i just happened to be nowhere near your neighborhood

I’m heading home. Once again, I was the sloppy girl with all the things trotting through the airport to get to my gate, which like most of the gates I need to get to, was the furthest possible away from where I checked in. But I made it! I’m here! I even have plenty of time to kill thanks to a delay, although while I just thanked it, I’d rather it not be working it’s magic because my assigned seat is a good place to be once we are airborne. But for now I sit with the others, trying to keep busy before the real trying to keep busy starts for the nearly 3 hour flight.

I’m sad to leave! It started to feel like home. HOM! I looked at apartments this morning, took the bus, shopped, walked a ton and met Z for lunch and grocery shopping in the market. The weather has been absolutely amazing. Not a cloud in the sky sunny and 50 the whole time. Seattle (C@L!) is really beautiful. Parts of the city remind me of home, others of Chicago with a little New York mixed in. The hills remind me of San Francisco. Which were my favorite part of living in San Francisco. They make for these amazing surprise views. You’d turn a corner and all of a sudden realize you’re on top of the city with a perfect view of the Pacific or the mountains or the forests. It’d stop you in your tracks. Seattle is like that too - - jaw dropping, breath taking, hey honey look at this pretty.

The job interview was intense! It was seven and a half hours long. Seven. And. A. Half. Hours. Long. No breaks. No pop until hour 5. No restroom visits. Even lunch was an interview! By the end I was half dead. I had sadly woken up at 4am that morning thanks to my inner clock still being set to the time of my people. But I made it though. They seemed to really like me. I really liked them. I want to say that I’d be surprised if I didn’t get it, but after this last year, nothing much surprises me anymore. So I’ll wait with baited breath and cross my fingers that I hear sooner than later. I’m due for a break though, and I’m really hoping that it’s this one.

I’ll know by Wednesday.

GULP!

What :I: prayed for while I was in my interview: that my pigtails were neat.

Were they: kinda!

I know most people have touristy stories of scuba diving or parasailing but my touristy story centers around two pigeons. First off, I have to say that Seattle pigeons are HUGE. Apparently mild winters make for good pigeon growing! Also apparent is that pigeon ginormity is directly linked to pigeon IQ – lemme tell you, these birds are brainy. They’re super smart chicken sized hi-breds!

By now you must be wondering what happened! Did I see a pigeon reading the New York Times? Did a pigeon wait on me at Tully’s? Is there a pigeon lecture series that I attended over lunch?

No. It’s better than all that! You see, I was walking to meet Z when I found myself at a stop light with two pigeons. They were standing on the corner, looking straight ahead and waiting. When the light turned for us to go, they hopped down of the curb and walked across the street the whole time staying in the cross walk. When they reached the other side, they hopped up the curb and turned the corner and headed down the hill to the water. Seriously! These were law abiding pigeons. Waiting for the walk sign. Staying in the crosswalk. I seemed to be the only one amazed by this which leads me to believe that this must be normal behavior for Seattle pigeons. The pigeons here surely don’t cross the street like that! It’s that super intelligence I was talking about. They know laws! They can read signs! It’s amazing!

What I wish pigeons could also do: wear hats.

What else: fight crime.

I just want to grab my stuff, wrestle my checked luggage away from the baggage handler and walk outta this airport. I’d grab a cab to downtown and look out the window the whole ride. I’d asked to get dropped off by the market, maybe hook up with Z or L for dinner and magically have an apartment to go home to. Insta-Seattleite -- just add job! Instead though, I’ll go home. I’ll open the store tomorrow morning and put in another 12 hour day for god willing another $250. In a few days, get a call that’ll let me know where I’ll be in a few weeks. If the brick red office with the big window is mine. If the staff I met is the staff I’ll manage. If the cool people with promises of showing me around will stick to their words. If the apartment I looked at this morning will be where I call home.

If.

If.

If.

Wednesday never seemed so far away.