Seconds, Returns, and Leftovers

In one of my college writing classes, we did an exercise where we wrote the same story from the points of view of two different characters in the story. It was fun, but it put a lot of pressure on the second point of view. Most of them turned out to be crap, and added little to the story. The same could probably be said of my blog posts.

While TC was clawing his way back to even on the blackjack tables at Tulalip this weekend, I was in the poker room, which was delightfully non-smoking. I hate hearing about people's poker stories, especially their bad losses, so I won't bore you with the minutae of my hands. (Here's how all poker stories go, by the way: "I had the best hand and I put tons of money into the pot and then this guy got totally lucky and I lost." You've now heard every poker story ever told.) Anyway, it turned out to be a fun session because when I stood up, I had more money than when I sat down. Any time that happens, I consider it a success.

As for REI, my family has had a membership for more than 20 years. Some of my earliest memories of Utah are of ratting around the store with my brother while my parents browsed. I decided years ago that that's where I'd want to register when I got married. I don't need sterling silver placesettings or martini shakers or candelabras, thank you. But a kayak? Or a climbing harness? Or a waterproof/breathable soft shell jacket for spring trail running? Yes, please. I'm a big fan of REI. One of the few ways that REI could be more perfect is if it was a leggy brunette that dug Chinese dudes.

So even though I knew that the Seattle REI was the flagship store, I was impressed by just how awesome it was. Here's what the interior and back entrance look like. What you can't see in the second picture (that's a 30-foot waterfall) is the bike trail that wraps around the property. For people to test out bikes, of course. Oh, and there was a sale.

I think I rooted through every sale bin they had there, which were chock full of things I don't need and only kind of want, but was still willing to buy. I'm lucky to have walked out with only a pair of biking shorts (baggy, not spandex, though the padding still makes me feel like I'm wearing a diaper. Not that I remember what that feels like).

And those technical jeans that Tyler mentioned? We got them right here. Maybe if that homeless dude who sat next to Tyler had been wearing these, he would have kept them on.