Travel Diary: Days 5-6 (Seattle, Portland)
You wake up at LAX. You wake up at SFO. You wake up at Portland International Airport. (Yeah, little Chuck Palahniuk reference for you there. I’m heading to his home town; it seemed appropriate.)
How late do I sleep? 10am, baby! Damn, that’s nice. I haven’t slept in like this since Fin was born.
I don’t have anything scheduled today besides my Seattle reading, but my voice is a little scratchy so I decide not to test it against the icy winds and torrential rain. Instead I spend the day catching up on email and browsing the web. I also get some laundry done via the hotel’s service, but then I forget about tipping the guy who delivers it. Dammit! Now I feel guilty.
My reading tonight is at Elliot Bay Books, and I’m excited because when I was here in 2004, my media escort told me that Elliot Bay was the #1 bookstore in Seattle, the place where all the important authors read. Then she drove me to a different store, to do my reading. Now, however, I have clearly entered the big league.
The bookstore has a great room set up with plenty of seating. Then dozens of people arrive and fill these, so they need to unpack more chairs. This is terrific: I was told to expect lower numbers since it’s a weekend reading, but we have 60 people! I chat to a few of them before the event kicks off, and every single person points out that I was wrong to say in my blog that Seattle broke the record for consecutive rainy days: in fact it only got close. Clearly you don’t want to mess with Seattle residents when it comes to what’s what with rain.
The reading itself is awesome; in fact, the Q&A session is probably the best of the tour so far, with great questions and a really fun feel. At one point a guy starts a question with, “If anyone here hasn’t read the book, you should probably block your ears, but…” and I threaten to brain him with a water pitcher if he continues.
I sign books until the store closes at 10pm, during which I get to meet a guy who’s taken the trouble to stick a barcode under his eye, Jennifer Government-style, and a couple who have driven all the way from Vancouver, Canada. One of them, Milla, took a few snaps during the reading, so you can check me out in action.
On the way back to the hotel, Tina, my media escort, is ecstatic over how well the event went. She fusses over me like a proud mother. If I had any hair, I am sure she would be ruffling it.
I call home and speak to Jen, who is particularly pleased with the nice things I wrote about her in a previous blog. Whenever Jen watches an award ceremony on TV where the winner tearfully thanks his wife, Jen gets all mushy. Then she snuggles close to me and says, “When you win something, you should thank me like that.”
I order a late dinner via room service, and, still feeling bad for forgetting to tip the laundry guy earlier that day, massively overtip. There’s already a 20% gratuity added to the price plus a $2 delivery charge, but I give the guy who brings it to my room three bucks as well. I think this means I end up tipping more than the actual cost of the food. I definitely need more practice at this.
On Sunday morning I don’t get up until 11. Wow, it feels good even to type that. Let me do that again. I don’t get up until 11. Ohhhhh yeah.
Today is very relaxed: I have nothing to do but travel. Outside it’s bucketing down rain (*gasp*), but I brave this to wander up to the new Seattle Central Library. (Warning: picture appears to have had blue sky Photoshopped in.) This miracle of architecture looks like they built a tall office tower, then someone sat on it. I like it a lot, especially the sloping floors. I keep hoping that somebody will drop a pen and I’ll get to watch them chase it from one side of the building to the other.
Before I leave for the airport I carefully go through my bag, because at the last airport I got stung $25 for excess baggage. My problem is books: I am now carrying eight of them, mostly gifts from (a) the generous or (b) other writers who want me to comment on their manuscripts. I am tempted to ditch a couple, but know I will be haunted by their eager, innocent faces. So I start cramming stuff into my carry-on.
I’m flying Alaska Airlines to Portland and am alarmed to see that the airplane has propellers. Propellers! Not only that, but when I squeeze on board, I find myself positioned in the exact spot that they would intersect should they both decide to detach from the wing and go spinning into the fuselage. Although I guess if that happened, my precise location probably wouldn’t matter much. I guess I’d be screwed no matter where I was sitting. This is seat 1D, right at the front of the plane, and from here I can also see our captain, a woman who for some reason I decide looks like a Tammy. I watch Tammy carefully, looking for signs of tiredness or suicidal depression, until my staring causes the hairs on the back of her neck to rise and she closes the cabin door.
The seats are tiny and, judging from the smell, the man beside me has a dead cat concealed on his person. Fortunately it only takes about eight seconds to fly from Seattle to Portland. I’m first off the plane, but I have no idea where I’m going. I take a wrong turn after entering the terminal, and when I turn around to backtrack I see a line of passengers blindly following me. Ha! I want to laugh in their confused faces. Okay, not really. I feel a little embarrassed.
I tip so much between the airport and my hotel room that I run out of dollar bills. This may be developing into a psychological condition.
Comments
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Dave (#29)
Location: Seattle
Posted: 6658 days ago
Tim Harrison (#1918)
Location: Seattle, USA
Posted: 6658 days ago
And I for one loved hearing the Aussie accent come out of Seattleite characters. Been I while since I was in your corner of the world, I rather dig the vocals. (And the trains. Wasn't kidding about the trains. We suck at trains in this city.)
Tyler Cooper (#1889)
Location: Olympia, WA
Quote: "Welcome intrigue. Welcome sophistication. Welcome Blak."
