— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

I'm experiencing a kind of long tail of recognition for my promotion at work, which officially went into effect on January 1, although Gabby was on vacation at the time and did not send the announcement to the office until nearly halfway through the month, on Monday, January 12.

I received a flood of congratulatory emails on that day—about 20 of them in all—and I figured that would basically be the end of it. I did got a couple of straggling emails over the next couple of days, one the next day and one the day after that; Gabby sent the email to "All Office" and also the "SD" alias, which meant the Store Directors at all 16 stores. I have to admit I was somewhat surpised nothing went out to the All POS alias, as POS are my primary contacts at stores and I hardly ever communicate with SDs.

And then, seemingly out of the blue, I did get a congratulatory email from one of the POS Admins, Luke from the Columbia City store, on Wednesday last week. He even included a pasted text that I did not recognize at all:

Promotions
Please join us in celebrating Matthew McQuilkin’s promotion to Pricing Analyst! Matthew has been with the co-op for over 23 years, mentoring and supporting Merchandisers, Associate Merchandisers, and Specialists throughout his journey. Congratulations on your new role, Matthew!

This email had come from him mid-morning, 10:32 a.m. I responded with a thank-you but also a note of curiosity: to me, my promotion is kind of old news—like, a month and a half—so why the congratulations now? He replied that it was noted in this month's "Co-op Monthly Update."

. . . Oh. That's an email everyone co-op wide gets, including me. It was sitting in my own inbox, having been received at 9:50 a.m. I just hadn't read it yet.

In my defense, it would not in a million years have occurred to me that my promotion would get mention in a monthly co-op-wide email newsletter. I would never regard it as newsworthy enough to alert not just office staff but all store staff! I can only assume this was an addition Gabby suggested. She loves to pump up the accomplishments of everyone on her team every way she can (even if, as in this case, my accomplishment was entirely thanks to her), and to be clear I really appreciate and love that about her.

I also got another POS email, this one from Dylan at the Central District store (my home store as a shopper), early that same afternoon. Dylan's message in nearly its entirety is quote worthy: Does this mean you won't be our Center Store Support Specialist Extraordinaire anymore? Hopefully this new role comes with more $ and maybe a few less headaches? haha You are so great and deserve all the promotions!

Dylan is not the first one to basically say "Hopefully you got a raise!" And responding to that has been tricky, as the raise I actually got so far exceeded my expectations that I don't think it would be wise to share that detail with people. I'm basically just like, "Yes, I did." Although with Dylan I noted that the promotion basically aknowledges more responsibility I already took on over time, so my job is really not changing, which doesn't necesarrily mean "less headaches." Thankfully this job comes with few headaches. I should have said that to them.

Anyway, all of this is to say, the reason I even bring it up now, as it came up yet again this morning—this time in person. It was very cold this morning as I walked to work, 34°, so I got out of the cold as soon as I could and walked through the Seattle Convention Center and then the Skinner Concourse to the office. This necessitates cutting through the Corner Market store, to get from the concourse to the office door on the other end (the Rainier Square Lobby entrance, which I use when walking fully outside, does not connect to the concourse).

As I was walking past the self-check registers in the store, I heard a guy say, "Good morning, Matthew! Congratulations!" I looked up and saw Shae, the guy who does a lot of the POS work there. He was even holding up his arm and pointing at me as I passed. I smiled and said "Thank you."

I suppose it's appropriate to feel this loved so close to Valentine's Day, though—even platonically.

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I suppose I'll otherwise start there when it comes to my weekend. Shobhit had rehearsal in Tacoma most of the day, and for the first time since rehearsals began, he opted to take the bus. This meant taking the Sound Transit #594 Express to downtown Tacoma, which takes roughly an hour; "The Spire" the converted church where the Tacoma rehearsals are taking place, is 1.7 miles from there. When I noted to Shobhit he could walk that distance and get his steps in, that's what he chose to do.

