A Day in the City with Jeff

Finally a photo of my 3rd housemate, Jeff. I have 4 days off (Fri-Mon), so I decided to get a watch. I haven't worn a watch in 6 years, I don't need it for timekeeping, nor do I want to wear a watch. All I need a second-hand for timing the pulse and respiration rates of my hospice clients. This should not be a big money outlay. Jeff suggested Target, since he's aware of my preference to avoid Wal-Mart. I said, "Take me," with the dual goal of getting to know the public transportation system for the first time, of which Jeff is well acquainted.

On Friday morning, we left at 10. Almost 3 hours later we arrived at Target. It's a 13 mile trip. The highlight of the public transit system is the Light Rail, which we rode in addition to the bus. The stations are modern and full of art, interesting lighting and clean. Also that day, I got a mighty dose of true Seattle weather. It poured, then was sunny, then hailed, then was sunny, then poured, then was sunny and on and on like that. I noticed how much my emotions were tied into the weather! When it poured, I felt down and when the sun came out I thought, "Who cares if a 13 mile trip takes 3 hours!"

Target was a bust. I just couldn't bring myself to buy a made-in-China watch for $20 OR their cheaper model for $14. Jeff suggested a Military Surplus store downtown. Ah downtown. We'd ridden through downtown several hours ago...or was it days? The sun was shining and blue painted the skies so I said, "Let's go!" We walked to the bus stop, waited a long time (again) for the bus, got on and 20 minutes later I was flabbergasted to see that we pulled up beside Target! The same one we left 45 minutes ago! Then we were on our way, to downtown. I could see the tall buildings far in the distance and since it was sunny at that moment, I thought, "how long could this take?" 30 minutes later the tall buildings looked like they hadn't moved. Jeff had no answer. It was pouring and I thought, "we're never going to get home."

Magically we got close enough to downtown and out of desperation, decided to walk to the Military Surplus store. There I saw an authentic military watch from Vietnam, for $400. The sales kid let me hold it. Powerful. The second hand was classy and sharp as a needle. I decided against the Vietnam and went with their cheapest watch for $14. The band bothers my skin, but I decided to ditch the band and hang the watch from my ID badge, which I wear around my neck.

Spending the day with Jeff made it for me. I very much enjoyed his company. We had many laughs and good conversation. Thanks, Jeff.