Posted: 6658 days ago
Don't worry about the propeller planes. I use them every few months traveling between Washington and Idaho. They're loud, bumpy, and seemingly unsafe, but they get you from A to B. ;)
Barry Mitchell (#1001)
Location: Saukville, Wisconsin
Quote: ""A hamster's like a small camel" - Ben Katz"
Posted: 6658 days ago
Thanks for these blog entries... it's been fun virtually tagging along.
Hobbie (#1359)
Location: Cornwall, England
Quote: "There was a little man in his hair!"
Posted: 6658 days ago
Brittany O. (#1688)
Location: Montana
Quote: "people are kind of overrated "
Posted: 6657 days ago
kolibri (#2121)
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posted: 6657 days ago
Colm O'Brien (#2140)
Location: Ireland
Posted: 6657 days ago
(Also, if there are 1843 members on this site, why am I member # 2140? Hmm...)
Colm O'Brien (#2140)
Location: Ireland
Posted: 6657 days ago
shabooty (#637)
Location: D.C./V.A/M.D.
Quote: "I will shake your foundation. I will shake the f**cking rafters. Nobody'll be the same -Danny Bonaduce ....& go visit my blog @: http://www.shabooty.com"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Phill Sacre (#1822)
Location: London, UK
Quote: "Computers are like air conditioners. Both stop working, if you open windows."
Posted: 6657 days ago
Tom Foley (#1008)
Location: Seattle
Posted: 6657 days ago
Nathan (#4)
Location: Seattle - USA
Quote: ""I have a fictional novel." Sure you do, make sure you call it that to an agent!"
Posted: 6657 days ago
True story.
Brian Farrey (#1940)
Location: Minnesota, USA
Quote: ""Excuse me, would you mind not farting while I'm trying to save the world?"--Doctor Who"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Grant Henninger (#1438)
Posted: 6657 days ago
Bony Tony (#1343)
Location: United States
Posted: 6657 days ago
Emily (#609)
Location: New York
Quote: "When in doubt, fuck it. When not in doubt, get in doubt!"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Hope your trip continues to be great, and I hope you enjoy this side of the country!
-Em
Emily (#609)
Location: New York
Quote: "When in doubt, fuck it. When not in doubt, get in doubt!"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Just to clarify.
Adam (#24)
Location: Morristown, Indiana
Quote: "Why do I blog? Simple, because Max Barry blogs."
Posted: 6657 days ago
TIPPING?
When I think of tipping, I think of Resevior Dogs. You can learn a lot about tipping by watching the first scene of the film. Only tip if someone else is paying for the food.
-adam
PS Abe Vigoda is still living!
Colette (#324)
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Quote: ""The good Earth â we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy" -- Kurt Vonnegut"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Maybe I'll catch you next time.
Incidentally, if I pay for postage, will you sign your book for me?
Tyler Cooper (#1889)
Location: Olympia, WA
Quote: "Welcome intrigue. Welcome sophistication. Welcome Blak."
Posted: 6657 days ago
Eric (#1761)
Location: "The seat of Capitalist Power
Posted: 6657 days ago
Rod McBride (#688)
Location: Gardner, KS
Quote: "www.MidwestRockLobster.blogspot.com"
Posted: 6657 days ago
Chris (#2156)
Location: Melbourne, Aus
Quote: "somebody said something once. i can't remember what it was."
Posted: 6657 days ago
i don't really have anything to say, because i'm not in america n' stuff. I just thought i'd better stop being voyeuristic and step out from behind that bush you keep next to your bedroom window...
okay, that's a bit creepy.
SaxSymbol73 (#2157)
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posted: 6656 days ago
In the US, many phones have a speed-dial for emergency programmed assistance preset to 9 (corresponding to the emergency number 9-1-1). It is sometimes the only key that isn't "locked" when the rest of the keypad is; in case of emergency, you should be able to easily press one key. The problem is when a fat American ass sits on the phone, pressing that one key, and ringing for help unnecessarily.
We American's are a difficult people to engineer products for, given our penchant for stupidity, illiteracy and obesity. I'm not sure how other companies manage this problem, but that's why it is the way it is in the US.
Bushra (#36)
Location: Fremont, California
Quote: "www.caffeinatedmuslim.com"
Posted: 6656 days ago
Emily (#1135)
Location: ceruleantown.com
Quote: "The sky is falling..."
Posted: 6656 days ago
Tyler Cooper (#1889)
Location: Olympia, WA
Quote: "Welcome intrigue. Welcome sophistication. Welcome Blak."
Posted: 6656 days ago
Julie Totsch (#1341)
Location: Racine, WI
Quote: ""The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them." - Robert Frost"
Posted: 6654 days ago
Trespassers Will (#2174)
Location: Puyallup, WA
Quote: ""...and if I laugh at any mortal thing, 'tis that I may not weep" - Lord Byron"
Posted: 6649 days ago
During the reading at Elliot Bay Books, you apologized for reading Seattle-based characters in an Aussie accent. I wanted to tell you not to worry. We're readers; we're good at suspending disbelief.
Glad you got home safe to the wife and Fin. Come back to Seattle soon!
Julie Totsch (#1341)
Location: Racine, WI
Quote: ""The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them." - Robert Frost"
Posted: 6646 days ago
Further, thanks for the cool inscription! All my friends are jealous, even though they haven't read any of your books! :-)
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