so just like that, i'm on vacation.

after all the long hours, the hustle and the bustle, and the seemingly endless "to do" lists, i am officially tasked with copious amounts of rest and/or relaxation. my brain, still switched on to the "Did I Forget Anything?" channel, has yet to catch up with my surroundings. but by tomorrow or maybe the next day, i expect full and complete vacationing to be in progress.

i left yesterday at what felt like the absolute last minute. of course, this was my own fault. i came home late the night before after wrapping up some last minute details with a client and proceeded to go to the wine bar with Dennis, Donna, Erik, et al. that did nothing for my plans to pack. woke up the next morning and flew through chores, packing, a little cleaning and a couple errands. it was 12:45 by the time i was calling a cab to the airport. my flight left at 2:20.

but not only did i make it to the gate on time, i was there with about 45 minutes to spare. i checked my bags at the curb, breezed through security in five minutes despite being thoroughly searched (even though i'd taken every last bit of metal i could -- even my belt -- i still set off the metal detector), checked in at the gate, and proceeded to take several deep breaths of relief.

not bad.

and you should see my packing job. brilliant! i highly recommend the packing cubes these guys make. i can unpack and repack in less than a minute with those things. i can jam nearly twice as much in the bag and all my clothes stay nice and neat. quite a thing.

my flight to Seattle, my first stop, was decent enough. the seats on airplanes seem to have gotten even smaller. i could barely move. which made sitting next to that squirrelly woman who insisted on chattering half to me and half to herself that much more painful. and they served us these tiny packets of what they named "Ranch Flavored Snack with Almonds" which tasted nothing like anything ranch and had one wrinkled old almond. misnomer says what?

but arriving at SEA-TAC, all was forgiven. there was Kaeren at baggage claim looking all smiley and beautiful. it's been years since we've seen each other! she drove me through town on the way to her way cool apartment and i think i'm going to enjoy my little bit of time here. the city reminds me a bit of Sydney -- wrapped around water, lots of little cities within the city, green and pretty. the weather is nothing like Oz, though. it's overcast and about as warm as San Francisco was when i left.

anyways, it's 9:20am and i should probably get my day started. or not. i am on vacation, after all.