conquering seattle
still jetlagged from flying back yesterday, by far one of the best school trips that i have been on. incredible experience, awesome memories. and most importantly, insight for the future. this is where i belong, in the big city, middle of the action, playing it loud.
day 1- head out for seattle, absofuckinglutely incredible city. check into the hotel vintage park then head over to the wharves to have dinner on the pier. almost everything is closed by now, so we head back to the hotel and watch sex and the city.
day 2- take a trip to publis, an advertising agency that does the t-mobile commercials and other ads around seattle. the staff is young and laid back, the building is modern looking but has a bohemian feel to it. i'm the one always raising my hand to ask questions about where the directors went to art school, how they set up their portfolios, and how i could get an intership there. i could definitely see myself working in a place like that. head over to the art museum, awesome asian modern art exhibit there, wish we could have spent more time. went to the cheesecake factory for dinner and had a gorgeous waiter named marcus with sexy hair:
dayumn.
day three- seminars all morning at the convention center. met the editorial cartoonist for the seattle times and had an awesome conversation with him. he even gave me his email so i could send him my work to critique it. also met the political cartoonist for the seattle post who has won two pulitzer prizes. went to my editorial cartooning contest and thought i did pretty well, considering i have better artsitic skills than most of the kiddos there. dinner at the spaghetti factory, great food, great people. don't miss el paso a bit.
day four- seminars in the morning, met the music critic for the seattle times who has met hedrix, kurt cobain, paul mccartney, eminem, and many others. it was interesting to hear his stories and what he thought about all of them. what an awesome job that must be. went to the old part of town and took this tour of the underground part of the city (they had to rebuild the city over mud flats so it wouldn't sink) and then headed over to the aquarium where i was hypnotized by the jellyfish aquarium. keen took the ones who wanted to go on the monorail to the experience music project, a huge surreal-looking building that is both a music museum and a hands-on learning center. it was really neat to see some of the orginal beatles drumheads and chris carraba's orginal lyrics and guitar. i even got to go into some of the soundbooths and jam with the les paul and fender guitars and drumsets.
the neatest thing was the dance floor, the ceiling two stories high with lights that reminded me of the jellyfish at the aquarium. saw the space needle, but didn't have time to go up to the top. maybe next time when i visit.
day five- went to the awards ceremony, didn't place but got an honorable mention for my cartoon. ah well, at least i got a high rank last year. had time to do some last minute shopping and bought the sneaker pimps cd that i hadn't been able to find here and some shirts at urban outfitters. it was so hard to leave, just when i was beginning to know my way around the charted streets. i loved that there was a coffee shop around every corner, punks flaunted their individuality as if it were a culture there, and i would wake up every morning not knowing what i would do that day. i loved that. i loved the morning chill and being able to see my breath after i took a sip of my caramel macchiato. i loved feeling so insignificant while i looked up at the skyscrapers and i loved watching the people hurry all around me. i want to be a part of that, i miss being a part of that.
most of all, i loved that i could escape from my life here. nobody knew my past here, and i didn't know theirs. i could reinvent myself. and i was perfectly content with who i was.