Killing time in Seattle

I made it all the way back to the US! Not quite to my first destination, though. I'm halfway into my 4.5 hour layover in Seattle on the way back to PDX.

Glad to have a seat at a counter with an outlet for PCs, not to mention free wi-fi. And I should be thankful that I'm not on the flight to San Jose leaving from the same gate.  Their flight is delayed because the mechanic has to figure out which part of the plane is having mechanical trouble...

So anyway. No better time to catch up on some old blog posts, right?

How about ballerinas and vacuums?

All the way back in early April I was given tickets to a ballet performance by a man from my church who runs the ballet company.  Every year around Easter they do a performance that includes more traditional, classical music as well as a dramatization of the life of Christ.  Went last year and loved it, and this year I was equally thrilled to go again.

(The ballet was before the purchase of my new camera, though, so the quality isn't super...)

My favorite shot of the night...

They brought out the kids' class

The Last Supper

And now, for the vacuums.

(How's that for a transition?)

A couple of months ago they opened up a fancy-schmancy Dyson store in the high-end retail district near the school where I teach. True to Japanese fashion, they did it big.

I went out to get a sandwich one night while they were making some final adjustments to all of their installations prior to opening.  When I crossed the street on the way to the cafe, there were only about 7-8 staff standing outside.  Ten minutes later, they had attracted quite a crowd:

Let me remind you, this is for a vacuum store.  And one that hasn't even opened yet. You would think it was a celebrity or something.

But naturally I had to stop and take a picture of the spectacle.

Walking by again a couple of days after they'd opened, I saw that they had made some additional "enhancements". My personal favorite: the vacuum statues on either side of the entrance.

I still laugh every time I see them. They're hilarious.

Ok, I've officially killed 30 minutes. And in case you were interested, the San Jose people are still stuck here.  Let's hope I have a little bit better luck than they do...