Traffic Gnomes Don't Like Furrin Movies

Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have purchased SIFF tickets! It all started yesterday at lunchtime... Actually, it pretty much all ended yesterday at lunchtime, too.

So I left work (and skipped out on meeting the new CTO candidate, although no one bothered to invite me to that officially) and headed downtown. In the rain. And I headed up the hill - no matter where you're headed in Seattle, you're going to have to head uphill - and hit a stop light halfway up. I drive a stick. It's a steep hill. (You see where I'm going with this?) And some schmuck in a Mercedes pulled up way too close behind me. No problem, I think, I'll just do the e-brake trick, no big deal.

Remember the rain? First rain in a while, as it happens...

So I start up with the e-brake on, trying to to roll back into somone who clearly deserves it anyway, and my tires decide that the street is slippery, and they can't really get ahold of anything, so they're just gonna spin. And the engine makes that awful noise... And the upshot of it is, I left what felt like my entire clutch on Seneca between Second and Third. I hate that.

But I have a mission, so on I go, to Pacific Place where the box office lives.

I've turned onto Sixth. Nice, flat street. And I'm driving along, nearly there... and out of nowhere, a cab driver opens his door into my car. Thumpsmackohfuckwhatthehelljusthappened?!?!?! So I pull over into a bus zone, and put my hazards on (because that makes it all okay, you know...) and go have a look. After all the noise... my mirror is folded in. Yup.

So I head back towards the cab to see if he's going to make me give him my insurance and all that, and I realise that he's not even getting out of the car. Has he even noticed? I don't know. And I don't care. I'm going to get my tickets, dammit.

Back in the care, and into the parking lot, and I succeed in parking without incident. I head to the box office, fill out my unneccesarily complex order form, and get tickets to all the movies I wanted to see. Yay!

So it was worth it, I think to myself, as I head back to work. And I'll even get back within an hour, so that's pretty good. And then I get on Aurora, because I'm not really thinking, and I sit there for twenty minutes because some lady has spun around almost 180 degrees, and the left lane is closed, and the cops are swarming, and why can't we have a decent bus system, I'd like to know?