Showing posts with label The Pacific Northwest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Pacific Northwest. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
In honor of the Olympics, Sam decided to recap some of our Vancouver trip. Honestly, it was simply too long for me to bother with (I think she did it while at work though), but perhaps I'll try to write the second half of this this week...
Monday, January 18, 2010
It all makes sense...
So, me and my new friend go outside and begin chatting about the usual things. You know, where I’m from, what I do, yada, yada, yada. And then, being the good conversationalist that I am, I turned the conversation to him. “So, where are you from? Here?”
“Well, originally I’m from here, but right now I’m living in Surrey. But I still work here some."
“O, really, where do you work?”
“Well, NOW, I’m a chef around here.” Something about the way he said NOW really had me curious. “so, what did you do before?”
“Before? Before I used to sling rock, strapped with an M16, right here on these streets."
“O, you used to sling rock… did you say with an M16?”
“Yeah, I used to sling rock with an M16. These streets are rough around here. It’s a rough life dealing.” Jesus, where are we right now? Is it even safe for me to be standing outside this bar right now? Am I going to get shot? (Side note: Just to clarify, this guy had a sexy, almost Irish accent, so I still wasn’t completely turned off by this.)
“But, you don’t sell anymore though, right?
“No, no. That was actually why I moved to Surrey. I just had to get out of here, you know. I don’t even know how I ended up in that situation. I think it was the money originally, but then you just kind of get caught up in the life you know.”
“Yes, I could see how that would happen. I’m glad that you don’t do it anymore though.”
“Yeah – I just found myself spiraling downward. And, I guess I didn’t even realize it until I hit rock bottom – I was nearly shot to death.”
“O, my God, that’s terrible! Well, I’m really glad you’re not doing that anymore. So, you’re a chef now? How do you like that?”
“O, I like it. Really, I’m just trying to save enough money to get away from it all. I want to travel – to see the world."
“I looove travelling – I think it’s probably the one thing I love most.”
“Where else have you travelled?”
“O, all over. I’ve been to Europe, Asia, and Canada (smile).”
“Really? I haven’t been anywhere. What was your favorite place?”
“Thailand. It is hands down the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
“Wow, that sounds awesome. “ there is a long pause “you should travel the world with me.”
“Now that would be awesome. In fact, that is my life goal. But, unfortunately I really don’t have the money for that.”
“You don’t need any money. I will pay for everything. I want you to come with me.”
“That definitely does sound appealing…”
“It’s settled then. In a year or so when I have enough money we’ll travel the world.”
“It’s too bad I don’t live here.”
“Where do you live again?”
“Chicago. It’s a great city.”
“Well that could be nice for awhile… hmm… I wonder how I’ll find you.” (In my head I’m thinking phones are the obvious answer.) “I guess if it’s mean to be, it will be.”
Or that, “Yes, if it’s meant to be it will be.”
“O, and there’s always Face book! Are you on Facebook?”
Ah yes, the old Facebook, “yes, of course I’m on Facebook.”
“Well, it’s settled then. We’ll go to Thailand and travel the world as soon as I have enough money.”
“Perfect.”
And we then went our separate ways. Looking back, my first question is how on earth he would ever save enough money on a chef’s salary – but I suppose if I think about it I can answer my own question. I also love that Facebook was the answer to all our problems – even though I never gave him my name, or at least not my full name. With that being said, I wouldn’t have been overly surprised to find an new friend request waiting in my inbox for me when I got home, I mean it is me we’re talking about.
“Well, originally I’m from here, but right now I’m living in Surrey. But I still work here some."
“O, really, where do you work?”
“Well, NOW, I’m a chef around here.” Something about the way he said NOW really had me curious. “so, what did you do before?”
“Before? Before I used to sling rock, strapped with an M16, right here on these streets."
“O, you used to sling rock… did you say with an M16?”
“Yeah, I used to sling rock with an M16. These streets are rough around here. It’s a rough life dealing.” Jesus, where are we right now? Is it even safe for me to be standing outside this bar right now? Am I going to get shot? (Side note: Just to clarify, this guy had a sexy, almost Irish accent, so I still wasn’t completely turned off by this.)
“But, you don’t sell anymore though, right?
“No, no. That was actually why I moved to Surrey. I just had to get out of here, you know. I don’t even know how I ended up in that situation. I think it was the money originally, but then you just kind of get caught up in the life you know.”
“Yes, I could see how that would happen. I’m glad that you don’t do it anymore though.”
“Yeah – I just found myself spiraling downward. And, I guess I didn’t even realize it until I hit rock bottom – I was nearly shot to death.”
“O, my God, that’s terrible! Well, I’m really glad you’re not doing that anymore. So, you’re a chef now? How do you like that?”
“O, I like it. Really, I’m just trying to save enough money to get away from it all. I want to travel – to see the world."
“I looove travelling – I think it’s probably the one thing I love most.”
“Where else have you travelled?”
