when it all fell into place i couldn't help but wonder if there would still be chemistry or if it would feel strange or if i wanted there to be chemistry or feel normal!
reunited, and it feels...pretty dang good actually!
seeing him again a year later, felt like no time had passed. when i think of all the change that has occurred since then, i can't help but wonder how it's possible, but it was familiar and comfortable and happy. since it was after five, we considered the limited activity options and ultimately agreed that it would be fun and a little different to go catch a baseball game!
safeco field, from the out out outfield
safeco stadium, according to google maps, was about a 25 minute walk. it was a beautiful night (although i use the term 'night' liberally since the sun wasn't setting 'til after 9) so the walk also provided a great opportunity to see another part of the city. when we arrived, we learned that the mariners were playing the o's (of all the teams in all the towns...). we got our seats (above the bullpen), our snacks, and settled in for a really fun, really relaxing evening together.
at the game
when the game finished, we enjoyed the gorgeous night and headed back via foot, along with seemingly everyone else who had been at the stadium! seattle is most definitely a walking city, but i can't imagine it being that pleasant in the rain:) little did i know, our night was just getting started. between dinner and the hours spent talking and getting reacquainted it wasn't until the early morning hours that we finally said goodnight.
pike place
before heading back to work on tuesday morning, we met early and headed down to pike place for breakfast. frankly, there was far too little time--he had to head back to portland for a test and i had to go to work. after breakfast we said our farewells and i sent him packing:(
it's safe to say that the little time we had together far surpassed any expectations i may have had. the last year has been one of change for both of us, and the effects were obvious. i don't remember ever enjoying his company quite so much, and i find myself hoping that the stars will align similarly in the not too distant future...
sadly, it was back to the business that brought me, and we finished out the final day in the exhibit hall with a bang. it was by far the busiest day, which made the time pass quickly, and it didn't feel like very long before we were packing up the booth and heading back to the hotel to change.
heels off!
earlier in the day we had seen protestors outside the hotel, and from the signs, i was able to surmise that there was something going on between taiwan and china. i'm a bright bulb, let me tell ya! as we entered the elevator lobby it was clear there was definitely something going on. there was a scary looking bouncer dude standing in front of open elevator, which meant someone important (or someone who thought they were important) would be boarding that elevator post-haste.
and there they were, an asian guy and a couple more scary bouncer dudes walking by me. it didn't take long before we learned that the 'asian guy' was the president of taiwan, and that there had been several death threats made against him, and oh yeah, turns out, he's staying a couple floors above me. this is life on the edge, my friends. i mean, the sheraton seattle is well known as a hotbed for high tension political activity, right? ;)
following a quick wardrobe change, melissa, jessica, and i went in search of food. we landed on a spectacular little pizza joint, which might have seemed even more so as a result of our extreme hunger. nonetheless, we enjoyed a pie in post alley, and one of us may have picked up a delicious ice cream cone on the way back (who could THAT be?!).
it was time for the girls to grab their bags and head to the airport, while i'd be staying one more night. i spent a few hours napping before meeting up with another coworker for dinner, then calling it a night.
i left wednesday morning, and was a little remiss to do so. this trip was not only successful professionally, but holy cow was it fun! here it all is again in a nice succint summary:
awesome co-workers? check. seattle underground tour? check. jesse? check. my favorite brother and sister-in-law? check. pike place market, thrice? check. breakfast at a 'sleepless in seattle' film site? check. the monorail? check. experience music project/jim henson exhibit/rocking out to nirvana with my favorite brother and sister-in-law? check. space needle? check. almost getting shot at? check. getting the shot? check. rekindling a spark? check. mariners/os game? check. throwing some tinder on the spark? check. meeting (okay not quite meeting) the president of taiwan? check.
all in all a very successful, very happy trip! the plethora of pics can be found here.
sunday morning, we woke to a spectacularly beautiful day, which suited our plans nicely. we met up with melissa and walked down to the well-known pike place market. having only been in seattle once before, for two days, when it rained the whole time and i never left my hotel, this was a first for me, and i was excited.
