1:07 p.m. - 02.03.2003
Westward Ho!
It's official. This boy is headed west! Just for a weekend, but this is the furthest west I will have ever been.
I upgraded my travel deal, and spent a bit more than I should be spending right now - but isn't it worth it? What if I never get to that region of the country again - might as well live it up while I'm there.
So much to see, so little time! The 'must-see' list is pretty small, as I haven't really given my attention to my new Seattle book yet. The Music Experience-thingy is a must. And so is meeting itzie and rdg (if they're around) and anyone else out there from Seattle. Other than that - my schedule is wide open.
I was thinking about a Diaryland Seattle Box-Social. I nice turn of the century affair. (No, the turn of the century BEFORE that.) Men can wear straw hats and moustache wax. You know, that dead-sexy barbershop look. For girls, twenty pounds of masochistic underthings that pinch, pull and reduce until your insides are completely rearranged and permanenlty damaged. I know! Fun, right?! (Sometimes great ideas just come to me.....)
We'll all meet and grab a couple of phosphates down at the soda-shop. I'll croon a few Stephen Foster classics, and then a couple of his rare B-sides. We'll shop for some gay new parasols, grap an appertif, call it a night!
The whole affair will be completely innocent, I assure you. A TEAM of chaperones will be in tow. A gaggle of old Amish marms should do fine. When the men get too fresh or randy at our insistance to see a little ankle, they can all break-lose on us with their buggy whips. For my part, I will be carrying a rape-whistle. I hear being so close to the wilderness, Seattle-ites can revert to a wolf-like pack mental. This poor boy could be chewed up in seconds.
I leave friday - and I can't wait. Also - I'm excited to see my hotel. I only have one word for it: swank. It's right downtown. I chose it because there's rumored to be an ice machine on EVERY floor, not just alternating floors. Ritzy, I know. Also, there's a buffet of attraction pamphlets in the lobby that I'm allowed to visit daily - for free! It's so nice, you actually have to pronounce it "swaaAAaaaan-KEY" while shaking your hand as if you just touched something hot.
On the serious side - I will be there on a few weekdays to scope out the job market.
It's more of a business trip really. I'll actively set up contacts in the day, and then butter-up potential employers at night at a bevy of oriental massage parlors. By the time I leave, all of Seattle's corporate elite and it's seedy-underbelly alike will be talking about the mythical man that blew through town one weekend, and all they know is that he went by the name The Big Ragu.
I do look forward to seeing The Emerald City (I read that somewhere) and if you live in the area, feel free to contact me this week, maybe we can grab a drink!
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