Navigating Place

Yesterday I moved into my new apartment: 1104 17th Ave. E. I live in the lower level of a home that the owners (two artists with their three sons) turned into a rental apartment; it's in very good condition and I'm enjoying my little home away from home. A particularly nice feature of the apartment is that I have a T1 WiFi connection, so I have very fast access to the Internet. After moving in and setting up the space to my satisfaction I met up with Anoo and Vamshi at their home to set up our initial attack on Glerb. It will take us awhile to synch on a common view of the company but I trust the process; we'll get there soon enough. I then went to a QFC supermarket to stock up on some basics and then returned to the apartment to work on a proposal to attend an NSF-sponsored conference, “Slow Down, You Move Too Fast: Rethinking the Culture of Busyness and IT.” It was due last night at midnight, so I worked up to the deadline and submitted a document that reflected the work Thomas Baker and I had been exploring on "Slow Change Interaction Design." We'll see if we get in.

Today has not gone as smoothly. After breakfast I decided it was time to navigate my neighborhood and explore Capitol Hill. I hoped to find a nice coffee and tea house where I could sip a drink and do my work, but it was not so simple -- even with Yelp. Often I would find a place but there was no obvious parking. And after about an hour I felt I was driving around in circles and getting increasingly frustrated and a little sorry for myself. So I decided to drive to Volunteer Park (actually walking distance from my home) and explore by foot. What I discovered was a park with an Asian Arts Museum, a conservatory featuring an orchid exhibit, and a very clear view of the Space Needle and the Cascade Mountains. [I'm very aware of the severe winter storm in Bloomington and throughout much of the nation; I wish you could be out here today!]

Right now I'm in one of Settle's public libraries and enjoying the open space.

Tonight I work on my vision for Glerb education... and outline my book on Design Pedagogy. But first I need to find some good Asian fusion food for dinner!