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| Tully's at the Chinatown/International District (Hawaiian Odysseus photo) |
An overcast day in Seattle, an anomaly for this late in the calendar in past years but a common occurrence this year.
I seek comfort from the ashen morning sky in the familiar and homey ambience of Tully's at 625 5th Avenue S. in the Chinatown/International District.
Starbucks may be the reigning coffee champ, but Tully's--a very close second, in my opinion--appeals to me with its willingness to invest in very comfortable and utilitarian chairs and tables. Forget the tiny circular tables that leave no room for the laptop to rest easily for fear of pushing the coffee cup off of the table...or, worse yet, spilling the java onto the electronic device, thus ensuring the early demise of both. Tully's may very well replace the coffee, but the burial of the laptop is imminent at dusk.
After my graveyard shift at the bagel shop, I caught the Sound Transit 545 bus from Redmond at 6:26 AM across the street from my favorite all-stop grocery/department store, Fred Meyer, and--almost an hour later--arrived at a bus stop on the northeast corner of the block where this Tully's takes up residence on the southeast corner. Across the street--due east--is the world-acclaimed Uwajimaya store where I shop for Asian/Pacific Islander items I can't find anywhere else in this city as well as enjoy an occasional local boy's meal. After finishing this post, in fact, I plan to go over to Uwajimaya and purchase my favorite pastry as of late, SWEET RED BEAN BUN, only $1.35 per generous-sized piece, at the YUMMY HOUSE BAKERY.
For now, I am enjoying my window seat at Tully's, nursing a tall cup of their morning brew. My earlier caffeinated drink had been the Americano with coconut syrup. As long as a customer remains in the shop, subsequent drinks are free. FREE is a decent four letter word. I like FREE.
I AM free. Free to make decisions like coming here this morning to work on my eBay marketing and accounting. I thankfully recorded five more sales of fishing hooks.
You've been with me long enough, dear reader, to know that the above link was coming as soon as I mentioned fishing hooks.
That's how I ride.
After all, at almost 59 years of age, and after working almost five years at the bagel shop in the Microsoft capital of the world, Redmond, Washington, I am transitioning back home to Walla Walla County next month. A lot of changes and adjustments are in store for me, not the least of which is an earnest attempt to re-create myself. Much of that will be critically riding on two things, each of which I passionately invest a great deal of time and energy in--my business on eBay and my writing.
Soon, very soon, so soon that I can taste the delicious liberation of it, I will no longer have to commute almost four hours each day and tear my body up in the process of baking 10,000 bagels each night and living/sleeping a vampire's hours.
Soon, very soon, so soon that I can taste the delicious involvement of it, I will be able to pursue my self-imposed writing assignments and explore entrepreneurial interests for longer periods each day. This will be crucial to my goal of developing a viable source of income that approaches and, hopefully, gradually surpasses what I earned as a bagel baker.
Right here, at this very moment, I am thinking and declaring powerful affirmations for my Odyssean success.
Indeed, while enjoying valuable alone time at one of my favorite coffee shops, Tully's, at the Chinatown/International District, I celebrate my upcoming return home to my Ithaca (College Place) and my Queen Penelope (Rita).
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