it's another beautiful day in sunny Seattle!!!

Seriously, I said that to Bill a lot when we were fully engrossed in The 4400, because I think it rained like twice in 3 seasons. But honestly, I've only been here twice, but it's been BEAUTIFUL both times. 70s, not a cloud in the sky. Seriously, check it out:


Weird, right? OK, so, I flew in on Friday. Friday was CRAZY. I woke up at 7:30 and pretty much ran around like the proverbial beheaded chicken all damn day. I was abnormally scatterbrained and had to reopen my locked suitcase to add something I forgot at least 5 times. (I still forgot stuff, in case you're wondering. Like mascara. The hell?) There was a wreck on 35 and I was really cutting it close at the airport. Did you know you have to check your bag 40 minutes early now instead of 30? I got in at 42 minutes. I know this for reasons I will describe shortly.

When I pulled into my parking spot at Express Parking Lot South, I opened my car door and as I usually do, propped it open with my foot so I could lean over and collect my purse out of the passenger seat. The wind grabbed the door and FLUNG it open with great force, right into the car next to me. I shrieked and jumped out to see if it left a mark. It totally did. (Hmmm, I hope that person doesn't read my blog.) I cursed, and right at that moment, the shuttle bus drives up behind my car, honking. People are waiting. I am late. I run back to open my trunk and get him my bag, then back around to the front to lock my doors and grab my purse. My phone starts ringing, and I hustle myself onto the shuttle bus, leaving my Chik-Fil-A trash in the front seat, thinking about how my car was going to stink when I got back in 8 days. And that my car might be mangled from the pissed off person whose car door I scratched with my car door.

So, I checked my bag with 2 minutes to spare, the agent tells me, breezed through security, and walked right onto my airplane, without even time to look at the departures board. Boo. It's THEN when I realize I left my iPod in my car. Probably in the front seat or the cup holder. Grrrr. No music for 8 days. Not to mention the fact that I probably left it ON. And that someone, possibly the angry guy with the scratched door, will probably steal it. Then I decided it would actually be pretty cool if someone stole it, because I really need a new one. But it would be best if that person stole it without actually damaging my car in any way. Hmm, maybe I left it unlocked, too.

Anyway, I finally got to the airport in Seattle. I flew in a day and a half early to hang out with my friend Breanna. We had Friday night and Saturday all planned out, and then it turned out Bree had to work on Saturday, so we were most excited about our dinner plans on Friday- we had picked out the restaurant and we were going just the two of us, because no one else from work would be in town yet that we would feel obligated to invite. Well.

My bag didn't go to Seattle with me. I couldn't figure out how they misplaced my bag on a direct flight from Dallas to Seattle, but lost it was. The "baggage irregularity" agent assured me it was more than likely on the next flight, since I cut it so close with my 42-minute window, which arrived in an hour and a half. They would shuttle it to my hotel, so I should have it in a couple of hours. No biggie. I'm staying that night with Breanna, anyway, so we just checked in, got a snack, and decided to wait for my bag and go to dinner around 8.

About 7, I call American for an update. Turns out, my bag got misplaced on the way to Seattle from Dallas. Ibym "got misplaced on the way"... "got sent to BOSTON." Yeah. Boston. Which, last I checked, was pretty much on the other side of the country. This was disconcerting, since Bree & I can't go to our fancy restaurant in my cutoffs and sneakers. Not to mention the fact that I have no toothbrush or hair potions or clean underpants. So, disgruntled, we decided to go get me some necessities, and ran smack into a work person. No avoidance possible. *sigh*

(Positive note to this dilemma: American Airlines bought Jamie socks, underwear, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and a whole mess of drugstore toiletries.)

Saturday, I had planned to spend with Shelly, since Bree had to work. Despite the fact that I was grouchy that my hair looked like crap and I didn't have my own makeup or perfume or clothes, it was the FUNNEST DAY! We went to the Science Center to see the dead sea scrolls. That was pretty awesome, to see what tiny puzzle pieces of literature they found. It's such an important part of history and religion, so it was pretty amazing. However, I would be lying if I told you that I didn't have more fun at the rest of the Center. It was the coolest place for a kid (or a science nerd, natch) to ever be. I wanted to move in. There's a planetarium and dinosaurs and some high-powered waterguns that you shoot at targets, and snakes and naked mole rats, and a place where you can test your own vision and hearing and weight and blood pressure and strength, and a whole interactive room full of things to do with holograms and perspective and 3-D vision and sounds. It was frakkin' awesome. We took a virtual space walk and Shelly did the weather and I sat at a big table. I loved it. Then we met Shelly's roomate Heidi for a lovely lunch on the bay, and then Shel and I went on a ferryboat!!! Man. The weather was gorgeous and Shelly and I got along really well without feeling like we had to talk the whole time... and it was just really really nice. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up on a wonderful Saturday.

I went back to the hotel and still no bag. Also? Their front desk computers were down so I couldn't check into my room. I trudged back to Bree's room and also? The internet was down. [Gob]COME ON!!![/Gob] I called American and sat on hold for 45 minutes for the lady to not tell me ANYTHING. Except that I had checked my bag 42 minutes before my flight. No sh*t. It was so very frustrating. I pretty much grumbled and whined until bedtime. Then I finally got my bag at 6am on Sunday, and to my glee, everything in the top half was WET. GAH.

Anyway, Breanna and I finally got to have our dinner last night, and I've been to 3 Tom Douglas restaurants in 2 days. Mmmmmm, food makes me HAPPY~

Anyway, I haven't told you anything about work yet because frankly, I couldn't care less, but it's going to kick up a notch tomorrow and Bree is leaving for another show so I might be getting some additional stress. Once she's gone I will have to focus my next few evenings on the books, and blogging about the fantastic food I've been eating.

I'm nodding off as I type... more tomorrow.