i never did see a fish thrown (i guess people have to actually buy them first --the nerve!) but the sights, sounds, and smells were fantastic. i fell in love with the multitude of flowers bundled in stall after stall after stall. not only did they look beautiful, but smelled fantastic. we tried chocolate linguini, tasted different flavored vinaigrettes, ogled fairy princess headbands, took photos, browsed t-shirts and jewelry, and wooden spoons.
we stopped at the athenian inn for breakfast, where, a small sign outside indicated that a scene from sleepless in seattle had been filmed. while eating, we were joined by another of my co-workers, jessica, who had just arrived in seattle. the food was just okay, but the upstairs view of the harbor, the good service, and the company were excellent.
we continued our meandering through the main marketplace, and when we reached the end, melissa and jessica headed back to the hotel, while dylan, kelly, and i walked over to the westlake center to board the monorail headed for the space needle, and the day’s true destination, the experience music project. the museum itself is architecturally fascinating. designer frank gehry, is also known for, among other things, his design of the walt disney concert hall here in la.
before entering the museum, we stopped to take some shots of the space needle, but my trip to the top would wait until later that night. instead, we headed in to the emp to enjoy all of the various exhibits, dedicated to music.
the first highlight of the museum was the sound lab, wherein you could play with different features of different instruments. some of those instruments were in the open space and some were in their own sound booths. particularly entertaining for me was the vocal booth where dylan, kelly and i sang our hearts out to the seattle anthem ‘smells like teen spirit.’ sadly, i actually had awesome video of this, but it somehow got deleted☹
the other highlight was the temporary jim henson exhibit. i mean, jim friggin’ henson! the exhibit included a ‘dark crystal’ room, kermit, bert & ernie, furry walls begging to be touched, and the opportunity to be a puppeteer…which i simply could not pass up.
i'm on the far left, on piano
the emp, which deserves far more time than we could give it, gives way to the science fiction museum, which you might imagine, was also very exciting for me. exhibits included items such as the only 3d model of the death star, phasers through the ages, a fan made borg costume. it wasn’t all star wars/star trek, but having seen star trek twice recently, those items definitely stood out.
sadly, it was time to end our exploration and head back to the hotel so that i could change for work, and dyl and kelly could pack up and head home. it was such a tease getting to spend such a short amount of time with them, but i was so grateful for even that, and for their willingness to make the three hour one-way journey to see me.
it was time to remember what i came for, so i headed over to the convention center for a couple hours of working the booth. after the exhibit hall closed, the five of us in town for the show met for dinner.
while waiting to be seated, i received a phone call firming up what had been tentative plans (which is why i hadn’t mentioned them before). remember this guy?
well, we’ve stayed in sporadic contact over the last year since we decided to call it quits (yes, amazingly, it’s been a full year) and when he found out i was going to be in seattle, he expressed an interest in making that portland to seattle three hour excursion to see me. i’ll admit that i was both excited and nervous about the possibility of seeing him again. given that we ended things largely based on the long distance nature of the relationship, not the lack of interest, i didn’t know how i would feel or if it would be awkward, but it seemed i would be finding out soon enough.
our dinner was at a restaurant called palominos, and it was amaaayzing. melissa, jessica, and i decided to split three appetizers and three entrees, so we all got a taste of delicious pistachio encrusted brie, cheese fondue, chicken piccatta, pepperoni pizza, and grilled sirloin steak salad. my mouth is watering again just thinking about it!
following one of the more memorable eating experiences in recent memory, the boys headed back to their hotel, and we headed over to the space needle. having purchased tickets prior to the trip, we were excited for our evening ascension. one of the things that surprised us about seattle was how late it stayed light. so when we arrived at the space needle, roughly around 9:30pm, it was just starting to get dark.
the majority of our time on the rim was spent taking photos, mostly of ourselves. the exhaustion may have played a part, but we were three, very happy, very silly girls. we called it good at around 10:30, wanting to be sure not to miss the last monorail ride back. thanks to train delays/breakdowns, there was no chance of that. we were so tired, we just wanted to be back in our beds, but seattle had a slightly different plan. we exited the monorail, and immediately noticed flashing lights coming out of the door.