“O, all over. I’ve been to Europe, Asia, and Canada (smile).”
“Really? I haven’t been anywhere. What was your favorite place?”
“Thailand. It is hands down the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
“Wow, that sounds awesome. “ there is a long pause “you should travel the world with me.”
“Now that would be awesome. In fact, that is my life goal. But, unfortunately I really don’t have the money for that.”
“You don’t need any money. I will pay for everything. I want you to come with me.”
“That definitely does sound appealing…”
“It’s settled then. In a year or so when I have enough money we’ll travel the world.”
“It’s too bad I don’t live here.”
“Where do you live again?”
“Chicago. It’s a great city.”
“Well that could be nice for awhile… hmm… I wonder how I’ll find you.” (In my head I’m thinking phones are the obvious answer.) “I guess if it’s mean to be, it will be.”
Or that, “Yes, if it’s meant to be it will be.”
“O, and there’s always Face book! Are you on Facebook?”
Ah yes, the old Facebook, “yes, of course I’m on Facebook.”
“Well, it’s settled then. We’ll go to Thailand and travel the world as soon as I have enough money.”
“Perfect.”
And we then went our separate ways. Looking back, my first question is how on earth he would ever save enough money on a chef’s salary – but I suppose if I think about it I can answer my own question. I also love that Facebook was the answer to all our problems – even though I never gave him my name, or at least not my full name. With that being said, I wouldn’t have been overly surprised to find an new friend request waiting in my inbox for me when I got home, I mean it is me we’re talking about.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Seatte - Part 1
Day 1
The flight to Seattle was fairly uneventful, especially considering half of my office was on the flight. The only thing worth noting was how weird my boss acted around everyone at the airport. and that he and other director practically sprinted away from the group at the baggage claim (presumable to avoid sharing a cab with anyone). Fine by me – but the whole thing was made especially funny (and awkward for them) when I rolled into the same hotel like 4 minutes after them (everyone else was in another hotel).
Setup at the convention center was going surprisingly ahead of schedule. And, Sam had made friends with one of the union guys so he kept giving us the scoop on Vancouver and how to get there. He actually seemed kind of shocked that we were going to Vancouver for so long, and this attitude seemed to carry over for the rest of the trip. Nevertheless, he gave some good tips – only regret is that I didn’t ask him for details about their cafes because I’m sure he would’ve known.
As the day winded down another coworker, whom we never hang out with, rolls over and asks if he can hang out with us because he was trying to ditch his crew. Obviously we couldn’t say no, plus I figured this would be an excellent opportunity for gossip. How right I was – guy hung out with us the rest of the trip and provided plenty of new gossip and contributed to several new fun stories.
For dinner the three of us made our way to a little Mexican restaurant where we had fish tacos and plenty of Margaritas. Halfway through dinner Sam noticed our AV guy sitting at the bar. Naturally, I ordered a shot for him, and it was highly entertaining when he got it. So, Asa came and sat with us and told us story after story of fellow coworkers. It’s amazing how much dirt someone who works peripherally for a company for so many years can gather. And, Asa is a master impersonator and even used to stand-up, so the stories were that much better.
Day 2
Set-up continued to go really smoothly and we finished in record time. With several hours left in the afternoon, we went to Pike’s Went to Pike’s Market for the second time in an attempted to catch a picture of them throwing fish this time. No such luck.
Then when Sam decided to be lame and head back to the Convention Center (yes I said that) I sat in the park for a bit by myself and enjoyed some people watching. After a bit I began getting chilly so I decided to go somewhere and read for a bit. Although we had passed the first ever Starbucks, I opted for a more appropriate 4pm venue and headed to a local pub, Vons. On my second beer, I pondered whether it was sad that on day 2 I was sitting at a bar by myself – I decided that it wasn’t since I was doing something a little productive like reading.
That night we decided to have dinner at the famous Seattle Space Needle. It was really a full proof plan to gain a great dinner and a sightseeing activity out of ASPS in one fell swoop. Overall it was a fairly good experience but truly not worth the money (but thankfully it wasn’t my money) – LaSandra’s pork was undercooked and then the waiter spilled an entire glass of water on Sam. But at least we had an opportunity to get a bunch of great pictures for Flat Max (a cardboard cutout of Rhonda’s nephew that she has been carrying around for the last 2 weeks).
Day 3
Fairly uneventful day. We went to the PS2009 Welcome Reception that evening and took tons of random pictures throughout.
Day 4
After 3 long days and 2 full days of work, Lindsey and I were planning on having a low key dinner and movie night…
Or at least until one of our meeting planners, AWs, called Sam to see if she wanted four free tickets to a soccer game that night. Obviously I was game, and with little effort, I managed to talk Lindsey and Jerime into accompanying me.
After 10 minutes of the game, they both knew they'd made the right decision. And after 20 minutes we were all official Sounder fans - we even have a scarf (thank you ASPS for the souvenir).
