The Trip to NWPAS and SRGE

The week before I left was intense. I love being a Cub Scout leader, it’s a chance to be a 10 year old again. However, it also means doing a lot of adult stuff to make sure things happen. Some of it really isn’t easy, and I am not always up to the task.

Case in point, a week and a day before I left, I found out I was the only leader at a Pack Meeting. They are the times when parents come in, and we hand out awards. No one told me about awards, or what we needed to do. I started to realize something was up when the only key between all of us was given over to me. There were people moving, and people going out of the state, so I was it.

Needless to say, I felt like a failure. I had the scouts build the tents they had designed, and then called. It was like watching the Three Stooges as several 8-10 year olds tried to assemble a tent without having it collapse on them. Even funnier is how many times they had made this tent already. For safety concerns, I had them build the base first, and then build up. It fell a couple times anyway.

This was all a build up to the big event on Saturday where legions of 8-10 year olds would build a village of tents, and go to war. I had written all sorts of instructions, and information for parents to hand things out. I was expecting at least 20 kids to be there, and we would have a fun day doing all sorts of stuff.

Without a lot of notice, I had to drive somewhere and then back the next day. I can’t really talk about that trip, except to say the entire thing annoys the living snot out of me. I drove all day, got there, got my package, and then drove back. It made me all sorts of tired, and right when I didn’t need it.

I had a ton of health concerns, and worries mounting on me. The last planning meeting had left me with bronchitis, which knocked me out for days, and then left a cough for several weeks. I was worried I wasn’t healthy enough to do it.

Guess how many kids showed up at the big event? The answer is two. They built a tent, fought with padded swords, and then went home. I was very disappointed. All of that work, and pushing to get people to be there. Tons of kids wanting to go, parents talking about how cool it would be, and two kids. This is usually the biggest event of the entire school year. We end school with a giant game of capture the flag with padded swords, and makeshift castles. I added a village so the scouts could have a safe alternative if their parents didn’t want them involved. Two kids!

It was really depressing, but I had to keep going. Sunday, I announced I needed substitutes for Sunday School. This is right after being officially given the position of teacher. I had been teaching for months beforehand. So the day I make it official, I tell everyone I need a substitute for two weeks.

Monday I had enough health, and sanity to go handing out fliers for the NorthWest Pinball and Arcade Show. One of the guys working at Gameworld told me I should hand some fliers over to the guys who run Jedi Alliance. The problem was it was closed the next two days, so there was little chance I had to go see them.

While walking to my car, he ran up, and told me about the tattoo parlors the owners run on regular days. I did what searching I could, but didn’t find it. The name of the place started with a B, and sounded sort of geeky. It was on Division, but you could only access it from a specific angle. The area was heavily under construction, so I had difficulties even finding the right street. There were a lot of twists and turns and hopes in coming to the right street again. So I went to the comic shop in Northtown Mall, and then headed back. I passed a game bar, but didn’t stop. I couldn’t find the parlor, and time was running out for me, so I decided to head back the next day and really search.

At home I tried one last go at making a dollie for my camera, and didn’t make it. I decided to just buy one, and move on with life. It had taken up a lot of time and money with that failure. I even bought spare parts, but I just didn’t have enough time.

After work the next day, I looked for the tattoo parlor, and still couldn’t remember the right name. Division street in Spokane splits in half into two one way roads. Along that split was the tattoo parlor. Sadly, my search from the mall did not bring up the right tattoo parlor. I didn’t realize this, so I enjoyed some time at the comic shop, and then drove down the lane.

There was a nice enough parking spot, and I had to spend some time figuring out which machine was for parking in that area. It turned out the one I parked next to first was for the road.

As I followed the GPS, I came to the game bar I had passed the day before. Friends had mentioned this bar, but I had never gone searching for it. The games available were pretty nice. The lady there demanded to see ID, and I told her politely I wasn’t there for drinking at all. She didn’t get it until I showed her the fliers.

She took them, and then turned to deal with the folks at the bar.

I followed my GPS to a tattoo parlor. The lady at the front was a nice old woman who had a few tattoos, and zero knowledge on wifi. I know this because it turned out to not be the parlor needed. She didn’t know what I was looking for either. By this time Bulletproof had turned into Blue Beetle. With no wifi, I couldn’t do a proper search.

She was from Chicago, and loved it hear in Spokane. Her husband was from the area, and promised her they would live here when they retired. The password was never quite enough to get onto the wifi, and honestly, I was getting sort of stressed trying to think of the right things.

On my way back, I passed by the game bar again, and showed my ID. Then I asked to take some pictures around the bar.

I tried talking about where the parlor might be, but the lady really didn’t know. There were two men at the bar, and she was trying to entertain them with stories. She told them about the time she got blackout drunk, and woke up naked in another city. They loved it. This was the audience, and she played to them. Next door was a comedy club, which was not opening yet, because it was still the afternoon.

