To Sleep or Not to Sleep

My plan when I left for Korea on a month of leave was to stay for two weeks, fly to Japan for a couple days, then spend two more weeks in Korea.  I couldn't stay in Korea for a month without a visa and I've always wanted to see Japan anyway.  Unfortunately, after the first two weeks, it was obvious that my girlfriend who I was visiting didn't plan to be my girlfriend much longer so I flew back to the US early instead.

My cousin Myron lived near Seattle with his wife of two years.  I had been the best man at their wedding the month before boot camp.  My flights were scheduled to go through Seattle already, so I just changed it to leave me there for two weeks, making for a rather extended layover.

I was twenty years old.  Sleep and I had never really been on friendly terms as it was.  During this two week layover, our relationship became even more estranged.  The entire time I was there, I slept for four hours, then stayed awake from thirty six.  It wasn't the healthiest schedule, but my racing mind combined with my youth were more than enough to keep it going.  In all the hours I was awake while my hosts were sleeping, I read and played on BBS's.

If you ever have a chance to visit, Seattle is a remarkable place.  Underground tours, a world class aquarium, the Pacific Science Center and Space Needle built on the site of the 1962 World's Fair, Pike's Place Market, and much more all conspire to form a quirky, engaging city with a remarkable and amusing history.  And if you do manage to get bored, well the Cascade mountains and Puget Sound are ever present sights that draw you into the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  Mount Rainier is an easy day trip from Seattle, as is Victoria Island by ferry.

My cousin also kept ferrets, in addition to his daughter, the most recent addition to the family. All little bundles of joy.

The whole stay was a wonderful interlude before I arrived in Spain, even if it did mean I didn't go to the Olympics in Barcelona, the other alternate plan.