The end of an enjoyable vacation

As I look back on my not so distant past, I wonder whether these times would come back to me again ... In more ways than one this has been a good summer ... I finished my defense way earlier than I planned and that meant I had enough free time on my hands to truly explore this vast country. I met some friends on the east coast and en route to Seattle which was kinda nice ... I arrived in Seattle on 17th July, three weeks before my starting date at Amazon.com .. In hindsight it looks like it was neatly planned as it provided me enough opportunities to explore the neighbourhood ... If you visit a new city, first thing one must do is pick up a walking map and start roaming to get a sense of the spread of the city which is exactly what I decided ... To accompany me was a very supportive father who I must say made things simpler ... We did some serious apartment hunting together although I made him run around a lot for his age. I feel I know this place really well now ... I am glad that I took an apartment with a view although I had to pay a price for it !!! Living in downtown has a charm of its own. I have been living in peaceful co-existence far away from the hustle and bustle that city life has to offer which was perfect for say a student like me. Now I feel that I should experience urban living and that prompted me to shake off my monetary fears and made me decide on a relatively bold option .

Courtesy corporate housing offered through Amazon.com, I got to reside in an awesome location. "A room with a view"... it truly could not have been better than what I had. In a way, it made me fixated on this idea of how important a view was to my blissful existence. I was willing to pay a price for it and left no stone unturned in checking out every possible view on offer.

As for some lighter moments, we (dad included) did take a harbor cruise on Elliot Bay and Puget Sound along with my "I-m-still-so-young" aunt, Reshma. The Seattle skyline looked spectacular from a distance. The beauty about a place like Seattle is the vast amount of water bodies it is surrounded by. It really makes for a picturesque drive and I would highly recommend taking a route from downtown Seattle to Bellevue/Redmond for a driver's delight on a warm afternoon. On a clear sunny afternoon, the view of Mt. Rainier breaking the limits of the horizon is indeed unparalleled.

After having had so much fun under the sun, it is time I realise my purpose in life and retire to the mundane 9 to 5 job. I am certainly excited to join Amazon but just cant get myself ready for the first day. From a certain perspective, I feel this time off has done me a world of good .. It has set me up for my challenges ahead in the right frame of mind.

I realise the deficiency of pictures in my posts and it is time to ramp up the collection as they say .. "A picture is worth a thousand words !!!"

Sunny Seattle on a pleasant summer afternoon
















Views of Mt Rainier in background