Block 4: Mastering the Seattle Quickstep: Part 1

June is bustin' out all over with a wild exclamation: 

You're damned right I think I can dance! 

And the quickstep--not the Boogie or the Moondance or the Foxtrot or the Buffalo Bop--is the spirit I choose now to bring to my quest. Speed, power, grace, wit and lively syncopation. It is sexy without being sweaty. It is high-charged without being forced. It is elegant without being frilly. 

But I hear a voice at the back of the room:

'Uh, excuse me, dude, but what has all this got to do with the move to Seattle--or moving anywhere?'

Well, Middle Time is where we fail 99 times in 100. We love the rush of Starting Time, the charged relief of End Time. But here is where we start to hurt and doubt ourselves and drift: we don't have the time or strength to finish a long novel...we've failed to quit smoking too often before...we're too old/too poor/too fat...And--remember, now--Visualization: the more doubt in our heads, the less fire in our acts. Lack of confidence reaps still more reason to feel more uncertain.What we need is a form of spiritual bounce.

The bounce is the spring in the quickstep that sees you through to End Time without a care in the world. The bounce is the difference between you and all the sweaty pretenders: a bounce made up  in equal parts of brio and insouciance. But--wait, is that anther voice from the back:

'Let's say I don't have the bounce. How do I feel something that I don't have? And how do I know when I do feel the bounce?'

All more easily than you might think, friend. You fake the bounce if you don't have have it. You become a Great Pretender--acting as if you already there, in Seattle, while you are in Charlotte...slugging away at your book or your quit as if it were already finished.  Pretend long enough, and well enough, you'll soon not have a clue that you're faking. And no one has to tell you when you have the genuine bounce in your step.

So, come along now, month of June. Add more quickening to my steps! Bring me the bounce and the brio I crave as I slug away at the list of To Do's that stands between me and Seattle.
--Launch my new ebook, Charlotte Kills, and start the next book to bolster the sense of myself as a successful pro.
--Finish sorting all personal papers.
--Write letters to other Seattle book stores.
--Begin to draft letter for Craig's list to seek out a short-term Seattle room-mate.
--Make hotel and flight reservations for August visit.
--Follow up on my letter to Elliott Bay Book Company.
--Begin assembling all personal/professional/rental references.

The list goes on. But so do I with my chin up, back straight and a new bounce in my step. After all, the trophy is well worth the fight:



Hello, Seattle! Care to dance?

Block 2: How to See Seattle: Part 1

Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed that he saw his arms as giant oaks when he began working out. And we all know where he went from there. He applied the same technique--creative visualization backed by relentless action--to achieving the next goal that 'couldn't be done': becoming a top movie star despite his accent and freakish physique. He went on to marry into the Kennedy family and become Governor of California...before returning to the screen in his middle sixties to reclaim his box office crown.

I'm a believer in visualization--not in the sense of just closing my eyes and dreaming great wealth into existence. No, I believe in visualization as a way of maintaining my focus and faith...keeping my actions in line with my goals...stoking my confidence daily. I can spend two years writing a novel because I can see myself doing whatever it takes, day after day, to complete it. And just so:

I now see myself in Seattle, a city where I've never been, as I continue to prepare.




As always,I make use of visual aids. In the old days, before I moved I'd soak myself in seas of ink to help get the feel of a place in my bones: travel guides and Sunday newspapers. But guide books these days are fast out of date and out of town papers aren't easy to find. So I needed to change as the times have. With a little online searching, I found an invaluable resource:

'Seattle's Big Blog' is actually the Seattle Post Intelligencer, now an online newspaper. Colorful and fun to read.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/

Plus, months ago my friend Felicia researched Seattle employment, housing and transportation for me. Since then, sitting in a virtual drawer, had been a wealth of information and tools to help me visualize. Now that I am in the zone, I submerge myself in her emails and click on the various links. One example: I wanted to know about independent bookstores, since I have long experience in two world-class indies. Here's the link Felicia sent me:

http://tinyurl.com/qy54rk9


Meanwhile, I'm Googling for personal blogs. And this one has a dandy list of recommended spots:

http://www.elephantineblog.com/

And finally, for now, I've mined absolute gold in my discovery of The Stranger, the great alternative paper that calls itself Seattle's Only Newspaper:

http://www.thestranger.com/


The goal now is to see Seattle, in increasing detail, to see me through the challenges of the next six months.

In part 2 I'll tell you of the picture that I've formed so far.


Action Log
4/5: Yesterday I discovered a sensational blog about Seattle neighborhoods. And within the hour I knew exactly which part of town is for me: Capitol Hill: the laid-back, funky new home of the city's best indie book store. Finding My Seattle represents a major breakthrough. Now I'm feeling rrrrreally charged!

4/9: I have an image in mind of the more dashing figure that I want to cut. But I can only bring so much. I decided to dry clean two shirts at a time and test their placement in the trunk. I needed to see how much space two would take. The decision itself proved a blessing, for it forced me to start on my wardrobe's final cut. Equally important: the first folded, plastic-wrapped shirts showed me that I'll have a huge problem if I don't unwrap all shirts and use vacuum space bags. And since five shirts make up a full layer, no more than ten can be placed in the trunk./This small adventure marks a turning point in How I See Seattle: I'm smart and tough enough to make the move in style.

4/12: Concluding lesson for this part: when faced with 'impossible' decisions--e.g., how to whittle 20 killer shirts down to only ten--it can help to change your focus. I don't think now of the twenty--but only of the two shirts at a time. Which next two call out to be saved from the pack? The great vision is essential, yes. But sometimes our focus has to fit on the head of a pin.