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 teami 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 girlswe 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 outfieldsafeco 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 gamewhen 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 placebefore 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.
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