Seattle - More details

The following entry isn't so much for the entertainment of you, the reader, but for me to spew out the random details in my head so I can recall the events that transpired. Then again, this blog is really for myself, but I'm letting you assholes take a peek inside my head. So, enjoy.

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The first part of Saturday was more like my touristy jaunts of the past. Janet, Kevin and I tried out a popular Cuban sandwich place on Fremont then went for a short walk around the gasworks which had a terrific view of the waterfront. We even saw some pirate ships in the distance having a mock battle and firin their cannons. Weird stuff. We weren't too far off from the university of Washington so we checked out the campus. Beautiful hills and scenery but too many hills. I recall ditching a lot of lectures in ucla bc the one hill when walkin back to the dorms. The surroundin area was a bit meh as it seemed to be overrun by boba shops packed with a lot of chinks. We went back to the downtown area and had dinner at the pink door - a suggestion from one of the cute baristas at zeitgeist coffee shop. It was an italian restaurant with a nice decor but still had a fun personality. On some nights they have a trapeze Artist that swings above the dining room. fun stuff.

All week I'd seen advertisements for the gong show -- a public talent show that's held at the crocodile. I watched a few clips from last years show which had a coke snorting Mary poppins, a mongoloid doin slam poetry, musicians, and comedians. Unfortunately our dinner ran long so the show sold out by the time I got there. Despite my attempt to bribe the bouncer in the back I was still shit out of luck. But he kindly pointed me to Shorty's - a bar down the street that had a room full of vintage pinball machines and cheap beers. Finally I found a scene that j could imagine myself a part of. I met a cute punk lesbian named erin and got into an interesting conversation with her for a while before her lipstick lesbian bitch of a gf pulled her away from me. No worries. I was done with my first pitcher and in a talkative mood. I started talking to a latino couple in their late 30s that were obviously into metal. They suggested I check out Funhouse, a bar that usually has some live punk music that was only a 10-minute walk away. I made my way over to the bar, ducking into a few other establishments to take a quick piss, and eventually found the bar. When I opened the door, the scene was a bit different from what I'd expected. Prince was contemplating whether he was like his mother or father and there was a mountain of pizza boxes in one corner. Apparently, the local roller derby was having its afterparty at the bar, so I was once again shit out of luck. I lingered for a while and did a solo shuffle on the dance floor, but eventually made my way back to the hostel. Perhaps it was a case of chronic bad timing, but Seattle just refused to work with me. What can you do? At the very least, I could look forward to Vancouver the next evening.

The next morning I woke up a bit early (before 9am) and took the Bainbridge ferry to see Janet's place in Poulsbo. Poulsbo is a quiet little town where the median age is in their late 40s. It really showed with the quiet and geriatric pace that everything seemed to move. I don't think I'll ever be able to find a better example of the word "quaint." Janet picked me up from the ferry stop and showed me her house, the only one on the block with a nice garden of varied weeds and no lawn. For roughly the same price as my place in Sacramento, you can get a house in Poulsbo with 3 bedrooms, a den/man-cave, and a beautiful deck equipped with a rotting gazebo that isn't safe for lounging. The house was awesome and I could envision myself living there, perhaps later on in life when I'm looking to spend more time indoors. We wrapped up the tour and grabbed lunch and coffee. The clam chowder was pretty awesome and the coffee was on par with all the other good places I tried out while in Seattle (i.e. Vivace, Caffe D'arte, etc.). After lunch we did a bit of antiquing and I saw some random PBR paraphanelia that I was tempted to buy, but decided against. The timing worked out perfectly for me to catch the ferry back to Seattle proper and catch my bus to Vancouver.