there were quite a lot of them it turned out, several police cars, k-9 dogs at the ready, and a small crowd (it was past 11 on a sunday night afterall) watching the activity. i could not miss the photo opp of course, so as we crossed the street, i paused in the middle of the crosswalk to get a shot off. it was then i heard the bullhorn telling me to get out of the street, at which time, i realized that the offending vehicle was directly in front of me, and that that there were several guns pointing my way. what can i say, i like to live on the edge. ;)
we stayed to watch three people being arrested then, finally, headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
i fell in love this week. seattle in the sunshine is a place you can’t help but fall in love with. it’s a place where a 25 minute walk to the baseball field for a game is a lovely adventure. where you can pretend you’re kurt cobain, and maybe even sound like it. where going to the market means being greeted by the most beautiful and diverse floral displays. where the breakfast entertainment includes watching ferries come and go in the harbor. and, among other things, where ‘going to the top’ takes on a whole new meaning. sunny seattle dares you not to be completely entranced by it.
with 45 minutes of sleep and a 3:30am wake-up call to make my 7am flight, the trip was off to a slow start. melissa met me at the airport, and after boarding the plane, we took advantage of empty rows to catch a few more winks. little did i know that that restless plane nap would be the only rejuvenation for the day.
we had expected to arrive at the convention center to find the booth installation well under way, and to ultimately end up spending no more than two – three hours getting everything taken care of for the following day. we were completely shocked upon arriving to find that literally nothing had been done, short of uncrating some items. electrical wasn’t laid, nor was carpet, and none of the structure had even been touched. needless to say, the next 6 hours of idiocy and incompetence did not make me very happy. i’m certain the lack of sleep played a role, but even had i been fully rested, i would have been in awe of the sheer stupidity. typically, i don’t even have to be there for booth install. usually it goes up without a catch, and i’m only there ‘in case’ something goes wrong. i’ve faced minor glitches before, but this was the biggest mess i’ve encountered. graphics were missing, the install team couldn’t read the schematics so they created an ad-hoc build from the pieces they had, which meant that the graphics we did have no longer fit. they spent a great deal of time searching for things that were quite literally in front of their faces, and weren’t remotely embarrassed when i pointed them out. they wanted to position the kiosks backwards, forgot about the lights, etc., etc., etc.
eventually we all hit the point where we just had to call it good and deal. it was a rough start for the trip, but it had nowhere to go but up. i made it back to the hotel with just enough time to take a very quick shower before hopping in a cab to go meet jesse and his family.
they were in town doing a little sightseeing before boarding a cruise ship bound for alaska on the following day. jesse had invited me to come join them for the seattle underground tour, and i was excited on two counts. i’ve known jesse for some 3+ years now but never met his fam. it’s always interesting to see where a person comes from. i was also excited about the tour itself. the history of seattle is actually very interesting.
as for the tour, i won’t spoil it for you, but if you’re ever in seattle, it’s a must do. the tour guide was excellent and even though i knew some of the jokes she told were getting their fifth or sixth retelling of the day, she still managed to make it fresh and make us laugh.
after the hour and a half tour we walked for a bit and found a mexican place to enjoy dinner. i called melissa and she hopped in a cab to join us. it was a great, random, find and we enjoyed both the meal and the conversation. we walked back to the hotel, and melissa and i decided to take advantage of the jacuzzi on the top floor of the hotel.
the view was spectacular, and if only they had dimmed the glaring overhead lights a bit, it would have been even more so. the jacuzzi was broken (no bubbles) but the water was warm, so we decided to relax for awhile anyway. i knew dylan and kelly would be arriving anytime, having made the three hour drive from portland, and i was extremely excited to see them.
we let the stress from the day slip away in that hot tub while we listened, fascinated and entertained by the word association game going on around us. a group of ladies sharing the water with us, kept taking turns saying things like ‘pepper. chives. dill. cumin!’ i never really figured out the objective of the game, but before long, i was freed from the need to do so by kelly’s arrival. i made sure to give her a soaking wet hug, and she then informed me that dylan was going to stay in the room so he wouldn’t get wet. ha ha.
i haven’t seen dylan and kelly since last year at this time when i was making regular visits to see spencer, so i was super excited that they were willing to come up and meet me. also super excited that this show is a little different than usual and i would actually have a little time to spend. not a lot, but a lot more than usual.
kelly and i said goodnight to melissa and headed back to the room to meet dylan. we talked for a bit before calling it a night, and i slept like a rock.
i keed, i keed!
