A Word to the Wise...

On my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, I went to Mt Rainier and then drove back to I-5 and found a hotel to crash in for the night (roadside hotels, don't get me started...ugh!). The next day was my last day before flying home and I was planning to drive up to SeaTac (where the airport is located), get a hotel for the night (or as much of a night as I would get...flight out was at 5:15 am), and then drive into downtown Seattle and check out the market again.

All went according to plan the next morning, I checked out and hit the road heading north to SeaTac on I-5. That's when something unexpected happened...I took an exit. I saw a sign for a state park and, for some reason, I found myself getting off the interstate. As I was driving the 2 - 3 miles to the park, heading down a 50 mph two lane highway that just happened to be deserted, I came upon a deer just standing at the side of the road looking at me. I slowed my car to a stop and looked at the deer...and the deer continued to look at me. Then a fawn came out of the woods and joined the adult, which I now took to be its mother. I looked at them and they looked back at me as if to say, "Hello! Glad you could make it." As soon as I picked up my camera, which was sitting on the passenger's seat, both deer ran off into the woods. It was after this somewhat surreal experience that I really started to wonder why I wasn't still heading north...why had I taken that exit?

I continued on to the park, got out of my car, and proceeded to walk around. It was the kind of park that I LOVE! There was a forest of big, fragrant pine trees with trails running through it, campfires were permitted so there was a scent of woodsmoke in the air, and right in the middle of the park was a beautiful lake...Deep Lake. I wandered around, just absorbing and enjoying all of the sights, sounds, and scents...and taking lots of pictures, of course. My wanderings took me past a multitude of picnic tables scattered throughout the woods, but I kept wandering. A few hours later, I decided I wanted to sit and read in this beautiful place, so I continued through the woods until I came to one of the tables. As I sat, I looked down at the table and there, scratched into its surface was a message. It said, "Call everything by its name." So, I put my book away and sat there contemplating this message. Soon I was pondering life, the universe, and everything...and my place in it.

It was at that point that something, which had been building all during this trip, came to fruition. At a random picnic table, in a park I wasn't supposed to be at, sitting next to Deep Lake, staring at a mysterious carved message, I found me...and more amazingly...I found I love me. That's right, flaws, issues, and all...I love me. Still sounds corny saying it (or writing it in this case), but its true and, while not much time has passed since, my life has already been changed for the better because of it.

While I'm still not sure what that message means...I do have some ideas, but still not sure...one thing of which I am convinced is that it was specifically meant for me.

Just How Slow is Slow?

So...on my way driving from Redmond, WA to Portland, OR, I had to drive on a small road on which some construction was happening. If I am remembering correctly, the right lane was closed and traffic was being diverted around the constuction by using a turn lane (in other words, the traffic in the opposite direction was not being stopped). As I came up on the construction area, I saw the usual signs...the ones that say something about construction and being prepared to stop. I approached the actual construction, where there were actual construction workers and I saw a guy standing somewhat in the road with the infamous "slow" sign. I had already slowed somewhat and proceeded to slow more as I passed him. There was nothing in the road and I was now coasting with my foot ready on the brake. The guy holding the sign started to give me the universal construction worker sign to slow down by flapping one arm rapidly up and down. Next thing I know, another construction worker leaps into the road in front of my car, causing me to come to a complete stop (which I did, by the way, without any trouble or screeching brakes) and he then proceeds to take pictures of me, my car, and my license plate...as if to say "Ha, ha! we have you now." I don't understand what the point of this exercise was...the sign said only "slow" and I was already going what I considered a slow speed (20 to 25 miles under the posted speed limit). Was I supposed to know that "slow" actually meant slower than I was going? Does anyone know...just how slow is slow?

Luke, I am your father...

On the advice of my psychic, my therapist, and my better judgement, I am in the Pacific Northwest on a spontaneous vacation. I flew out here with just a car reservation with the idea that I would drive around and see what I could see.

Yesterday I was in Seattle and I stopped in at The Pike, a local brewpub. I ended up talking with a fellow patron and we got into a bit of a disagreement. We were discussing wine (yes, yes, I know...talking wine in a brewpub, how snooty...patootie even) and the ranking of Virginia as a wine producing state came up...which is where we disagreed. I said it was in the top 3 and he, a professional in the local regional wine industry, said it was not even in the top 10...turns out we were both wrong, it actually ranks 5th. After we resolved our debate, he mentioned that I should check out Woodenville, where there are many good wineries (and a good brewpub). After we parted ways, I tried to look Woodenville up on my GPS but had no luck.

Later on in the day, I visited the Space Needle and on my way out, I noticed one of those racks that holds tourist brochures. Lo and behold...there was a brochure advertising the Woodinville wine country. That explains my difficulty, I had been spelling it wrong. So I decided to head north, check into a hotel, and visit the wineries the next day. The back of the brochure listed 3 places to stay near the wineries so I figured I was all set. My first choice was a B&B, so I drove to it thinking they were sure to have a room on a Wednesday night. However, when I got there, the door was locked and I just got an answering machine when I called. Giving up on it, I picked my 2nd choice and, being a little smarter now, called them to check their availability. Wouldn't you know it, they were sold out. Ah well...last choice, a Marriott, it is.

I drove to the Marriott and checked in. It is located in a kind of town center, somewhat similar to the Reston town center with lots of stores and office buildings. This morning I went for a run and at one point I stopped and checked out a map of what was in the center. Turns out Microsoft has a major presence right here...coincidence? act of God? the breath of the universe pushing me along in the right direction? I don't know, but for an out of work software engineer, finding out that the largest software company in the world is 2 doors down from you seems somewhat miraculous. So...I am going to get cleaned up from my run and then pop on over and ask if they could use my services. I figure the worst that could happen is they call security (not like I haven't been there before) and...who knows?...I could end up with one of those cushy jobs on a death star.