December - 2007

Dear Everyone in Bellingham Who Made Me Promise to Keep In Touch....:

I apologize for being so late getting your vicarious lives going. You try to move the parts of your life that will fit in an Acura MDX and a Dodge Dakota across the Sound to an 800 square foot apartment. Over Thanksgiving. While you're at it, start a new job in Seattle, do all your Christmas shopping, sell your house, and find a new hair stylist.

You're right. The hair was the hardest part.

December was a hectic but fun month. I live in Suquamish (near Poulsbo) in my mom's basement apartment. I have a living room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen all on my own floor of the house. And a view of Agate Passage. See photos. Living with my mom (retired) comes with the added bonus of full time dog care, and company for Nike in the form of Mona, the 500 pound Beagle. Oops. I meant "50 pound Beagle". Sorry Mona!

My commute is pretty simple:

• 6:25 a.m. - Drive half a mile to the park and ride. Get car very muddy at parknride. Wade through mud to wait with 30 other people in the dark for the bus.
• 6:30 a.m. - Get on bus. Check personal email via BlackBerry.
• 6:50 a.m. - Get off bus at ferry terminal. Follow approximately 5 million other people from a dozen other buses onto ferry. Try not to make "moo" noises. Try to find a seat on the ferry.
• 7:05 a.m. - Ride ferry to Seattle. Log on via laptop and Blackberry modem to work. Check work email.
• 7:30 a.m. - Get off ferry with 5 million other people (still not mooing). Walk through the pedestrian walk-way under the Viaduct, say hi to the guy who lives there. Note that he's now got a folding chair. If its raining, skirt around ginormous puddle in front of Cilantro restaurant on Marion that takes up the whole sidewalk. Try not to get hit by a bus on Marion while negotiating the puddle. Smile and say hi to the "Smile" sign guy at First and Marion. Try not to get pushed in front of bus on First while waiting for light to change.
• 7:35 a.m. - Cross First. Break out crampons, carabiners and rope and climb hill between First and Second on Marion. Note - stay on south side of Marion, the cobblestones by the Federal Building on the north side are deadly.
• 7:40 a.m. - Cross Marion, cross Second, go up two sets of escalators to the lobby of the Wells Fargo building. If necessary, pause at Starbucks in the lobby for a grande non-fat no-foam latte. Take elevator (south bank) to 16th floor, make way through the office expansion construction to finally arrive at cubicle at 7:45 a.m. (Sooner if you skip the Starbucks detour). Whew! Made it!

Reverse the process and repeat to get home, only the bus ride takes twice as long due to Christmas light display on Bainbridge Island which everyone slows down for as if they've never seen it before.

More tomorrow on December, the job, the people, and the city!