There was some construction going on, but I somehow missed it. This was the only chance I had to leave the fliers, and I felt really bad about it. Infact, I sent a message to the facebook page of Jedi Alliance in hopes they might tell someone about it.

My Mom needed something so she borrowed my car. She filled it up before I had the chance to ask. During this time, I did laundry. I was nervous about the entire trip, but knew it would be ok.

The next day, I packed up, and hoped I was timing everything correctly. There would be a lot of traffic if I got it wrong. 4-8PM is heavy non moving traffic, and I would be hitting the two heaviest spots in the Puget Sound area.

Since it was early June, there was construction everywhere. I never knew where it would be, or how it would appear.

On my way down the gorge, the road turned into a one lane road, and I had a semi truck behind me. I had kept a steady pace throughout, and even passed some thinks there smarts down the turn, but then I saw the sign. It took me a moment to realize what I had to do, but I gassed it hard, and passed the semi. It was a steady trip up, but the entire time I knew I had pushed the car a bit too hard to pass that semi.

My Dad just slows down going up those hills, but I try to maintain speed. Cars are going back and forth in their ability to keep up, so I try to go around them as a safety precaution. Also, I enjoy it.

Gas in Cheney had been nearly $3, so I was worried it might be high in Ellensburg. Instead, it was under $2.50. My budget was doing better already. Not only that, I skipped Taco Del Mar, and went to Wendy’s for the Four for $4 deal. That filled me up, and got me going.

The bathroom had a real surprise for me. There was a diaper changing station. That doesn’t sound too big, but it's usually an exclusive for the women’s lavatory. I was so shocked, I had to check to make sure it was the men’s room.

On the road over the mountain, construction would slow us down to a near crawl. The most beautiful part was also the slowest. This didn’t bother me too much, since I could enjoy the view while going 35 MPH. On the other hand, every time we hit construction, it slowed me down for the traffic that would start at 4PM. So it was a nice scenic trip to a traffic jam. Perhaps I could say it was training for the oncoming experience. A tutorial level of what will happen.

As I drove in, it appeared to be fairly clear, I was going to make it without a traffic jam. The biggest problem so far was a woman who didn’t realize she was coming into traffic while texting. She didn’t hit any turn signals, speed up, or position herself to merge. This was especially scary, because I didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver around her, and I needed to be in that lane.

Luckily a car moved, so I could get out of the way of the woman. Normally Seattle drivers are courteous and capable. You can move between lanes quickly because everyone is able to compensate for it. This woman nearly crashed into me by not doing these things.

A mile before the 405 exit, I hit traffic. It was open in other lanes, but not the ones I needed. I figured out it was easier to go 5 MPH, then constantly stop and go waiting. There were bubbles of space that slowly traveled backwards from some unknown area. It was a long slow drive, and my music was finished as I entered onto the southbound freeway.

It continued until I couldn’t take it anymore, and took the exit to Fry’s. I wanted to buy a burger or something, but had a feeling to hold back. This turned out to be the right move. Instead, I walked around Fry’s and noticed that it felt a little emptier than it usually is.

The wall facing the parking lot had a sign that said they would meet online prices. They were fighting an online world, and Amazon was now taking over Seattle. This isn’t a poetic term at all. The company is literally part of the new crop of Seattlites moving into the area for all of the jobs now being offered. Microsoft and others have tried to keep the city from driving itself into the ground. The new buildings, and looks all around me were from this new crop, and even more interesting, there would be new touristy spots to look at because of the company.

Fry’s as a place where you could just walk in and geek out is dying, and I saw it first hand. The videogame section felt empty. They were looking forward to something new, but it was unknown if anything new would help it. People worked there, paid their rent from here, and yet it was going away. It is strange to watch this world I once knew be destroyed, but the sign said so much.

Outside, as I contemplated all of it, I spotted a Porsche 911 S. I sort of love the Porsche, so it was an opportunity for me to oggle.

My watch said the traffic would continue, and I knew it would be just as bad all the way to Tacoma. Target was nearby, so I drove over to check it out. I thought about a movie, or something else, but once again my mind said no. The parking lot near Target was more full, and seemed a bit more vibrant than Fry’s. This sounds great, but it made it harder to park.

As I walked in, there was a college age woman in pig tails, designer holes in her jeans, a t-shirt and suspenders. She was black, and her group was several ethnicities going out together. It was mostly women, and honestly I didn’t notice any white men among them. This made me feel awkward. When you’re German, you notice if you stand out, especially if standing out may make you look racist. It’s a very real thing.

Really though, I wanted to ask about her clothing style. It was really original, and I liked it. Oddly enough, the reason why I went to a very diverse university was because I went to a diverse high school. It was cool clothing, and I wanted to know more. That’s irony for you. I knew that how I looked would be scary to her, and that I may seem racist. Really I was home sick and wanted to know where she got the style from.

