I planned to take three days off works so that I could attend PAX Prime, the granddaddy of gaming conventions available to the public. Fly in Thursday, enjoy the three-day con, hop on a Sunday night red-eye and spend Monday recovering.

But it’s Wednesday, and I’m still here in Seattle. In fact I’m going to be here straight through the week. JetBlue called on Friday to let me know that my flight had been cancelled, because the airports were being shut down due to the crazy weather smashing through the northeast. I call to reschedule my flight, and find that the next one available is another red-eye…the following Friday.

And so that’s why I’m booked into another hotel for four days longer than I planned. It’s an impromptu extended vacation, an unexpected urban adventure. I’m enjoying the free buses and the rollercoaster-esque monorail, and I’m getting acclimated to the general layout of the city. My hotel is 10 minutes from the Space Needle, definitely in a more residential area but still connected to the veins of public transportation sprouting from the city.

I have no laptop for this trip, but that’s not such a bad thing. It makes me get on the computer mostly just to reconnect with the outside world for short bursts. Most of my time is spent sightseeing, liberally padded with vegging out in front of cable TV. There’s just something enthralling about watching Zimmerman eat strange things on the Travel Channel, people sell or create oddities on Discovery, and celebrity chefs get way too excited on Food Network.

It’s a refreshing palate cleanser from the routine of work and whirlwind of PAX, but I’m looking forward to returning to the east coast to see my friends, my family, and last but not least, my gaming computer. Deus Ex isn’t going to play itself, you know.