Block 2: How to See Seattle: Part 3

Your picture of paradise might look like this:



But my own image is different. I see:

Whoops. A young man in the back objects: Dude, you can't be serious! Seattle nirvana for you is...tai chi with geezers and geeks on the grass? I respond:

Tai chi, grasshopper, is one facet of nirvana: one of the many Can Do's that I see when  I envision Seattle. With the poundings my body has taken, I need to pass at this point on trying again to do these:





This city is all about Can Do, for me, and new configurations of things still in my power. So I'll take my place in the procession of tai chi devotees. Moreover, to my writing I bring the same spirit. Though I may never see my name on my former picture of heaven--





I can continue to publish the best books I'm able to write:

http://tinyurl.com/oop9mpy

There's no end of things that I Can't Do these days:








But I'm over the moon at the Can Do's in store:











Rock on, you glorious city of hope, and be there for me when I arrive. Oh, baby, imagine the things we Can Do!


Action Log
04/23: We can picture till the cows come home--but if we don't act we'll end milkless. I needed to tackle one challenge--in fact, one of the bigger that face me: how to get out to Seattle to get the ball rolling for housing and work when I'm on a shoestring budget? My first thought was to go by bus and I polished my halo, preparing to spend 8-10 days, round trip, on a bus. Fare: $200-$300. But wait...What do I have that I never had 20-30 years ago when I made travel arrangements? That's right, computer access. Initial research wasn't encouraging: $500-$600 RT, plus taxes and services fees for bags, etc. Throw in a hotel for a couple of nights...and I'd need a thousand that I do not have. But wait again. What else do I have? That's right: FaceBook and Twitter, two solid online networks. I cast my net--and within an hour was referred to Travelocity...where I obtained a flight quote $300 less than I'd been offered. $200! 
    Inspired, I spent an hour keywording 'cheap Seattle hotels' and 'budget Seattle hotels'. Lightbulb: instead of spending $100-$150 a night, I can stay in a four-star hostel for $25 a night.
Things are looking up, folks. The Seattle Kid is happy.

04/29: Have spent hours the past few days comparing air fares to Seattle and back. Fares quoted differ wildly and the cheapest, it seems, can be gone in a day. Travelocity's beautiful quote is no morec. Decision: keep talking with veteran flyers who claim to fly coast to coast for $200 RT. 
    Also began the dreaded task of sorting out the chaos of personal papers in boxes. For now I sort them into stacks. Next step: reducing these. Last step: file folders. Getting   everything down to two tidy boxes will be one of my major achievements. Meanwhile, the stacks are all over the floor.

04/30: The stacks are taking up the floor. The most unruly pile contains rejection slips from agents, going back nearly fifteen years. At present, I've saved envelopes with rejections but the envelopes may have to go. Am about a third of the way through all papers, phase one.