apple crumble

I’m sitting in my room after a long but fruitful day in Seattle. I woke up this morning relatively early, even for my current VC life, and I got coffee from the lounge before settling in to my room to write in my journal. It was v rainy and atmospheric, especially thirty floors up, and while the atmospheric clouds were cool to look at, they confirmed that I must never live in Seattle because I would have seasonal depression three hundred days a year - and then it’s just depression, not seasonal depression.

Anyway, I wrote and did various tings for quite awhile, and also went back to the lounge to eat and grab more coffee. I know I sound insufferably bougie, but it amuses me that the lounge at a Sheraton or Marriott (which is accessible only if you have, like, platinum status, which I do) serves the exact same powdered eggs that you get with any free breakfast at a Fairfield or Courtyard. Granted, this breakfast also had better coffee and an amazing view, but I’m just saying that perks aren’t what they used to be (but are probably still better than no perks at all).

At some point I took a twenty minute nap because I had gotten up too early, and then I showered and ventured out into the world. I stopped in at the flagship Nordstrom (technically Nordstrom Store #1) just to see it, and while it was beautiful, it just made me nostalgic for the old SF Nordstrom flagship that was even better and is now dead. I also grabbed some dry shampoo at Sephora to replenish my supplies, and then I went to a couple of Korean/Japanese stationery shops, which is basically my holy grail in any city. After I bought all of their products, I had a late lunch at a French bistro, then wandered through Pike Place Market and bought a variety of dips and snacks for Ritu and her family.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out at Ritu’s house. I did not say much yesterday because I was too tired, and I will perhaps not say much tonight either. But Ritu’s brother and sister-in-law (+ their two adult kids) and her sister were in residence the entire time. I’ve met them all several times since I went to Shelly’s wedding in Germany many years ago, and they also all grew up in ye olde Iowa, so it all felt very familiar. Due to the traditions around Hindu funerals they can’t really leave the house, cook, use open flame, or do much of anything else until the rituals are all completed. So I took them snacks yesterday and today, and other friends and neighbors dropped off or ordered food to keep them all going.

It is, of course, all quite sad; Ritu’s mom had been declining for awhile, but they didn’t quite expect that she would pass quite as early as she did. Luckily Shelly made it to the US just in time, although her daughter can’t come due to a passport issue, which is rough. And in a sort of intellectual, compartmentalization kind of way it was interesting to see how other families handle mourning and logistics (which is, perhaps, the only kind of way that I could think about it while still not so far from my own mourning and logistics).

So anyway, I hung out until late evening, and then decided that I should say my farewells before I started to melt down as badly as the children from too many snacks + lack of sleep. And now I probably should go to bed (even without availing myself of a free wine at the bar) - while the time change may help me out tomorrow, I do have to get with it in the morning so that I can go to Vegas. Wish me luck on the next phase of my journey - goodnight!