Part I: The Seattle-to-Vancouver Scramble


The transition to my two month “life makeover” begins with a chaotic sprint. After agonizing over gear, Kate saved the day by packing my third choice of camera and electronics bag. I was running late, as per usual, but she called an audible and drove me straight to the bus station. I caught the bus to Vancouver with some breathing room, though the line was already quite long to board. An uneventfully cramped, rain-slicked, but blessedly predictable ride north followed.


Part II: The Vancouver Passing of the Torch


In Vancouver, I had a six-hour window with Michael, my manager who stepped down three weeks ago. It’s a strange quirk of modern work that you can speak to someone daily for three years, yet only meet in person four times. Started with coffee with another colleague (Ryan in marketing) and some healthy grapevine gossip, followed by a dinner date and driving tour of the city. Good conversations and brainstorming for the future. Despite the exhaustion, I powered through, and it was nice to feel a little more inspired about the future - from someone who has experienced and felt similar recently.


Part III: 35,000 Feet of [semi]-premium Survival


Crossing the Pacific while running on fumes is saved by the shield of Oneworld Emerald status - largely acquired through work travel last year. After fueling up at the Cathay Pacific’s YVR lounge on noodle soup, dim sum, Chinese beef stew, and bok choy, I claimed an exit row for the 13-hour haul to Hong Kong - a complimentary perk.

• The Physical Toll: I’ve been battling a gnarly cold leading up to this, further confirmed by metrics including an abysmal 12ms HRV and a resting heart rate of 70-80 bpm (30-35 bpm above typical lows) during the ~6 hours of sleep I managed to get.

• The Saving Grace: Cathay Pacific’s incredible service softened the blow. Slippers and an amenity kit greeted me on my seat - which I confirmed were not present on others - and the lead flight attendant checked in with me *3* times throughout the flight to make sure I was comfortable. Sadly, my sore throat and congestion meant missing out on Betsy Beer, their signature craft ale. They claim it’s been engineered to counter the effects of cabin pressure and the dulling of taste buds at high altitudes. It features a unique blend of locally sourced honey, mandarin peel, and roasted barley and is slightly sweeter and more aromatic (Betsy was the name of the airline’s first ever aircraft, a DC-3 from the 1940s).


Part IV: Sanctuary at The Pier


Landing early in Hong Kong gave me ample time to trek to The Pier, First Class Lounge. I went straight for sensory deprivation in a private Day Suite. Travel anxiety and aggressive AC cut my nap to 35 minutes, but a hot shower and a massive three-course breakfast set, complete with shrimp congee, dim sum, lemongrass+ginger tea, and a cold-pressed green juice called "The Vitalizer" (kale and apple juice) indeed brought me back to life. Since the dining room was complimentary, I followed this up with a post-breakfast, a pre-lunch, and primary lunch during my 8 hour residence. The hostess was less enthusiastic with each subsequent appearance, but I did manage to receive a satisfying “welcome back” each time. Photos below.


For inquiring minds, I did feel good enough to succumb to the calling of an ice cold Betsy Beer, which I was pleasantly surprised to find offered in the self-serve section. Not bad at all, especially coming from a compromised palate.


Part V: The Quiet Before the Redesign


Somewhere in all that, the pace has managed to finally slow. Fresh off a 20-minute  “dry” massage, I’m sipping champagne and raising a silent toast to Jared and Ciara on their new house. Sifting through recent photos on my laptop, including local birding, baseball, and a few frames from Steve’s wedding last weekend, this feels like a chapter closed before heading to Chiang Mai.


There’s a distinct duality to this moment: I am craving the isolation to rework things internally, though no doubt I wish I could share a few of the luxuries with you all.  In any event, the reset has officially begun.


Housekeeping: I’ll include cell phone snapshots in each post, and plan to create a separate gallery of my “real” photos soon. But, as you might expect, I’ll be much further behind on that.  ALSO, props to Apple for adding Mental Wellbeing to their Health app. It allows you to enter either a momentary or daily “State of Mind” with adjectives to help describe emotions. I’ll include this in each post below the gallery