For the first time ever, I got to see the West Coast! Thanks to my day job, I visited Seattle, Washington for a conference last week. Alan was fortunately able to tag along with me making the trip that much more special. When we landed, we had about three hours of the only sunshine we saw all week, so we definitely made the most of it by checking into all of the cliche and touristy sights. After leaving the airport, we headed to the Space Needle and made a pit-stop in a three-story Target to get snacks before checking into our hotel. We walked down to the waterfront and saw the cutest ferris wheel. We made our way to Pike Place Market to see the fishermen slinging fish back and forth as well as other handmade goods by the local artisans.
We ate lunch at the cutest little seafood restaurant where I finally got real crab cakes. We sat in the brightest atrium and were finally able to relax after 8+ hours traveling. Jet lag fortunately did not affect me upon arrival the same way it did when we went to Vegas last fall, but it definitely got me on the way home. After eating and running around the market more to see the fruit and flower vendors, we saw the original Starbucks location and got some Seattle coffee of our own. I was honestly surprised at the large number of homeless people we encountered in just a few hours on foot. I had previously heard Seattle struggled as a city with many homeless residents, but I was shocked by the number of people sleeping on the street and asking for both money and food.
My main purpose for visiting the area was to attend DrupalCon 2019. Drupal is an open source web framework that my university uses. I attended last year’s conference held in Nashville and was excited to come back and learn more about making the websites I manage more accessible to all. I was a little disappointed with the sessions I attended this year because I felt like so many were surface-level when it came to addressing universal design, accessibility, and inclusion in tech workplaces. I did recognize several faces from last year’s event, and I was excited to connect with other people who also work in higher education like me. I attended 12 sessions total over three days. My favorite one was probably the least technical in nature, but it explored the use of words like “rockstar” and “ninja” in tech job descriptions and to describe developers. I see this type of language all the time used on websites, job forums, and among the tech startup culture as trendy means of soliciting new talent. Honestly, I feel like such terms are gendered and limiting as if they diminish the work and talent of skilled web developers. The session explored the use of “rockstar” on Drupal’s website specifically and hundreds instances of use without context, explanation, or real meaning. Although it was a little nuanced, I really enjoyed this session as a break from more technical trainings as it encouraged us to think about the ways we both praise and recruit individuals in the field.
Every time we had a break in the conference, I tried to sneak out to try local restaurants within walking distance. I tried a Greek place, 2 Mexican restaurants, a crepe stand, and 2 steakhouses while traveling. I was surprised, but without reason, to find many Asian food spots nearby and many came highly recommended by friends and Yelp reviewers. I was not too impressed with the local Mexican options or the French-inspired choice, but the bar food from the steakhouses was delicious. I had bacon tater tots, crab cake sliders, a hummus platter, and a fresh salads. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cocktails, but I did find my favorite bourbons readily available and without a huge markup. Win!
On our last night in town, after the conference wrapped up, Alan and I spontaneously decided to buy tickets to a concert within walking distance from our hotel. We saw Dan + Shay – we each only know a couple songs – but had so much fun at a small venue with general admission only. I used to attend concerts all the time, but haven’t done so in awhile and almost forgot how much I love live music. After the concert ended, we walked back towards our hotel in the pouring rain, but decided to stop at an arcade-like place and spent the next two hours playing classics like air hockey, ski ball, and more. I haven’t done anything like that in years let alone how spontaneous our night was. I think we get a little too caught up in work, time, and money we could be saving that we forget to take chances and spend on experiences – no matter however mundane. Sure, we could have seen a show and played arcade games without leaving Kentucky, but I am so glad we didn’t think too much before letting ourselves have fun.
After staying out until 1 AM on a Thursday, Friday was meant for airplane naps. Both Alan and I have a little bit of flight anxiety, but I am so glad we were on larger planes, didn’t have much turbulence, and had the little screens in the back of the seats to watch movies the whole way home. A funny fact: Delta’s featured artist of the month is The 1975 meaning every person on the flights can listen to their new album and watch their new music videos for free and advertised right away. In just a short month, we’ll be in Cincinnati seeing them live! Sometimes, the world is small and warm. On the way home, we made the determination that Seattle wasn’t our perfect cup of tea, but we had a great week together. I can’t wait until our next adventure!
