Yo Canada: ITP Goes OTUSA

Well, now I’ve gone and done it. I’ve crossed the fence and made my way to Edmonton, Alberta.

I nearly fell in love with Horizon Air when they mentioned that passengers over the age of 21 (and I’m now nearly twice that) would be provided with a complimentary microbrew. And then almost as quickly as those wonderful words completed resonating through the plane’s cabin, an announcement stating that we would be traveling through turbulent air, thus canceling any beverage service was made. Dangen!

My Own Amazing Race Moment
With plenty of time to spare yesterday I decided to take the cheapest way to the airport. That turned out to be the Metro Bus. To Seattle’s (actually King County’s) credit they provide a bus service which is reliable. Even better, they provide an internet site which helps you figure out which buses to take to get to your destination, and where you should go to pick up each.

My route was simple enough:
Walk outside my hotel and take the MT358 to 5th / Virginia
Walk to 4th / Stewart and take the MT194 to the airport.

This is where my Amazing Race Moment arrives. You know when the contestants think they have everything planned perfectly and then thanks to crafty editing the show puts up a picture of a sign telling you the viewer that the couple has fucked up?

As I sat at the corner of 4th / Stewart watching buses pass, none of which were the MT194, it finally dawned on me that buses were four corners and that perhaps I chose the wrong one. I finally located the bus sign for the corner on which I was seated, only to find out that my revelation was unfortunately correct.

Wouldn’t you know that as I was walking toward another corner to find the proper bus stop the MT194 whizzed past me and there was no way for me to get to it in time. Sonnabitch!

After consulting the bus schedules I noticed that the MT174 also went to the airport and felt fortunate that it was arriving the where I was standing. Woo Hoo! I asked the bus driver if MT174 indeed went to the airport and he replied “You really want the 194” to which I answer “Yeah, but I just missed it.” and then he told me to hop in. Let’s just say that the 174 took a slightly more “scenic” route to the airport.

At one point in the long and winding route a man got on the bus and asked my where I was headed. With luggage near me I could say nothing more obvious than “To the airport.”, to which he replied “Oh, you should have taken the 194.” Thanks Einstein.

The morale of this story? If you are going to take a bus to the airport in Seattle, get on the fucking MT194 and save yourself the hassle.

ITP Flickr Pic
Proof that I am in Canada

Bourdain Makes Me Laugh
On my flights I have be ignoring my iPod and choosing to read Anthony Bourdain’s latest book “The Nasty Bits.” The book is decent enough, if not somewhat repetitive for someone like me who has watched every episode his television series.

However, in this book there is a passage that had me rolling. In the chapter which discusses what cooks do after they are done cooking for the evening Bourdain writes

But it’s Atlanta that can lay claim to the best of the best (which is to say worst) chef-friendly dives in America: the legendary Clermont Lounge, a sort of lost-luggage department for strippers, who perform–perfunctorily–on a stage behind the bar. An Atlanta institution, attended at one time by nearly every citizen high and low, the Clermont changes character somewhat after midnight. The seemingly lost and hopeless give way to a hipster/restaurant trade contingent. Control of the jukebox (maintained strictly by the performers until then) is given over to a DJ. Though the dancers remain, there is decidedly nothing at all erotic about the spectacle. Cooks, male and female alike, applaud the Clermont’s legendary headliner, the decidedly Rubenesque “Blondie,” who recently celebrated nearly two decades at the venue. More than one chef and many cooks in Atlanta cherish their personally crushed and autographed can of Pabst Blue Ribbon from the veteran entertainer.

Thanks for noticing, Anthony.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – fine, eh
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – If you think you’d like to visit Edmonton Alberta one day, check out Info Edmonton to find out more information about the area.
Exercise (b)Log – none (travel day yesterday)
Mode Of Transportation To Work – None, I amstill on vacation

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]