Shobhit is also often kind of shockingly superstitious. He said he woke up really afraid that if he drove to rehearsal that day he'd get in an accident. He felt way better having decided to take the bus. I think the bus is a far more pleasant choice even without the superstion. His rehearsal technically started at noon but he caught the bus on 9th & Howell at 10:23, if I remember right; it was close to 10 a.m. when he left home as he walked to that bus stop.

In the meantime, Laney and I had our Saturday Happy Hour for the month—something I long ago rescheduled to Sunday the 15th to leave Valentine's Day unscheduled, but then when it turned out Shobhit would be at rehearsal most of the day, we moved it back. Plus, for a long while we weren't sure if we'd be able to go for the chosen location of Roma Roma Pizza as it was kind of unclear exactly when they would open. Well, they just opened recently—so recently, in fact, that their website barely exists—and in a stupendously fantastic location for both of us: they're in the recently-closed Rache's Ginger Beer location at the 12th Avenue Arts building, just off Pine on 12th. I had to walk all of three blocks to get there; Laney had about four blocks. Laney and I live six blocks from each other; this is very much a "meet in the middle" place.

It's not like anyone needs a new pizza joint around, except that this one does do a key thing differently: they have the pizzas pre-made but not yet baked; they use cooking scissors to cut off whatever size you want and then they sell it by the ounce before they bake it for you. Laney and I both got the same two vegetarian flavors, one with potatoes and the other with pepper-marinated parmesan. The latter was kind of shockingly spicy but still good; Shobhit would love it.

Their drink menu left a bit to be desired. They sold a select few cocktails but did not have a full bar so could not make any others—and they didn't even have regular soda as an option. I actually brought two shots of rum to pour into a coke but couldn't have that. I ordered a "Spritz" which turned out to be quite tasy anyway. They also had Italian Sodas, though, and I didn't even think until Laney mentioned it that I could easily have put rum in one of those. I considered doing it with a second drink but then never felt compelled to get a second one. I took the rum back home and wound up using those shots in Zevia Cherry Cola yesterday.

Laney had no booze at all. She apparently has a new cardiologist who is stricter than the last one, and apparently really emphasized that if Laney has the goal of living longer, particularly with a heart condition, she should give up alcohol altogether. So, she's going to try it. She only had water. She sees this as a doubly usetul tack because she's saving up for a possible new van for going out on the road again, though she hasn't fully made up her mind on doing that.

Roma Roma had more staff than customers at mid-afternoon on Saturday. One guy was trying very hard to keep himself busy and so he made the rounds filling people's water glasses countless times. It got to the point where Laney would cover her cup so he wouldn't pour her more, and still she had to go use the bathroom so she wouldn't have to pee too badly on her way home. Walking four blocks! Well, as we're both very fond of reminding each other regularly anymore, neither of us is getting any younger—she's 68, and I'm about to turn 50 in a couple of months.

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

While Shobhit was on his way home after rehearsal, he actually asked me what my plans were for the evening. It kind of surprised me he thought I might have other plans for when he got back. Spending Valentine's Day evening with you, I responded.

I knew the pizza would cover my dinner, even if I did eat it fairly early and I was home from that by roughly 4:30. Shobhit suggested we find a place to get some dessert, and I thought that was a great idea. He did ask if we should just go get a dessert at Trader Joe's, and I was like: not if you want a Social Review point!

I looked at ratings on Yelp and found this place called Sugar Bakery just a few blocks from home. We did walk over there, but it was less than an hour before they closed an all they had were cookies that did not really appeal to us. We left and decided maybe we should try R+M Dessert Bar several blocks down on Pike. But, that also meant walking past Salt & Straw Ice Cream, and when Shobhit asked if we should maybe go there, I said sure! They have great ice cream.

