Seattle, finale (Set adrift)

Day 2 in Seattle, I wake up at J's friend's house and we all watch some videos and drink some coffee before heading back to Capitol Hill.
We have amazing coffee (I got a latte) at The Bambino cafe near N's house in Bellevue? (can't remember the name of the area)
Driving back down 99, we cross from that section of Seattle into the downtown area, past Seattle Center and back up the hill. We walk to get breakfast and talk about life, and decisions, and dreams. It's awesome. And I remember why I was drawn to this person in the first place. That sense of passion for something. And that urgency to make your mark and have your art out there for people to see. When I mention wanting to go abroad, he says he can see me in Europe.

We climb out of his bedroom window onto the roof to hang out and I eat my breakfast sandwich while he plays his last two songs. He can't sing them because it's too noisy outside and they're quiet songs. But the music is awesome and seems to be telling a story even without the words. He has been doing a lot on acoustic guitar lately.

He takes a break and I play with the guitar. I know a couple of songs by now, that actually sound like what they're supposed to. But I can only practice until they sound okay...and it's taken me two years to get anywhere. I'm not at the level to write anything...or even be able to sing and play at the same time. Either my voice stops or my fingers do. I try something, but I'm so nervous that sounds don't even come out. I hum a little, and then just give up trying to sing. It's so hard to do this in front of someone that's so good at it.

It gets to hot on the roof, so we climb back inside and he sings in his room. I feel so fortunate to have this concert for 1. Of course I love every note and chord, but he's critical of all of it. And says it never quite sounds as good as he'd like it to.

We go outside on the front yard to sit, then he's hungry. We walk down to a Chinese restaurant where we are the only non-Chinese patrons. The waitress is super friendly and they bring carts around with food and he picks stuff for us to eat. We talk and eat and I'm enjoying this time. It doesn't seem like we got to do this back home. Walking back up the hill, we take a scenic route and he's picking flowers the whole way back. The colors here are so effing gorgeous!

The afternoon ends with a nap / book on a blanket in the front yard. The sun is really hot, but there's a cool breeze. We talk about trying to get on a ferry ride later, or meeting up, but then he's gotta go to work. By the time he leaves, he's in a foul mood and that pretty much continues the rest of the trip.

Thankfully, his friend and her cousin are extremely hospitable to me so I hang with them some the next day. We go to the Northwest Folklife festival, a free music, arts and crafts festival in Seattle Center. J's gotta work that night too. He tried to meet us downtown, but had a rough time getting stuff together that morning and before I meet up with him, he decides to leave. He can't take the crowd. N's worried, but I just call once to tell him where we are and to call if he wants. Late that night when he's rolling silverware, he calls us and explains how a waitress has walked out and the restaurant was slammed the whole time. Still in a foul mood.

I don't see him before I leave, but we chat on the phone before I fly out. He says it's the worst weekend ever for a friend to be there. And I try not to take it personally. I think he was stressed about trying to show me stuff while not having a lot of time before going to work. But I am glad that I got to see where he lives, and get to know N. and her cousin and friends. They have all been so awesome. He's still thinking too much, and worrying too much, and affected by the slightest things. But I see something good through the haze of all of the moodiness and awkwardness.

He reminds me of a friend I have in New York. And I love her to death. It's hard not to love a moody artist.
I see a lot of myself in them.

So he may be coming back east at the end of the year. I won't count on seeing him, but I will enjoy it if I do.

Seattle has been so amazing.

I call my daddy before the flight out and tell him I want us to take a family vacation out there so he and my mom can see what a beautiful place it is. I think they'd really enjoy it.

After a 4-hour flight to Milwaukee, a 2-hour layover and a 1-hour flight into Minneapolis, I'm at the hotel with my team.
I get sad for a little while, when I start looking through the pictures and the video I shot of J. playing that day. I wish I'd gotten to see him once more before I left. It will probably be a long time before I see him or talk to him again.

But, that's the way it goes.......I guess.

- - - - - - - - -

USAV Nationals. Our team is 1-3 after the first day.
We all have good moments, but we need to string some good moments together so we can win more.
All-in-all, though, it's a good day.

Hoping to seek out a good club tonight, start early, drink, dance my ass off, and then get to bed so I can be up in time to work the match tomorrow at 8am.