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Nun goes on a peregrination.
Nov. 5th, 2022 08:57 amI had no plans last night and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So I did my default weekend evening thing: go to Capitol Hill.
What I learned on the way there was that blocking the train doors can jam them, at least on the older Japanese trains*. That delayed my train by ten minutes. I've never deliberately blocked a train door, but I've had it done on my behalf by a kind stranger in a hijab once.
Had a beer at the Wildrose and said hi to Martha, the cute owner & bartender. I would have chatted, but it was starting to get busy. I could have sworn it wasn't as busy at that hour two or three months ago; maybe it's the darkness that summons people.
Around the corner for cardamom pistachio "Persian rose" ice cream at Sweet Alchemy. Aw, yeah. Since they're not right on the street – 11th Ave. – they don't get nearly the foot traffic they deserve, much less than far less deserving ice cream joints nearby**. TANJ.
Walked up to Vermillion, the art gallery-cum-bar-and-maybe-performance-space on 11th. I peeked in the window. The lady at the door waved me in. There I saw some arrestingly realistic paintings by Keven [sic] Furiya. And his choice of subject matter was random small streets, buildings, loading docks, etc. around Seattle and maybe nearby cities. Some of the paintings were of SoDo, an area south of downtown for people who need space – light industry, wholesalers, construction- and auto-related businesses, and lately, some artists' workshops and night life that might have been on Capitol Hill or in Pioneer Square thirty years ago.
On the back wall of Vermillion was a painting of a building in SoDo where I know I've been. It's a workspace for artists and craftspeople (Foreshadowing!) that's also played host to Burner parties, a couple of which I've been to. It's right next to freight train tracks, so naturally I've stood out front in my playa finery and waved to trains rolling by around midnight. The crew waved back.
And who was there but K apparently on a queer date? She*** told me that she works in the building in the painting****, and as I stood there she bought the painting. Its price tag was in the low four figures. "I can't afford this," she said. I told her I could relate, thanks to the Devil Girl outfit.
There was some kind of live hip hop going on in the small space behind the art, and there was a crowd with its fair share of sweet young things dressed for a night out. The hip hop fans kept having to walk through the sparser crowd of people like K & me engrossed in the art.
Edited to add: on the bus from the train station back to Fremont, I ran into a lady I've been trying to date. We chatted while waiting for and on the bus. And I'm convinced that I talk way too much and too fast when I'm starved for human contact.
I think all this is Goddess's way of telling me to get out of my house and do stuff. Luckily, that's my natural inclination anyway.
*Seattle has light rail trains made by two manufacturers, Kinkisharyo of Japan and Siemens of Germany. The latter are newer; more squarish on the outside; have a two-tone bell sound; have bigger, multi-colored door blinkies instead of smaller yellow ones; have fewer interior seats; have monitor-like information displays on the inside instead of yellow LED arrays; and have a colored LED array on the front to indicate which line it is. (Seattle only has one operational line so far.) Oh: the boxes above the doors on the Japanese trains stick out more, which means I've hit my head on them while standing up from a seat there. Goddamn short people making trains.
**Salt & Straw, which has the perfect corner space at Pike & Boylston, always has an unreasonably long line and just isn't worth it if you ask me. Frankie & Jo's, right across from the Mercury, is right on and is also vegan if you're into that; they're usually busy but not absurdly so. Molly Moon's on Pine? The ice cream is pretty good, but I hear bad things about their labor practices.
***They? I'm not sure. She used to be high femme, but not so much anymore. She once wore a vinyl catsuit that she made to the Seattle Erotic Art Festival – when she was about six months pregnant. It fit perfectly. I get the impression that she's more... colorful than even I know. Another rad chick (?) out of Alaska, and I know several.
****It took me several hours to remember that she makes BDSM gear.
What I learned on the way there was that blocking the train doors can jam them, at least on the older Japanese trains*. That delayed my train by ten minutes. I've never deliberately blocked a train door, but I've had it done on my behalf by a kind stranger in a hijab once.
Had a beer at the Wildrose and said hi to Martha, the cute owner & bartender. I would have chatted, but it was starting to get busy. I could have sworn it wasn't as busy at that hour two or three months ago; maybe it's the darkness that summons people.
Around the corner for cardamom pistachio "Persian rose" ice cream at Sweet Alchemy. Aw, yeah. Since they're not right on the street – 11th Ave. – they don't get nearly the foot traffic they deserve, much less than far less deserving ice cream joints nearby**. TANJ.
Walked up to Vermillion, the art gallery-cum-bar-and-maybe-performance-space on 11th. I peeked in the window. The lady at the door waved me in. There I saw some arrestingly realistic paintings by Keven [sic] Furiya. And his choice of subject matter was random small streets, buildings, loading docks, etc. around Seattle and maybe nearby cities. Some of the paintings were of SoDo, an area south of downtown for people who need space – light industry, wholesalers, construction- and auto-related businesses, and lately, some artists' workshops and night life that might have been on Capitol Hill or in Pioneer Square thirty years ago.
On the back wall of Vermillion was a painting of a building in SoDo where I know I've been. It's a workspace for artists and craftspeople (Foreshadowing!) that's also played host to Burner parties, a couple of which I've been to. It's right next to freight train tracks, so naturally I've stood out front in my playa finery and waved to trains rolling by around midnight. The crew waved back.
And who was there but K apparently on a queer date? She*** told me that she works in the building in the painting****, and as I stood there she bought the painting. Its price tag was in the low four figures. "I can't afford this," she said. I told her I could relate, thanks to the Devil Girl outfit.
There was some kind of live hip hop going on in the small space behind the art, and there was a crowd with its fair share of sweet young things dressed for a night out. The hip hop fans kept having to walk through the sparser crowd of people like K & me engrossed in the art.
Edited to add: on the bus from the train station back to Fremont, I ran into a lady I've been trying to date. We chatted while waiting for and on the bus. And I'm convinced that I talk way too much and too fast when I'm starved for human contact.
I think all this is Goddess's way of telling me to get out of my house and do stuff. Luckily, that's my natural inclination anyway.
*Seattle has light rail trains made by two manufacturers, Kinkisharyo of Japan and Siemens of Germany. The latter are newer; more squarish on the outside; have a two-tone bell sound; have bigger, multi-colored door blinkies instead of smaller yellow ones; have fewer interior seats; have monitor-like information displays on the inside instead of yellow LED arrays; and have a colored LED array on the front to indicate which line it is. (Seattle only has one operational line so far.) Oh: the boxes above the doors on the Japanese trains stick out more, which means I've hit my head on them while standing up from a seat there. Goddamn short people making trains.
**Salt & Straw, which has the perfect corner space at Pike & Boylston, always has an unreasonably long line and just isn't worth it if you ask me. Frankie & Jo's, right across from the Mercury, is right on and is also vegan if you're into that; they're usually busy but not absurdly so. Molly Moon's on Pine? The ice cream is pretty good, but I hear bad things about their labor practices.
***They? I'm not sure. She used to be high femme, but not so much anymore. She once wore a vinyl catsuit that she made to the Seattle Erotic Art Festival – when she was about six months pregnant. It fit perfectly. I get the impression that she's more... colorful than even I know. Another rad chick (?) out of Alaska, and I know several.
****It took me several hours to remember that she makes BDSM gear.