I really wanted to sit and eat it there, but all seats were taken. Shobhit got two scoops inside a waffle bowl, and we ate it outside. We did find a place to sit for a few minutes, though: Shobhit decided to get a couple slices of pizza from Hot Mama's Pizza a block over on Pine—a reliable standby for decades—and they have a few small outdoor tables. Thankfully it was not raining. I finished most of the ice cream while Shobhit stood in line for pizza, then we walked home and he ate his red papper flake-smothered pizza as we walked.

When we got home we watched a movie. At my suggestion, I wanted to watch a romance movie since it was Valentine's Day. I feel like this could become a nice annual tradition, actually. I Googled "best romance movies of all time," and found this Variety piece from last year, of the "50 Greatest Romantic Movies of All Time." #1 and #2 were hardly surprises, being Casablanca and Titanic, respectively, but what they ranked #3 was an Alfred Hitchock movie I had never seen: To Catch a Thief.

So, I went looking for that. It's not available on any of the streamers I subscribe to. But! I found it as a streamer I could check out of the Seattle Public Library, and screencast that to our TV. It worked out perfectly, and I quite enjoyed it. The story is not nearly as intricate as most Hitchcock films, and I can't say it makes sense to me to rank it as the "third greatest romantic movie of all time," but I was beautifully shot and I had a fun time watching it. I might consult this list again for Valentine's Day next year. I like this idea.

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

Now I'll move back one day, to Friday, when Shobhit's rehearsal was canceled, and so he met up with me after the movie I saw at Pacific Place, at 6:15, and again at my suggestion to help him get steps in, I suggested we go check out the Belltown Art Walk for the first time.

This one occurs every second Saturday, and had at one point been my suggestion to Danielle as this year's commemmoration of the anniversary of her moving to Seattle—especially since she lived with me in my apartment in Belltown for four months, making it both appropriate and free, as she needs for her budget right now. Alas, she was working that day. But! She is currently not scheduled to work on the second Friday in March so she actually has her calendar marked for it. And after doing the Art Walk with Shobhit this past Friday, I am much more confident she'll really enjoy it.

We did not realize until after going outside at Pacific Place that three of the locations on the Belltown Art Walk map are in Pacific Place, so we went back inside. Two of them were on the 2nd floor, two units away from each other; one offered cups of wine for a $2-$5 suggested donation (Shobhit poured two small cups for each of us and donated $2); another had a crackers and cheese plate from which I took one bite. The third was up on the third floor and had a crafts table for Art Walk and otherwise sold a lot of locally produced stuff. It seems a lot of "ArtWalk" venue participants, if they are not a straight up art gallery (and there are many of those), kind of glurs the line between exhibited art and their own merchandise.

I tried to plot a course based on the map I found online, which was very difficult to keep open at the same spot. Now that I am familiar with a bunch of the places, though, I will create my own list for when Danielle comes next month, with a hopefully more knowingly plotted course. As it was, including the three places we stopped at in Pacific Place, Shobhit and I went to maybe 12 participating venues and galleries, and that was out of 38 listed. We might have gone to more, but for two key elements: it was lightly rainy and wet, which made walking between the venues less pleasant; and Shobhit was very tired after a long day of errands, including a drive all the way down to Olympia for a costume fitting even though the rehearsal scheduled that evening had been canceled. By the time we got to Base Camp Studios, which we realized once down in the basement was where we once saw Ry do a stage vocal performance, Shobhit was starting to complain about any of my dawdling and saying he felt like he night be coming down with something.

"I'm feeling something in my throat," he loves to say. He says this frequently. I'd say maybe three quarters of the time, it turns out to be nothing. So far right now, as of the rest of the weekend he seems to be fine. I still don't want to downplay this, though—with his packed schedule of rehearsals and then performances next month, he should be doing everything he can to minimize the risk of catching any viruses.

I still feel compelled to mention three of the coolest stops on our walk.

