I am heading out to Seattle this afternoon for an interview process that will be all day tomorrow. I am pretty excited because this is my very first time visiting Seattle, Washington State or the Pacific Northwest at all. I have always wanted to see Seattle and I will be there until Thursday so while I will not have a lot of time, I will have a little and will get to see some of the city.
This morning was mostly preparations just to get out of the door. I did a little bit of work before leaving the house but very little. Had to be up early, showered and dressed and the car packed so that we could leave by ten o’clock. Google says that it is about forty minutes to the airport. I am flying out of Westchester County Airport in White Plains which makes this so much easier, especially for Dominica and the girls who need to drive back home without me.
Sadly there are no gas stations between our home and the airport which is really frustrating. The Acadia was really low on gas and I could not leave Dominica and the girls without fuel. So once we got to the airport we had to look for a gas station. It turned out that the nearest one was ten miles away!! This is a major reason that I dislike living in Westchester. Simple things become so incredibly difficult. A nearly forty mile drive, starting in a city and ending at an airport, and there is no gas near either terminus and no opportunity to get gas along the way! Ridiculous. Why is there no gas station anywhere near the county’s only airport?
We ran to Connecticut and got gas there. Then raced back to the airport. Thankfully getting through White Plains airport takes no time at all. There is only one waiting room and hardly any people. So simple and easy. We said goodbye, the girls were very sad, then I was off to get through the security line.
The flight from White Plains to Detroit was extremely cramped. The plane that we were on was a two by two and I was in the window seat where the wall curved in and did not leave room for my shoulders or my head. So I was forced to sit leaning and twisted for the entire flight. Thankfully the flight to Detroit was only eighty minutes. I was very happy to get off of that plane.
There was very little time to make it to my next flight which was at the furthest possible gate in the entire airport (not nearly the furthest, the actual furthest possible gate.) So I was forced to run the entire airport. It was a long run. I made it after they had already started boarding but it was not a problem. Had I not been so fast it could easily have been an issue, though. It was cutting it too close for such a distance.
On this flight, which was not as full as the last one, we had a 737 and I was in first class (there were no classes in the tiny plane.) This was nice. Front row with plenty of space. I got free movies on this flight so I watched The November Man which I have been interested in seeing. It was pretty good and I am very glad that I got to watch it as no one has really seemed all that interested in seeing it with me. So that was perfect. I also got to see The Love Punch which was cute and worth seeing. Both movies starred Pierce Brosnan. So it was a mini-marathon for me. It made the flight pass quite quickly. First class on Delta was very nice. Lots of food and drinks. Very good service. It has been a while since I have flown first class. Definitely points for the company flying me out. Not many companies take the time to do first class anymore. And by time, I mean money. None of the financial interviews that I did last year with supposedly very wealthy companies flew me first class. Says something about the company and their confidence in their hiring system and themselves.
It was just after five, Pacific time, when I got into Seattle. No issues on the flight at all and no turbulence the entire way except for a tiny bit while flying over the Rockies.
Once in Seattle I walked to the light rail station and for $2.75 rode that into the downtown West Lake station. That was incredibly quick and easy. It takes thirty five minutes end to end and is very comfortable. This is the way to connect an airport to a city. From the very nice downtown trainstation I walked up Pine two blocks and was at the Hyatt Olive 8 which was very nice. I got checked in right away. It was already dark and, of course, it felt late to me but it was not yet six o’clock!
I called Dominica and the girls from the hotel and talked to them for a little bit. Then I showered and got settled into the room and somewhere around eight I went to look for some food. I couldn’t decide where to go and no one that I know in town was available to hang out tonight so I ended up just going to Urbane, the hotel lobby bar and restaurant and sat at the bar.
I ended up sitting with someone at the bar who was from the company that had flown me out for the interview. So I got a chance to learn some more about working there from the employee who was a little drunk when the evening started and was so drunk and belligerent by the end of the evening that he was kicked out of the bar not once, but twice after attempting to return and then security was posted at the door! Needless to say, “employer” failed to make a stellar impression with their hiring choices tonight.
I ended up making some new friends at the bar once he was kicked out and hung out with them until the bar closed. Their hotel room was right next to mine too, so we hung out until one thirty or so and made plans to all get together tomorrow evening after my interviews were done and go see the city. They wanted me to go with them to the Seattle Aquarium tomorrow but they were planning to go while I was at my interview.