After that, the time looked like things may have opened up a bit more, so I headed out. There wasn’t a lot to see at Target, except for the clothes some of the people in the store were wearing. The gaming section was honestly dull. I had more fun during Christmas or other times.

Once again I wanted to grab a bite to eat, but decided not to.

The exit and all of that brought back memories of when I stayed in Renton for conventions. My buddy Tuan had moved away, and I found other accommodations. I think that is a good idea, since traffic near Renton became very difficult. Still though, I considered that area as a type of home.

I once asked God what my future would be like, and the response was that I would be moving around a lot. I thought I would have a full move with all of my stuff. Instead, it was week long visits to Renton, and other places. I know these areas just as well as I know the town I live in. It’s always the twist that you need to think about.

Traffic had sped up a little, and then ground to a halt. It was 16 MPH for miles on end. Cars would come in, or go out as I tried to go just a few miles quicker. Nothing much faster, maybe 20 if I was lucky.

Police cars began to throw out sirens, and drive around traffic in the pull over lane. They were going pretty fast when I saw the reason why. Three cars had smashed into each other, and into a Suburban. Some kid was on the other side of the cement pile on looking bored. He munched on a bag of chips as the police began asking questions. To him, it was just this thing that happened.

I don’t think there were rubber neckers for this jam. It did clear up shortly after this, but it was a heavy traffic area, and people were probably trying to not crash or bother the crashed as well. This caused the crawl to happen, and it backed up traffic even further.

Traffic continued at an average of 35 MPH all the way into Tacoma. I took my exit for I-5, and just knew it would have been just as heavy if I had taken that freeway to this point. Some drivers tried to get into spots faster, and maneuver for a better faster speed. Others simply stayed where they were. I moved to the needed lane, and just stayed there for an hour.

Every time I saw something familiar, I hoped my exit would be sooner. It wasn’t. The entire thing was long, and very dull. Agonizing even. I was really happy to not drive from Renton to the needed exit every day. It would have been torture.

As I neared my exit, my car had gone through a lot of gas. I still hit the pedal hard, and enjoyed a few moments of non traffic. Soon though, I hit another patch, and had to deal with that for a few more minutes.

After all of that, it was open fun roads. I drove and loved the feel of the turns, and how things worked. Some guys with government license plates kept coming near my back bumper. I would let them through, but ended up passing them at a curve. They didn’t really drive that far until their exit, so I wondered why it was so important to drive that badly.

The drive between Bremerton and Tacoma really is fun, and I would recommend it to anyone. There are some rules though. The right lane is going a lot slower than the left lane, so you need to know how to gun it and slow down if you want to get through. People will ride your backside, and then pull into the lane shortly after that. It’s a bit of redneck, and a bit of hardcore, which is fun, but needs a knowledge on defensive driving.

My exit came up, and I saw the wonders of the Naval station and its big grey metal ships as I slowed down to a reasonable speed. Then I realized I had entered at the wrong lane. I needed the left not the right. At a turn, I speed a little to get past the traffic and into the lane I needed. After that it was a simple and easy drive.

I was still hungry, and wanted to go to a nearby fast food place. Once again, something told me no. I didn’t really understand until I looked at my notes later.

Someone looked through the window as I walked to the door. Then dogs began to bark. My buddy was at the door before I could even knock. They were watching Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy while eating curry. I had a couple plates of curry, and enjoyed the ending of the movie. Well, last half. It was the point where one character has to let a robot have his spare head, so they can get the needed information.

There was a conversation about Bill Nighy, and how he almost played the Doctor. I actually thought Nighy was another actor, but was corrected. He just looked like Filch, but acted like someone else. There was no Van Gogh curator in that character at all. The acting was a lot of fun to watch, and the show really is better the second time.

“Oh good, lunch time.”

My buddy showed me his collection, which was within a hundred games of a complete NES selection. There would be some missing, but he really didn’t feel like spending the price of a house to get them. I’m not exaggerating. There are games that are not only rare, but valuable. The Nintendo Competition cartridge has been sold for $100,000. A recent one sold for about $13,000.

He has gotten into Gamecube collecting for the heck of it, and wants a complete Mega Drive selection. I am totally for it, since Wonder Boy is a great series. The GC collection had some greats, though I think Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles should be played with four people using GameBoy Advances.

We chatted a bit, and I told him about how I was compiling notes to make books. Since the movie was over, he switched over to the NBA Finals, it was the third game near the end. Golden State won it, but barely.

Then it was a Mariners game. I went to bed, and put my bags and stuff near my bed. As I wrote down quick notes, and posted pictures, my buddy told me the Mariners won it by a walk off home run. That sounds like a great game to watch, but terrible to make a highlight reel out of.

I went to sleep quickly, because I knew I would wake up early and help out at the show by 7AM. There had been problems in the past with not having enough men for the first load. I intended to be there for it.