Yay!
F2F5: I forget that everyone isn't us
Plan what to do, what to wear (you can never go wrong with a corset), and get ready for the next BuffistaCon.
Yay Hugs!!
Shir, will email as well. But what day are planning to come to Olympia?
Looks like Shir's flight had to do one go-around, but has now landed at Sea-Tac.
Buffistas! I’m so terribly sorry for neglecting the part of letting you that I arrived to PT Townsend alive and well. I really have very little idea how I made the leg from SF to here - it is all a blur of flights and airports and looking at electronic boards and signs. After over 40 hours of being awake, I just showered and collapsed to bed, and woke up at 4:28 am because my body a) hates me b) incredibly used to 6 hours of night sleep. I am so sorry I didn’t let you know, I was too exhausted to think of anything else that wasn’t sleeping, eating, and showering.
Ha! Literally time for hug, mutual glasses admiring, and Shir had to. But we met! Triumph!
-t - thank you so much for coming to meet me, and I’m truly sorry it was only for 5 minutes. In the end, of course, boarding was delayed by 20 minutes, after I fast walked like woah to get to the gate relatively on time. It was lovely to see you, and thank you for making the effort.
But what day are planning to come to Olympia?
Good question, and yes, it really is time to see what my plans are for Seattle. I'll check with the friend I'm staying with and get back to you. Buffistas in Seattle - would you like to meet? If so, we should plan this in the next day or two.
My travels went really well and quite smoothly, and I even got upgraded in the last flight from SFO to Seattle to economy plus. Oh, leg space, where have you been in my 12 hours flight from Tel Aviv to Newark. I think I just shut down the “you’re abroad!” feeling of wonder, and treated it as a quest to get from A to B to C (to D, to E...) in an alternative universe that is a lot more ordered than what I’m used to but in different language. Truthfully, I’m still trying to understand it all. It’s been a sequence of small miracles that allowed me to come here in the first place, and I’ve yet to grok it. I’m also proud of myself to complete the quest from Jerusalem to PT Townsend smoothly, sleep-deprived as I was and when it was pouring rain in Seattle (I had a 8 minute walk, which turned to 15 because I stopped three times to check the map. I was so tired, I had to turn around where I was standing in the direction of the map to see where to head to match my location and position, because I wasn't able to visualize this).
I found that a lot of Americans are very polite and helpful. TSA has some tight security, but in all airports everything was so efficient, and a lot of people were glad to answer my “excuse me, how do I get to...?” questions, I was quite impressed. Sadly, in my zombie-mode, I wasn’t able to show a lot of it back to the man who asked me some questions about the light rail in Seattle - where it gets and if there was only one and etc. (wasn’t rude to him, I was just “ummm... I think so. Yes” to his questions, and my answers were based on the instructions I was given).
I’m unsure if it’s due to the fact that we were all locked together in a flying tin can, but people here are genuinely nice. Israelis have the tendency to bark back at you, even if (and when) they mean well. Politeness saves a lot of energy (unless you’re in Israel). Maybe it’s the full body scanner, but this time I didn’t get the Extra Questions Time with Security, and it was really nice. As little minded as it might seem, this, along with a pinch of denial, make me approve it.
So I’m up, and excited and grateful and can’t believe just how beautiful everything is here (and far from realizing that I’m actually here. A part of me expects to wake up in my bed soon. It all seems like a dream). This will get posted later as I don’t have the password for the wi-fi and have to wait till my host will wake up, but I’m watching the sunrise (yesterday I saw it in Newark airport, and the day before I saw the sunset from the the way to Jerusalem to Tel Aviv airport). I’ll get a local number today, and will send it over to all who will want it. Though I can’t fully grasp yet that I’ve made it here, or how, I can’t wait for what this trip will bring, and meeting y’all. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll realize it’s not a dream (continued...)
( continues...) or alternate reality.
So I’m up, and excited and grateful and can’t believe just how beautiful everything is here
You did pick a really pretty place for your first stop! One of the best things about your schedule is that you have a significant variety of the US landscape to experience. One place is not at all like the other.
I am hoping to take a road trip to NOLA. I don't have my act together enough to fly to one of the other destinations and New Orleans is drivable. I will be on the west coast of Florida for Mother's Day on the 11th and it is maybe a 12 hour drive (800 miles) from Mom's house. I would still have to do some work during the day, but not ALL the time.
It would be wonderful to make this happen. First we would love to meet you and hug in person, second I could use the break!
Yay Shir! I definitely hope to see you while you're here--I'm only in Seattle Monday/Tuesday, then I'm traveling again.
Hurray! We are excited to see you! Let me know if you end up picking up a US compatible phone so we have your number.
LAistas, I've only heard from two of you so far about the cookout for Shir next Saturday--please RSVP if you plan to come. Profile addy good. Cookout will go 6 - whenever.
I now have a local number, and I sent it to a bunch of folks. If I forgot to add you to the email, let me know.
Laura, it'll be wonderful if I'll get to see you in NOLA. There's so much I heard about this city, but very little I know of. I hardly even have a visual to go with it. And PT Townsend, as my lovely host here, do expand the heart and soul. I needed that vacation so bad.
Gar and meara - I will also email, but since my host will work all day tomorrow, I'm wondering if I'll be able to meet the two of you and be back in Seattle around 19:00ish. Is it doable?