What’s your sleep number?

Well, this has been the worst of times, the best of times. The project has gone stunningly well. Um, SCARY well. Servers and workstations have been behaving in an orderly fashion, bending to my every whim, leaving me in slight disbelief. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, we are actually staying and working in Tukwila - let’s just say that Tukwila is not prettiest girl at the dance. My hotel looks over the saddest little apartment complex called the Ponderosa Gardens. I’m still trying to figure out where the damned garden is.

However, last night, we did venture out to Seattle and made it to the waterfront to eat at a place called Elliott’s. Their tagline is “Elliott’s. Where Seattle goes for seafood”. While I was not entirely convinced that the masses of Seattle actually would endure the traffic, parking, freeway noise, and tourists to eat at this place, I will say the food and service was excellent. I was a little sad that I had to forgo the oysters, since that is their specialty (apparently, oysters are not an acceptable part of the little Freeloader’s food pyramid. Picky little guy.) We spent a little time walking along the waterfront and visited a place called the Ye Old Curiosity Shop which really DID house some old curiosities. They had freakin’ mummies in this place, which was quite cool. Cool enough that I felt compelled to spend a little money in a place that would offer me a glimpse of a 3-legged chicken, a 2-headed calf, an 8-legged pig and a mongoose wrapped up in a cobra’s coil as if in attack mode. Seriously – this stuff was worthy of Average Jane’s mantel! Surely the cost of a sweatshop sweatshirt was worth the price of admission?

The bad thing about this trip (or good thing, I guess) is that it has firmly driven home my decision to quit early and stay home during the summer. When I am bored senseless this summer from not working and no longer being so busy, I will use this trip as my touchstone back to reality. I am tired of being with negative people that do nothing but gripe about the “Fed this” and “the Fed that”. I am tired of the gossip. I am tired of spending 13 plus hours a day with someone who I have little in common with and makes comments on my eating habits. My goal this summer is to work in some optimism and simple happiness back into my life. I need to shed this shroud of negativity that has been draped over my shoulders for the past 22 months.
Finally, I am happy to report that I am actually a bit sleepless in Seattle (Come on! If you were here, you KNOW you would want to type those very words yourself.) The 2 hour time difference has really thrown me for a loop - I am sleepy when the sun is still up and am waking up while it is still dark. Furthermore, the pillows and the bed are a very mushy so I have been tossing and turning throughout the night. I can’t wait to get back to my firm bed and flat pillows. Ooooooo and the cats - the ultimate bedtime accessory for sleeping comfort.