Convention Postcard:
On Thursday (8/17) I was fearful of having the same painful repurcussion of long delayed flights inthe Airtran terminal at Logan. (The prior week I had a painful ordeal and long wait as it is boring and small. (Not much fun at all). I got to the airport two hours early for my flight. I went over to the terminal with United and Jet Blue and sat down at their food court to stretch out and relax until I NEEDED to be at my terminal. I am glad I did. I got something at BK, sat down wrote some cards and post cards. I found it relaxed me and whiled the time away nicely.
I returned to Terminal C for Airtran and went through the security line without a glitch (15 minutes). The bins for banned items this time around was not as bad as last Thursday (the first day of the ban on all liquid, gels and other items of similar thickness. Surprisingly my flight was on time (I was counting my blessings as I needed to make a connection at Atlanta). I sat down on the last row 31D (requesting an aisle seat) and Rhi is seated beside me. Little would I know, I would have the second best conversation with another person on a plane ride up til now. The first person to get this honor is my bud Emo after the NAAAP Houston convention many moons ago.
Rhi is a biochem Ph. D. student in Washington and is originally from Michigan. She was in town attending a conference for school in NH. She is a very vivacious, pretty gal who loves trying new things, traveling (she just got back from living one month in Rome, lived a year in Germany while in High School and toured Granada and Morocco with her boyfriend earlier this year in the spring.
We proceed to chit chat for the next 3.5 hours and during our layover break bread together at the Atlanta Bread House ---I get the half sandwich and half soup combo (chicken specialty sandwich and chicken chili are more. Not bad for airport fare and under $10 (memories of my $9 Wolfgang Puck sandwich with nothing else came back to mind at Logan).
I decide to chit chat with friends and catch up with my lovely friend Hien. Being punctual was too good to be true, we end our streak being one hour delayed from Atlanta to Seattle. The reason was due to a loose screw (really I am not kidding). But better safe than sorry and the rest of the flight almost 5 hours I nap.
Instead of a midnight arrival I get in at 1am PST into SeaTac. Nien and Felicia are kind enough to get me at the airport. I felt bad as they both have to go to work a few hours later as it is still a Friday and work day. I do chatter with Felicia a bit more before sleeping at 4am (I cannot easily sleep so I email and catch up with friends since I have internet access). Now my friend Felicia and her boyfriend live in West Seattle and have a great view of Seattle from their new place. When I visited this past March, they were still residing in Downtown. In fact, they could see the apartment building across from them that was used for Naomi Watt's apartment in the thriller movie "The Ring".
Day One (friday 8/18), I successfully wake up in time to catch the #21 Bus at 7:40am ($1.50) within 20 minutes I am whisked to 1st Street and Marion. I walk up the 6 blocks uphill on Madison to the Renaisance Hotel (515 Madison Street corner of 6th) the site of the NAAAP Convention for 2006.
Seattle City by day from the hotel(pics above are from Renaissance hotel website:www.marriott.com
The streets going up can get steep, I had to take a break and go to pharmacy to get chapstick and much needed rest.
I wanted to make the Day 1, opening speech and I did manage to get breakfast which was a breakfast buffet. I got fruit, sausage, eggs and orange juice. Our keynote was Deena Ebbert and she was very dynamic and entertaining while being full of energy. I got to say hello to some old friends I have made through the years and people I have seen around but got to konw better this time around.
JC who is a sheriff in SF has been someone I had a great chance of getting to know better this convention. Ted S. of Ohio, he is a very active member of the NAAAP team and formerly lived in NC and knows a good friend Leroy. Rose----I love Rose! She is a wonderful person both full of spunk and energy (I adore going karaoking with her!) Her roomie Emily S also from Chicago is a sweetie. JF the photographer galore and person to beat in terms of the most consecutive conventions attended and JL (has one on me) since I saw him at OCA and NAAAP as well.
