psychadelic trip to the Seattle Public Library

I wake up late at 10 am and I know I must rush to pack and check out by 11 am.  The room has 6 beds and apparently all were occupied last night, and all six of us are attempting to pack our bags in a space barely wide enough to walk through.  I attempt to make myself as small as possible and take up as little space as possible with my stuff as I pack it.  I make it downstairs by 10:30 am and check out.  I don't actually have a clue what I am planning on doing today or where I intend to go.  I bump into Jason and he invites me to go to Patagonia with him.  We wander down 1st street and then look around, but neither one of us finds anything we are interested in, so we walk back past the hostel to The North Face, where he finds a waterproof duffel bag that would be perfect for his needs.  He doesn't buy it as he knows he can find it online cheaper.  We plan on eating soup for lunch but none of today's seven featured soups at the soup place appeal to us, so we walk to Pioneer Square and end up at a nice sports bar.  We dine on fresh local fare and I try a crab cake with a spicy aioli on a sesame bun.  We wander around and then decide to go into the new Seattle Public Library (the one that was built only a few years ago).  The building is odd to say the least.  Large metal beams protruding at all angles make it stick out oddly into the conservative architecture of the area, but once you enter you are met with more steel architecture, white walls and wasabi colored escalators...with weird hologram faces of people talking to you.  The next floor provides an overlook of the floor below which is decorated with fake plants and rugs designed to look like grass.  There is also an amorphous tunnel of bright red with many pathways leading outward (the heart of the library?)  Floors 4 through 8 are all one floor, with a subtle diagonal floor that means you spiral down as you move though the stacks and suddenly find yourself four floors lower as you browse the shelves. The elevator is wasabi colored and the chairs are made to look like concrete but feel like soft cushions.  It is an odd experience.  We leave the library, walk back to the hostel and look at items of outdoor gear online.  Jason leaves the hostel at 3:30 pm for his flight to Hawaii and I continue looking at options of where to go tomorrow on the computer, trying not to be frustrated with the number of different ferries and detours I must take to get anywhere.  I bump into Worter, my Dutch friend and we play geography trivia online...I slowly get better at Eastern European capitols and naming all the countries in Africa, but I feel pathetic, regardless, of my horrible geography skills.  I cook gourmet basil tangerine fettucine with almonds and pesto and then update my journal.  A Hawaiian friend I made in the hostel today (Winnie) has invited me to stay on her sister's floor tonight...if I don't want to pay to stay in the hostel.  I don't know what I will choose, I will probably just spend the night in the hostel, because it is closer to the ferry terminal.  After much thought, I figure it will be too much work to try to connect with Winnie, so I just pay for another night in the hostel.  I play trivial pursuit with Wouter, an American woman, Victor, and myself.  It is the 90's edition and we are all struggling with it.  When did the 90's begin to feel like ancient history?  Half-way through the game, Wouter and the woman start playing with the Star Wars questions, as do the two new people that join our game, while Victor and I continue to answer the 90's questions.  At 12:30 am, we all decide to go across the street to the Can Can Room for a drink.  I am there for the conversation, as I don't really have money or the wish to spend money on alcohol.  I stay for the conversation.  We discuss music, politics, and life and somehow manage to stay out until 3 am, with the intention of waking up at 7 am.  All in all, I proved today that I have somehow managed to forget most of the 1990's and a good portion of world geography...how long has it been since I was in school?  eek.

After a day of studying Washington maps and then playing world geography games, I am tired of thinking where to go now.