Crap and Carp

Yesterday was pretty crappy - it was like a big box of crapola with the built-in sharpener.

(1) I found out that we didn't get the spot we wanted for the franchise; (2) A lawyer called me wanting to know what it was like to work for the partner who laid me off - getting laid off sucked - suuuucked -and thinking about that again felt like salt in a wound; and (3) we got in from Washington late Sunday night so there is still an open suitcase full of clothes in the middle of the living room floor - It's looking like a hoarders episode around here.

I can't think of anything I want that could make it all seem a little bit better, if even just for a moment. Not coffee, not new makeup, not pho.

Here's the ubiquitous Washington Pike Place photos. Those make me feel better.

Pike Place and Partnership Agreements

After the rectal cavity search for the latest round of SBA financing applications, I was also required to draft an operating agreement. As an attorney, and a tax one at that, I have drafted many, many partnership agreements for clients. I do have to say, however, that after being required to draft one for myself - one where the implications really matter - all the lightbulbs went on. I think I finally understand what I was doing all those years. And I really do miss practicing law.

The good news is, it appears that I will be getting quite a bit of partnership taxation work managing the franchise.

Here's another pic from Seattle. This was taken in Pike Place Market. It's not the traditional fish vendor picture, but an Italian diner that was inside. I love diner/restaurant photography. I don't know why - but I just do.

Have a great day.

Trippy Thoughts - Sleepless in Seattle Houseboat

One of my least favorite movies after Born on the Fourth of July (even though it was partially filmed at SMU) is Sleepless in Seattle. However, I could fully appreciate the fine piece of real estate that was the Tom Hanks character's house boat.

So you better believe that I was squealing right along with all the romcom fans when we sailed past the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat on our Union Bay tour. See Green houseboat below. According to the tour guide, that houseboat is on the market for 2.2 million. I must be incredibly warped by the Colorado real estate market because all I could think to myself was, "That sounds so reasonable."

I mean, I don't have 2.2 million but we could all pool our money together and get it. Just think of the great blogging we could do inspired by the view from there! See View Below. The Canon ELPH only does 4X, but you get the idea.

Trippy Thoughts - Victoria BC

It seems entirely unreal that one day I can be looking out at the Puget Sound, whales, waves, mountains and rain with an espresso in hand, and 24 hours later I am back in a cube. I am thoroughly in love with the State of Washington. I did not see one single cube the whole time I was there - as far as I know, there aren't any.

To the extent that Washington was all that I hoped it would be and more, Victoria, BC, was not what I expected at all. It did not help that the trip from Birch Bay to Victoria involved two different forms of public transportation over three hours. (So, 6 hours total for the day.) I like to avoid situations that make me feel like a cow. The scenery from the ferry was absolute heaven, so at least there was that.

Someone told me that Victoria is a lot like Boulder. Ah, NO. While the natives of both dress like they are ready for a hike at a moment's notice, I suspect the Victoria natives do this because they give absolutely no thought or care to the way they look. In contrast, the people of Boulder spend a great deal of money and put a lot of thought into looking like they don't care about the way they look. Also, Victoria is a big city. Boulder is a little town. Victoria is covered in bird poop. It makes me a little nauseated to think of the bottom of my shoes. I do not recall a bird poop issue in Boulder. There is a Canadian Goose poop issue in Denver, but not Boulder.

Accordingly, I have done Victoria and would not rush to go back. However, Seattle/Bellingham/Birch Bay - perfection.

Weekend Treat - Lindt Sea Salt Chocolate

I found this at a grocery store in Seattle. It speaks for itself.

Fambily

It is important to travel with your family for one week a year to remind yourself why you don't live anywhere close to them for the other 51.

I Knew It!

At a Christmas party last year I met a contract attorney who was also in the midst of developing the world's greatest skin care line. This skin care line was her passion, the contracting merely a means to pay for it.

One weekend she took a trip to New Mexico by herself. While she was there, she figured out that developing a skin care line, the world's best, was what she was meant to do with her life. I have spent many weekends in Santa Fe, and have had many margaritas there, but have never had any visions or great enlightenment. Clearly I need to either upgrade or downgrade my tequila.

She also told me that she always knew that she was meant to live in Colorado. I asked her if she had ever been to Colorado before she made that decision and she said she hadn't. She just knew.

Which made me feel a little less crazy about my feeling that I am meant to live in the Pacific Northwest. Now, that feeling did come over some margaritas. I remember the exact night I decided that, and I haven't changed my mind since. It just feels right. And there is no rational basis for me to feel this way because (until this week) I had never been.

So that's kind of an awful lot for a place to live up to. But it did. Being in the Pacific Northwest has only confirmed to me further that I am totally meant to live here. This is where I am meant to be, yet not at all possible. It's a weird thing, that - to live in a place that feels a bit left of center to your very being.

Tomorrow we head from the Cascades back through Seattle and up to coast near the Motherland (Canada).