I rolled over and fell asleep instead.
Honestly, I don't feel too guilty about missing out on hiking this weekend. I've gone on 3 hikes in the past 4 weekends and forsaken possible co-worker bonding time to do so. (And, as seen in the picture below, perhaps my dignity.)
What can I say -- I was ecstatic that I could climb 4,000 feet in 4 miles.
Luckily for me, when I finally awoke a couple of hours later, it was overcast once again outside. Seattle's weather is just as unpredictable as the locals forecast. One of my corps members, Fadumo, told me that most mornings start out nice and sunny and then by 10 or 11 it's cloudy and spitting rain. By the time the sun sets, the clouds want to go away again. It's a pattern I find myself getting more and more used to, much like my pattern of practically free-basing a couple of cups of coffee with a splash of half and half about 10 minutes after waking up. I never thought I would actually enjoy big people coffee, but in my currently non-thermostat controlled house, it's nice to have a warm mug for my hands and my belly.
Eventually I got myself together and headed out for Seattle Center. I lost my bus pass and ID last night (oops) and managed to find my ID after searching the dance floor and talking with the club owner, JD, who was searching for "Tennessee" for the past 25 minutes. At any rate, my bus pass was gone so I decided to walk the 3 miles to the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (EMP/SFM). Seattle Center holds lots of different attractions -- EMP/SFM, the Space Needle, a monorail, cheesy carnival attractions, huge fountain, etc. etc., and today with a special coupon from the Smithsonian Magazine, you could get into the EMP/SFM for free. As an Americorps member, I have to say that I'm getting pretty good at finding things to do around town that are cheap to free, mainly because if I want to be entertained, I have to do it at a very minimal price.
The inside of the EMP -- "If VI was IX", inspired by none other than Jimi Hendrix.
Going in was way more rewarding than simply taking pictures of the place. Right now they have a Jimi Hendrix exhibit as well as one documenting the importance of the Seattle music scene in the past 100 years. (Jimi Hendrix grew up in the Central District, the neighborhood next to mine. There used to be a huge jazz scene down there, but it's mostly residential and fairly shady now. And the Wailers and Heart were all founded here! AND in the 80's posting signs about shows, punk ones in particular, was banned in Seattle?!!?) But the neatest part was seeing the timeline of Hendrix against everything else that was going on in the world -- Vietnam, the civil rights and feminist movements, the remnants of McCarthy -- put me back in freshman year in Trabold's FLA II class. I miss it. More than anything, it made me wonder what is going to define this past decade -- 9/11 for sure, possibly Iraq, rising oil price along with a declining global economy, and our ridiculous President, and if what my employers wish comes to pass, community organization and citizen action to promote democracy. It's disappointing that I couldn't truly think of something amazing and defining in a positive manner that would come out of the past ten years. Suggestions, anyone? Perhaps rise of the internet memes?
SFM managed to warm my heart after learning hooks to various popular songs in the ("Walk This Way", "Zero", "Rock Lobster".) I grew up watching Star Wars and Star Trek on a fairly regular basis, and got used to Ross sitting around reading Issac Asimov and Frank Herbert while I tried to annoy him with my dolls and tea sets. (Yes, I owned both as a child -- I hope that comment didn't throw you off guard!) As such, I have this ingrained love of sci-fi in my heart, and just visiting the place made me feel almost at home. One traveling exhibit is entitled ROBOTS, which is exactly what it advertises -- a case full of collectible robots.
The museums close earlier on Saturdays, which is disappointing, but I decided to head over to downtown to perhaps grab a slice of pizza and shop for a much needed larger purse. Now, I've never been a purse kind of gal -- I am prone to losing things, and when all my important things are in one place, I get scared that I will lose all of them at once. Plus, it's another thing to coordinate with an outfit (and despite my XX chromosomes, I really don't like trying to match things up in the morning) and it's tough to find one that is suitable for all occasions (gym, bar hopping, casual date.) Naturally, I didn't find one to my liking or price range, even in the new H&M on 6th and Pike. Until a couple of weeks ago, Seattle didn't have one H&M, and now we have two. Joy!
On my walk to downtown, I passed by Belltown, a pretty yuppie and broseph-filled area of town at night. I was aware of its reputation, particularly on the weekends, but Friday night I figured I should give it a try. Since my co-workers like it, I probably would as well. While the company was great, the locale was just as sketchy as I assumed. Picture typical clubs in movies – curvy, wildly-colored couches, brass chandeliers, the stench of Axe and Curve permeating the air, the thump of radio rap with the occasional DJ scratch, and guys persisting on dancing with you and your friends. I guess that’s why most people go out to clubs like this – to get their grind on – but that’s just not my scene. Perhaps I should have expected as much out of a place named Twilight. Dancing with the girls was fun though, and even though we visited another place called Belltown Billiards (picture Two Keys, except filled with people in their mid 20’s-mid 30’s,) and as such I still felt mildly uncomfortable. I attempted to picture myself at a sorority or fraternity function, but at least at those you generally know who is going to be there and are generally safe from being chatted up by someone you don’t particularly want to talk with. I doubt I’ll be back, but it was nice to experience something outside my comfort zone.
After shopping around downtown I decided to head back home for the night via bus. The splurge to not have to walk back up Capitol Hill was totally worth it, particularly since my bus passes right by a Trader Joe’s, which is a good excuse to stop by and grab the essentials – bananas, chips and pineapple salsa, fresh spinach, milk, sliced turkey, a bottle of 3 buck Chuck, and Clif bars – before catching the next bus home. All in all, I loved spending a lazy night in after a decent walk around town.
The next morning I awoke to hammering outside my house, despite it being the day of rest. Luckily, I was already planning on visiting a church. Yes, a part of me misses the routine of a weekly service, and this past week I did some research and found a pretty liberal denomination that I felt would fit with me – Universalist Unitarian. It’s known as a fairly liberal faith, accepting wisdom from all different worldly religions, and is one of the few demoninations to declare their support of LGBT attendance and ordination. However, I was a bit scared that it would be a crazy hippie church. After a quick shower and an episode of The West Wing, I got out of the door in time to make it to the 11:15 service. The Reverend Alicia Grace spoke today with inspiring stories about her experience at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. She met one seemingly closed-off pastor from the East Coast, a woman who was fired from her church in Nigeria for publicly declaring her support of birth control, and a Catholic nun who expressed she was all “churched-out” and was planning to attend the Church of the Closed Eyelids on Sunday morning. She mentioned that UUs don’t actively proselytize, particularly regarding “saving” people and leading them to the Lord, which was a relief. The warmth of having a faith atmosphere and routine was nice to have in my life again, and I know that I’ll be attending again soon. Hopefully I’ll start to find more and more of a routine as I continue to settle into the Northwest lifestyle.
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