#1: Base Camp Studios 2, which we actually went to first, before going to the original Base Camp Studios. They had a ticketed event going on in the ground-floor space, some performance having to do with mermaids, and it was $20 each, which we opted against. But right next to that entrance was a door to a staircase up to the 2nd floor, where this space is hosting galleries for a whopping 39 artists. And we saw a lot of cool stuff up there. (All three images in today's post are from the Belltown Art Walk; the middle one, which I included here more because of how it amused me than it being particularly amazing, was taken at Base Camp Studios 2.) We met a guy in a sort of half-office, half-gallery space who turned out to be very involved in the leasing of the entire second floor of this building, and he told us he removed tens of thousands of pounds of garbage, bird shit and dead pigeons out of there. He said before they moved in the space had been vacant for 40 years, which I found amazing. Anyway, this space alone made me think Danielle would enjoy the Art Walk.

#2: Slip Gallery, which is currently hosting an exhibition of art by transgender artists. A lot of it was very frankly sexual, with a very trans context, but a lot of it was of, say, sweet poses of a cat (see the image below). I would have loved for Danielle to see this one, but alas, the exhibit will close about a week before the next Belltown Art Walk. Presumably something else just as cool will be in its place, though. This one, by the way, was also doubling as the Opening Reception, so it was packed. How full or empty the place was really depended on the venue; some were very dead, even though even some of those had great art.

#3: Junior's, a vintage store that did have a lot of art on display in addition to its plethora of vintage merchandise. The distinctive part of this place, though, is in the back: the Official Bad Art Museum of Art (OBAMA), which I had never heard of, was delighted by, and can't wait to take Danielle to.

There was lots of great art in other venues too, but these were the three most memorable places to me. We could have gone to many more, but Shobhit was tired and wanted to go home; we walked back to Pike Street and caught a bus.

Before all that, and why Shobhit met up with me at Pacific Place, I had gone to a 3:30 showing of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die—which I didn't really like. I wrote that review right after Shobhit and I got home again.

I was scheduled to see that with Laney, but she had to cancel at the last minute, thanks to a neighbor who needed emotional support after euthanizing a cat she really loved. Apparently the woman's daughter was supposed to come by but was delayed, and when Laney ran into her in the hallway she felt compelled to stay with her. It sounds like she doesn't even really know the lady that well, but I still get it. And as it happens, as far as I'm concerned she didn't miss much anyway. I mean, she probably would have enjoyed the movie more than conforting someone in the throes of grief, and she might even have liked the movie more than I did (I really seem to be in the minority on this, but I stand by my assertion that the movie has no original ideas whatsoever). But I still kind of think she was better off not seeing that movie.

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

And this, finally, brings us to yesterday, when I had no social engagements, Shobhit had rehearsal (at least this one was at Seattle Center, which made it easier), but I still went to a movie. This time I saw Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which was . . . kind of amazing. The "plot," such as it was, edited together after a ton of improvisation, was hardly perfect. But this is the kind of movie that, when you realize everything you see onscreen is real, is astonishing enough to have you constantly asking yourself how the hell they did it.

The film is truly a marvel of editing, and I have a hard time believing that no special effects were used, but maybe there weren't? I'm pretty stuck on the use of real footage of the two stars from 2007 to 2009 for a time-travel sequence in which they go back to the year 2008. I was convinced some VFX had to be used there, but it's possible it was just expert combination of editing and blocking. I suppose you could still call that a special effect? I don't know. Whatever the case, I was stunned by it. And it didn't hurt that the movie was pretty fucking funny.

Shobhit's rehearsal ended at 6:00, and when he got home we had to wait until a little while before 7:00 when we could watch the penultimate episode of the first season of A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, which was fantastic. And then we had only to wait until 8:30 to watch the season premiere of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which was also fantastic. And I think, finally, that's all the news that's fit to print from my Valentine's Day weekend.

— पाँच हज़ार नौ सौ इकहत्तर —

[posted 12:30pm]