The Texans Leewa and John C are there per usual. I am psyched to see New Yorker Frances L (whom I met at the SF convention and bonded with on the last day of the convention while eating dim sum that fateful Sunday). Fonda is a blast and Raytheon has a strong showing per usual. Always impressed with them and their unified presence at the convention. Mike M of CIA is also a great face to see. I heard our former NAAAP National Prez Edward Y of NC got engaged. Congratulations and I am happy for you and your fiancee!
I get to attend the first session and go to the FISH PHILOSOPHY which Deena is the speaker. She is great and the whole workshop is based on the fish market at Pikes Market (known for throwing their fish around). But the workshop is a bit more involved and informative than what I am telling you.I love her shameless ploys to get active audience participation (I did participate to get a fish -I freely admit to it!).
The second workshop I attend (though cut out early) is about entrepreneurs. Sam Kim (NAAAP Boston president) is the moderator. I meet him for the first time. I have heard many good things about him and under his brief leadership thus far many good things have happened.
I decide to head to the Career Fair. The convention cannot happen without the support of our corporate sponsors. I was happy to see that we had a robust career fair. I remembered a time when we did not have much of one. Those days are long gone. I do have to say, one complaint but it is more based on the structure of the hotel, the career fair was on three separate floors and very confusing to find. But I got over it.
Lunch was a good time talking to Mike M and reminiscing about OCA and when we first met and our friends in the Northern Viriginia Area. He has two cute kids and I cannot wait to see the pics he has taken of them!
The afternoon session, I pass on and decide to go with a small group of friends to visit the FUTURE OF FLIGHT --Boeing museum in Everett. John C has a rental and we all hop in to head north to the museum. Turns out there is major traffic and we are a snails pace to get to the museum. Luckily we get there just in the nick of time to participate in the last tour of the day at 3:30. There are strict rules for participation--no cameras, cell phones, electronic devices, purses, bags, cannot have anything in your hands).
the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour (http://www.futureofflight.org/)
Admission Rates General Admission ........... $15.00 Senior Citizen (65+) ......... $14.00 Active Military (with ID) .... $14.00 Children (6-15 years) ....... $8.00 No ticket is required for children under age 6 Gallery Only (no Boeing Tour) ................. $9.00 Gallery Only Children (6-15 years) .......... $4.00 Boeing Employee (with current ID) .......... $7.50 Advance Ticket Convenience Charge * ... $2.50 *Applies only to advance tickets for guaranteed tour times. Tickets purchased at the Future of Flight Aviation Center are not subject to a convenience charge. All rates and times are subject to change without notice. Boeing Tour Information The Boeing Everett factory tours are conducted to showcase The Boeing Company and the Everett product line, the 747, 767, 777 and soon 787. As part of the tour, visitors walk through part of the largest building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet). On the Boeing flight line, visitors see airplanes in various stages of assembly, manufacture and flight test for airline customers around the world. ==================================================== We wanted to see the Salmon at the locks but we did not get enough time. Since this is Francis' first time we end up visiting Capitol Hill where Bruce Lee is buried. (15th and Prospect) We were there at dusk which was very pretty and it has a beautiful view of the water. A closer view of the grave site: Bruce Lee's grave and Brandon Lee's grave
(all Bruce Lee gravesite photos from www.allbrucelee.com) Our group makes it back to the hotel and miss the buses that take us to the ODYSSEYMaritime discovery buidling where dinner and the night's entertainment is held. We get there too late so we find no tables for us to sit down. We are served a buffet dinner salad greens, chicken in a cream sauce, potatoes, julienned green beans and carrots and some cookies, carrot cake and brownies. 
2205 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, the Bell Street Pier, on Seattle's central waterfront, between the Edgewater Inn and Anthony's Pier 66 restaurant.   |
Head back to the hotel to go to HEAVENS (located at the edge of Pioneer Square for clubbing). We are lucky to have the school buses drive us over (not originally planned) and there is free admittance with Convention badge (thanks to Nancy Ko and former NAAAP Boston member and even planner extraodinaire). I get in and hang out there for an hour. The music is good but all over the place for me and great to check out but I decide to hoof it back to the hotel (only done in 20 minutes). So from there I can head back to Felicia's (by 1:15am).
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