Sleeping in Seattle
On the bedstand: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I picked it at a neighbor's garage sale. Something about that title, right?
My first night in Seattle was spent on a square of carpet. The sheets I nicked from the Irish hotel turned into the finest souvenir I brought back.It was a contentious evening. Freshly arrived, though feeling far from fresh, I met with the apartment manager to finalize the lease with an autograph. Up to this point, I had only submitted a deposit and given a verbal pledge, despite asking to see and sign the lease.Now the lease was in front of me, at 9:30pm on the tail end of international travels, and I noticed that several items that had been anticipated failed to come into fruition. I threatened to not sign. The apartment manager called my bluff. He was right too. What was I going to do, walk out? And go where?And with that, I was a Seattleite.A few nights later, I upgraded from that corner of carpet to a cot. My colleague Rich asked how I was getting on. When he heard of my sleeping situation, he immediately offered up his cot. Those nicked sheets provided the next layer of comfort.
My first "big" purchase for the apartment was a couch. Sectional. Pull-out, but not in the lame, uncomfortable, grandmother's-house way. This was IKEA cool. And comfortable! Easily the most comfortable couch-bed I've ever owned. The pillows weren't made for sleeping though. Fortunately I had a pillow case stuffed with towels and sweaters. After the first week, the crick in my neck felt like a part of the family.
For the fifth time in five months, I was calling a new apartment "home." The year lease ensured that this one might have a bit more staying power. The task now is to actually turn it in to a home.