Saturday had me in a regular post-grad funk, so to clear my head I suggested to J that we get outdoors on Sunday. He's a bit of a spider monkey, so he wanted to exercise his rock gym membership, but I'm not so inclined when a day pass costs me $20. Instead, we drove up to the Alpental ski area off exit 52 near Snoqualmie pass and hiked three miles in to Snow Lake. It was supposed to rain all weekend but the weather cooperated. Sunday wasn't clear like Saturday and it was, shall we say "ass" cold up at the lake, but it was a nice outing. The perfect thing to get me back in the mindset for another good 'ol go at pitching myself like a personals ad to the workforce. On the plus side, there are a lot of things I can see myself doing in the Seattle area once I focus a bit. On the down side, it's hard to pinpoint where to get started doing these things. But I've got a good lead or two.
( Continue...)
At the moment, I'm working a non-committed part-to-full time brainless job at J's workplace. Mostly, I run deliveries for the company, a downtown Seattle business that makes signs. I do other work around the shop emptying garbage, sweeping, and tidying up and I don't mind it. I even like building signs and manning the pressure washer. Doing something hands-on and semi-creative that requires so LITTLE brainpower is sometimes a welcome respite after a lifetime of education. Not that I can see myself being a "Shop Boy" long term.
It's the driving that I really love. I spend most of the days picking up and dropping off items for the company, running sundry errands. I get paid hourly and per the mile, which is a nice perk considering that I've driven 92 miles for work just Friday and today. The best part, though, is sweeping about Seattle in Frannie the Mini-van going random places at a semi-leisurely pace, listening to music and just *learning* the city.
Despite that my family has been on the Eastside since '98, I haven't had much chance to get to know Seattle except superficially, the way a high-schooler gets to know a shopping mall. Now I'm really seeing it, all the little nooks and out-of-the-way crannies hidden in the dirty downtown areas and industrial districts. I'm avoiding my share of traffic accidents too. There are a lot of piss-poor drivers out there. (Myself included upon occasion. When you city-drive this much, you tend to notice yourself screwing up. Like today I almost creamed two peds in the crosswalk.)
I see a lot of weird things every day. I've been meaning to bring my camera with me and post a daily picture taken through my windshield. One day traffic on eastbound 520 had come to a halt because a boat was nosed up to the water-level section of the bridge and poking the cement barrier next to the right lane. Some guy with an orange flag was climbing over the wall onto the boat. Pirates?! Another day I settled the matter of a conversation with a friend about whether or not we'd ever seen a homeless person of Asian descent (a matter of cultural honor?) in the Seattle area when I met a Chinese woman panhandling at a freeway entrance. Then there was the mysterious pair of stranded levis stuck in a tree at the intersection of Stewart and Denny streets. I'll bring the camera together and see what I can find to compare with those anomalies.
Posted on October 31, 2005 @ 8:52 PM | 3 comments
Comments:
I think brainless work can act as a blessed vacation sometimes.
By 
Adrienne, at
6:32 AM, November 01, 2005
Sho' can. Looks like I may have a job soon tho. ^_^
By 
Kat, at
8:47 AM, November 01, 2005
It's like when we used to watch VH1 to rest our brains, except your doing things, going places, and getting paid to be brainless!
By Waterseek, at
11:17 AM, November 01, 2005
