i'm back!

i've been MIA and for good reason... it's been a busy week. last saturday was the Rilo Kiley concert, which kicked ass. i had a fabulous time. the music was great and we picked a good spot to stand. Jenny Lewis has awesome hair of which i am supremely jealous.



i wish i had sexy, in-your-eyes bangs! i had lots to drink that night because i didn't have cash and forgot to ask if the bar took credit cards until *after* the bartender started pouring the booze. i was informed that i could only pay with credit card with a minimum purchase of $25. and, the atm was broken. oops :)

sunday i flew out to Seattle for the AIR conference. my flight was super early, and of course when i got home from the concert i was not fully packed and ready to go. i slept for 3 hours, woke up hung over, and headed to O'hare. not such a good way to travel, seeing as plane rides usually make me queasy when i'm not hungover. again: oops :)

i flew over pretty mountains, which was fun. i got to Seattle, checked into my hotel early, showered and felt better. my co-worker and i went out to lunch before registering for the conference and attending the new comers' meeting and opening reception. i was exhausted when i got back to my hotel and went to bed early. there was no time for fun on sunday.

monday i went to a bunch of conference presentations. my boss and co workers gave 2 presentations that i attended. i was done with conference stuff by 4:30 and i went out with ro (a-dawg's friend who is doing her clerkship for the summer in Seattle). ro was an awesome tour guide, even tho she'd only been in the city for about a week, lol. we met up at Pike Place Market, where i bought some souvenirs for a few people.



the market was crowded with people, and filled with tables and tables of fresh fruit, veggies, fish, and flowers. there were also plenty of people selling all kinds of arts and crafts. i got to watch the famous fishmongers who throw the fish across the counter to be packed up to go. after tossing a few fish back and forth, they threw a giant, stuffed animal fish out into the crowd (at a bunch of girls, of course, which made them all scream. ok, ok. i screamed too). this guy was my fave (he was cute!):



right outside the market is the location of the original Starbucks, which still has the original logo. we stopped there for a quick browse and ro got a drink.



from the market, ro and i headed to the pier to see about a ferry boat ride.



unfortunately things were closing down by that time, so we went to plan b: the Seattle Center. we walked up the ridiculously hilly streets to catch the monorail to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located.



we decided to have dinner in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, but the earliest reservation we could get left us with over an hour to kill. fortunately, there was a festival going on, which made for the best people watching i've had in a LONG time. seriously, there were people square dancing on one side, and african drummers on the other. there was also a Wii tent set up for people to test out the Wii Fit. ro rocked at the balancing game, but i kicked ass at hula hooping. we shopped at the Space Needle gift shop and watched kids ride the amusement park rides. then ro decided that we must ride the Pirate Ship ride. i am surprised we fit and even more surprised they let us ride and didn't laugh at us!



we finally got to go up to the top of the Space Needle. it doesn't feel as tall from the top as it does from the bottom, but the view is awesome. we took pics and hung out on the observatory deck while they set up our table.




because the sun didn't set til very late, we got to see the view during the day and again after dinner when it was dark. this was very, very cool and helped make the pricey dinner worth the cost. (you don't have to pay to go to the observation deck if you eat at the restaurant). dinner was awesome. i had a seafood trio platter with salmon, shrimp and scallops. the restaurant is on a rotating platform and the outer wall is made entirely of windows. ro and i were lucky to get a table in the outer ring, right against a window. the platform moves really slowly, but during the course of your meal, you go around 360 degrees quite a few times. it's really fabulous, despite the motion sickness-y feeling it sometimes causes. finally, ro and i called it a night and took the monorail back to downtown Seattle. by the time i made it to my hotel monday night, i was exhausted!

tuesday was more conference-y stuff. at 5:00 my co-worker and i caught the last double decker bus tour of the day. the ticket machine broke so we got to ride for free. among the highlights of the tour were the Seattle Art Museum, which has a giant, moving sculpture in front of it:



the building that provided the exterior and helicopter pad for season 1 of Grey's Anatomy:



and the home of the Real World Seattle cast and the dock where the infamous slap occurred:



after the bus tour, my co-worker and i walked around a bunch. there are some crazy hilly street in Seattle and we had to climb a couple. we had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant called Etta's. i discovered that i like halibut and coconut cream pie (that's made with real coconut). i was skeptical about both, but the waiter assured me it would be great. and he was right. he was also cute. i enjoyed him, and the food. we did a ton more walking before i made to the hotel where i crashed from exhaustion.

wednesday was the last day of the conference. i only went to one session and took my time packing up and wandering around the city some more. i had to leave for the airport at 12, so it was a short day in Seattle. and today, it was back to the grind!