seattling

yes, i'd planned to keep my distance from the internet while i vacationed. then realized i needed to do justice to the 'travelog' identity of my blog. so here i am again.

seattle is as lovely as it has always been. and when i say seattle, i don't mean seattle, because i haven't ventured out to seattle at all :). i mean redmond, the town center, snoqualmie falls, the snow-capped mountains in the distance... the many shades of blue and green one sees here are stunning. it is in places such as these that one realizes the immense nature of nature's bounty.

in these few days, i found myself able to reconnect with my days at microsoft. this was more important than i realized, because i'd abandoned that past somewhere along the way. it has been pulled out of locked doors and embraced duly. for the perspective it brought me (that i may not have found elsewhere), i am grateful. i also reconnected with my time at seattle many years ago - the very first time i set foot into a city entirely alone and unfamiliar with any of its residents. it was quite the summer.

i ran into faces i only barely recognized. and imagine my surprise to run into my mentor from many years ago in the parking lot of the gym! 'tis true, no goodbyes are ever permanent. our lives are just hopelessly intertwined.

one of the things i've enjoyed most in this jaunt is the chance to witness a's 'other' life :) ('other' being defined by the angle you look at it from. i am sure for the folks here, i'm part of her 'other' life too.) i've been at her workplace, seen her office, cafeteria, kitchen (where she doubtless spends most of her time). i've met her very cool friends (so now i know better who to emulate). i've seen her shine in the squash courts, i've spent time in her beautiful apartment that i wish she could take back with her. these days have given me a window into her life and helped me update myself on who she is in the larger world. as i reflect more on this, i realize how important it is to dynamically update how we see the people around us, especially those we love best, and that we accept their evolution just as well as we appreciate ours.

there is more to say. much more, i am sure. but for now, this is plenty. i will retreat to my reflection, unhindered by decisions regarding what or what not to write :). i sit before a gigantic windowed view of the mountains and the trees, with just a dash of sunlight. i do not mind the rain either, though. there is a certain charm to the city's insistence on rain, no matter what its people may incessantly ask for instead. i wonder if it laughs at our fruitless desires for it to be different.