The Sounders won in the last 6 minutes or so, so it was quite an exciting victory. Naturally, we had to go out and celebrate. This several fun stories, but none should really be shared here (sorry).
Possibly more to come but this is it for now because I wrote this weeks ago...
Day 5
Rhonda tried to set Sam up with the GES man who has been married for a year. When Sam informed her that the dude was married, RoRo replied with “so, what does that matter.”
I love how concerned Rhonda is over our love lives.
Day 6
At about 7 am I got a text from Hill saying that her flight was actually scheduled for 9pm and not 9 am. Not a pleasant wake-up call.
I found out that amongst the 300 other things I am allergic too, I am officially allergic to cardboard. Yes, cardboard. At the beginning of the trip I broke out so bad Judy had to give me like 6 Benedryl. I thought it was a fluke but it happened again today after only a half hour.
The flight to Seattle was fairly uneventful, especially considering half of my office was on the flight. The only thing worth noting was how weird my boss acted around everyone at the airport. and that he and other director practically sprinted away from the group at the baggage claim (presumable to avoid sharing a cab with anyone). Fine by me – but the whole thing was made especially funny (and awkward for them) when I rolled into the same hotel like 4 minutes after them (everyone else was in another hotel).
Setup at the convention center was going surprisingly ahead of schedule. And, Sam had made friends with one of the union guys so he kept giving us the scoop on Vancouver and how to get there. He actually seemed kind of shocked that we were going to Vancouver for so long, and this attitude seemed to carry over for the rest of the trip. Nevertheless, he gave some good tips – only regret is that I didn’t ask him for details about their cafes because I’m sure he would’ve known.
As the day winded down another coworker, whom we never hang out with, rolls over and asks if he can hang out with us because he was trying to ditch his crew. Obviously we couldn’t say no, plus I figured this would be an excellent opportunity for gossip. How right I was – guy hung out with us the rest of the trip and provided plenty of new gossip and contributed to several new fun stories.
For dinner the three of us made our way to a little Mexican restaurant where we had fish tacos and plenty of Margaritas. Halfway through dinner Sam noticed our AV guy sitting at the bar. Naturally, I ordered a shot for him, and it was highly entertaining when he got it. So, Asa came and sat with us and told us story after story of fellow coworkers. It’s amazing how much dirt someone who works peripherally for a company for so many years can gather. And, Asa is a master impersonator and even used to stand-up, so the stories were that much better.
Day 2
Set-up continued to go really smoothly and we finished in record time. With several hours left in the afternoon, we went to Pike’s Went to Pike’s Market for the second time in an attempted to catch a picture of them throwing fish this time. No such luck.
Then when Sam decided to be lame and head back to the Convention Center (yes I said that) I sat in the park for a bit by myself and enjoyed some people watching. After a bit I began getting chilly so I decided to go somewhere and read for a bit. Although we had passed the first ever Starbucks, I opted for a more appropriate 4pm venue and headed to a local pub, Vons. On my second beer, I pondered whether it was sad that on day 2 I was sitting at a bar by myself – I decided that it wasn’t since I was doing something a little productive like reading.
That night we decided to have dinner at the famous Seattle Space Needle. It was really a full proof plan to gain a great dinner and a sightseeing activity out of ASPS in one fell swoop. Overall it was a fairly good experience but truly not worth the money (but thankfully it wasn’t my money) – LaSandra’s pork was undercooked and then the waiter spilled an entire glass of water on Sam. But at least we had an opportunity to get a bunch of great pictures for Flat Max (a cardboard cutout of Rhonda’s nephew that she has been carrying around for the last 2 weeks).
Day 3
Fairly uneventful day. We went to the PS2009 Welcome Reception that evening and took tons of random pictures throughout.
Day 4
After 3 long days and 2 full days of work, Lindsey and I were planning on having a low key dinner and movie night…
Or at least until one of our meeting planners, AWs, called Sam to see if she wanted four free tickets to a soccer game that night. Obviously I was game, and with little effort, I managed to talk Lindsey and Jerime into accompanying me.
After 10 minutes of the game, they both knew they'd made the right decision. And after 20 minutes we were all official Sounder fans - we even have a scarf (thank you ASPS for the souvenir).
The Sounders won in the last 6 minutes or so, so it was quite an exciting victory. Naturally, we had to go out and celebrate. This several fun stories, but none should really be shared here (sorry).
Possibly more to come but this is it for now because I wrote this weeks ago...
Day 5
Rhonda tried to set Sam up with the GES man who has been married for a year. When Sam informed her that the dude was married, RoRo replied with “so, what does that matter.”
I love how concerned Rhonda is over our love lives.
Day 6
At about 7 am I got a text from Hill saying that her flight was actually scheduled for 9pm and not 9 am. Not a pleasant wake-up call.
I found out that amongst the 300 other things I am allergic too, I am officially allergic to cardboard. Yes, cardboard. At the beginning of the trip I broke out so bad Judy had to give me like 6 Benedryl. I thought it was a fluke but it happened again today after only a half hour.
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