Sleepless in Seattle

Well I wouldn't exactly say that it was a sleepless night, I was staying at the W and their beds are amazing.

I'm in Seattle for a design kickoff meeting for a new high rise residence that will hopefully define sustainable living for the Seattle area. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend an ecodesign charrette, to flesh out the overall intent for the building as a whole. It may sound easy, fun, treehuggerish, but truth be told it can be difficult to shed your normal modes of thinking to push beyond and normal and acceptable to explore new regions, but it is what I live for.

On Seattle, what can I say, it was wet they say they see the sun here, a lot in fact, something about a well kept secret, but sure as heck didn't see it. I've spent a year in England, days in the rain at camp, braved four rain seasons in LA (hey it's LA, rain is a big deal), but it was Seattle that finally broke me: I now own an umbrella. It was this blowing localized rain, it seemed as if on one block it was raining, not the next, and the following it was coming down horizontal. After walking around for almost an hour in the rain, taking shelter in one of many Starbucks which seem to adorn every corner, I caved, walked into a Walgreens and bought an umbrella for $15.

I have to say my umbrella skills in the wind are pretty good, I only had it invert on me once, I didn't poke out anyone else's eye, though nearly my own and I skillfully lifted it up and over fellow walkers with the finesse of a master.

Seattle may have won this battle, but I shall return again, the war is far from over.