Days go right more often than wrong.
Apr. 15th, 2009 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i_idI had a bad dream last night, not so much a nightmare as the kind of dream about being late and later and later and then you wake up frustrated and angry with yourself for not having achieved anything. And I woke up worried that it might portend something bad, but the day went off without a hitch.
We got out of the house only ten minutes late, which is better than typical. I wish Bog could drive, but she'll get there eventually. So two hours on the road, my usual brief spat of getting lost in South Seattle, and I dropped her off at a friendly-looking Starbucks and headed over to HealForce for my pre-employment physical.
I've never done one of these before. First was a drug test, then a hearing test, which was a bit surreal. Shut inside a soundproof booth, wearing soundproof headphones, trying to hear infinitesimally quiet digital tones over the thundering of your own blood and lungs. A person could rapidly go mad.
Next was an agility/strength exam. I had to 1) put on a survival suit in under two minutes. These things are ridiculous. 2) tow 50lbs of fire house four times across the length of the occupational therapy office. 3) lift (from the knees with ease) a fifty pound crate and carry it up, then down a flight of stairs. 4) don a safety harness and climb up a fixed ladder, then down a free-hanging Jacob's ladder. 5) don fire coat, air tank, and rebreather mask, then crawl through a lightless maze without banging into too many walls or freaking out.
I passed just fine. I have this job.
Once all of that was done, I went back to fetch the sister, and we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. It's recently been massively remodeled, and they have a glorious new tidal tank right in the new entry lobby. It's big, it's beautiful, it's full of my favorite local fish.
Beyond that, most bits are unchanged, though it seems smaller every time I go. The Giant Pacific Octopus was in rare form, not only out of her usual crevice, but sprawled like an exhibitionist across the glass of her cylindrical tank. She's so beautiful.
The cuttlefish are gone, sadly, replaced by a very crowded tank of little tropical fish and a display of the stranger-looking species of lion-fish and sea horses. I'd rather have the cuttles.
Out in the seabirds, there was an adorable puffin making a big fuss about his bathtime, and past them, a few bored-looking seas rolling slowly around. There's only one shark left in the overhead tank. I blame the four foot wide halibut lurking at the bottom.
I tried to get a picture of a wolf eel, but the little bugger wouldn't come out.
The gift shop has a whole wall of octopus merch.
And then we drove home! Stopped for dinner at the halfway point, got off the freeways and took country roads for the last 40 miles. Stopped at Blockbusters on the way home, and made a rash decision.
I let Bog drive the rest of the way home. In my precious car.
We didn't die!
We got out of the house only ten minutes late, which is better than typical. I wish Bog could drive, but she'll get there eventually. So two hours on the road, my usual brief spat of getting lost in South Seattle, and I dropped her off at a friendly-looking Starbucks and headed over to HealForce for my pre-employment physical.
I've never done one of these before. First was a drug test, then a hearing test, which was a bit surreal. Shut inside a soundproof booth, wearing soundproof headphones, trying to hear infinitesimally quiet digital tones over the thundering of your own blood and lungs. A person could rapidly go mad.
Next was an agility/strength exam. I had to 1) put on a survival suit in under two minutes. These things are ridiculous. 2) tow 50lbs of fire house four times across the length of the occupational therapy office. 3) lift (from the knees with ease) a fifty pound crate and carry it up, then down a flight of stairs. 4) don a safety harness and climb up a fixed ladder, then down a free-hanging Jacob's ladder. 5) don fire coat, air tank, and rebreather mask, then crawl through a lightless maze without banging into too many walls or freaking out.
I passed just fine. I have this job.
Once all of that was done, I went back to fetch the sister, and we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. It's recently been massively remodeled, and they have a glorious new tidal tank right in the new entry lobby. It's big, it's beautiful, it's full of my favorite local fish.
Beyond that, most bits are unchanged, though it seems smaller every time I go. The Giant Pacific Octopus was in rare form, not only out of her usual crevice, but sprawled like an exhibitionist across the glass of her cylindrical tank. She's so beautiful.
The cuttlefish are gone, sadly, replaced by a very crowded tank of little tropical fish and a display of the stranger-looking species of lion-fish and sea horses. I'd rather have the cuttles.
Out in the seabirds, there was an adorable puffin making a big fuss about his bathtime, and past them, a few bored-looking seas rolling slowly around. There's only one shark left in the overhead tank. I blame the four foot wide halibut lurking at the bottom.
I tried to get a picture of a wolf eel, but the little bugger wouldn't come out.
The gift shop has a whole wall of octopus merch.
And then we drove home! Stopped for dinner at the halfway point, got off the freeways and took country roads for the last 40 miles. Stopped at Blockbusters on the way home, and made a rash decision.
I let Bog drive the rest of the way home. In my precious car.
We didn't die!
