Seattle

Day One: We left on Sunday afternoon for Joe and Erin's house (my chapter president's family north of Pittsburgh). We got their and I found out they have dogs...I'm deathly afraid of dogs you know. Butter, a 150 pound big black thing; Pig a 65 pound deaf albino one, and Bit a small dog bred to hunt moles. So we played pool, Guild Wars, and such until early in the morning.


Day Two: We woke up 3 hours after going to bed to go to Pittsburgh International Airport. Susan told us that we were on U.S. Airways, so we waited in their line for thirty minutes, only to discover we were on United. So we went over to United, who had no one in line. So self check in was a snap, and after security and a wait, we took off.

There's a joke around here, you know you're in Pennsylvania when the roads get bad. This applies to runways as well. Bumpiest take off I have ever endured. Otherwise it was a standard boring flight, got some reading done.

At O'Hare we had a two hour layover, which was good, because our shuttle seemingly decided to play chicken with Air Canada. Thankfully our driver eventually realized that a 757 is gonna win and stopped before getting too close. After that, more wonderful waiting.

Then a quick four hour hop from O'Hare to SeaTac International; another flight to get reading done on. We also watched Happy Feet which made me feel as though I were being beaten over the head by a very rabid ecologist wielding animated penguins.

Then it was down the terminal to baggage claim, and from their the entire distance of the airport to our Greyhound bus, which pulled away as we got there. So then we had to wait another forty minutes for one. Once it arrived I found myself next to an IUP professor from their graduate program, and had to defend my thesis for the first time of the trip.

My first impression of downtown Seattle, was that I wasn't that impressed. Of course, keep in mind I am comparing it to New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and a few other major cities. It seemed quite standard as larger cities go.

Check in at the Sheraton was easy, and we went out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory for one of my cheaper meals of the trip. Our fifteen floor rooms were...adequate, albeit aside from the Starbucks coffee in the bathroom and the mini-bar with eight dollar jelly beans, I would've given it a two star rating.



Day Three:

The third day was the first actual day of the conference itself. We went to the Alpha Phi Sigma breakfast in the APS Suite, and mingled a tad. For the first time I met the national advisers and officers that I would come to never want to see again by the end of the trip. Yes half a Jimmy Dean sausage biscuit and some apple juice.

Following that we went down to the second floor to register, or in my case, pick up my stuff since I pre-registered and stand there mingling with others. After that we went to the first session prior to opening ceremonies, on Public Safety Hiring Tips. Then the Opening Ceremonies. These were actually pretty interesting, with our keynote speakers including the President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, as well as the honorable Judge Israel Reyes. Following the ceremonies came the Crime Scene Investigation Competition's orientation, followed by lunch.

Lunch was...interesting. I sat across from five people with doctorates, one of whom had written a rather extensive legal analysis of the USA Patriot Act, and was again forced to defend my thesis, this time over their chianti and crackers.

After lunch, my chapter went to a demonstration on tasers, an interesting statistics filled session as well as actual demonstrations, as well as the handling of the taser itself. It is amazing how many safety features are incorporated to prevent too much police misuse of the device. Following the demonstration we were drafted into the College Bowl, where we unfortunately advanced to the semi-finals, against our attempts to lose.

Then came the crime scene investigation. It was fun, we videotaped, cataloged the evidence, and spent the next two nights racking our brains over it. After that we assembled for one final session I can't even recall now, and went to work on our report for the CSI competition.

After two hours of doing that while reviewing our video footage and still photos of the scene alongside our notes, we decided to go explore Pike Place Market. Unfortunately it was closed. However, we did end up eating at Steelhead Diner, a decent place that apparently is one of the "hot places to be" near Pike Place.


Day Four:
The fourth day began with dinner from snacks we brought with us in checked baggage, thus avoiding going to the APS suite on the 30th floor, as well as allowing us to sleep in a half hour. After that, we went to, surprise...a session I really do not recall. After that was lunch, as well as finishing the CSI paper, and turning it in. We utterly bombed out in the college bowl, and were released much to our pleasure, as the finals were scheduled to be at 8am the next morning.

Rather than attend the ACJS luncheon, we struck out to investigate things on our own. We ended up eating at Georgios, getting some subs, as well as running about the city some doing some shopping. Following that, came a point we all rather did not enjoy.

Susan, the chapter president, left to go do a scrapbooking competition, and I went to my student panel. I felt I blundered over my presentation, whereas others told me I did wonderful. Then came a true surprise, a question and answer session after the presentation. Thus I ended up on a three person student panel dodging all sorts of questions, and answering those I could with tact, including one trick question about how one guy saw law as a sculpture, a masterpiece to be treasured and created one chip at a time. Did I feel that it was time to discard the Patriot Act, could it be forged into a masterpiece, or how long until we should discard it.

My reply was...diplomatic, "I too see the law as a masterpiece that can be created by the sculptors that form it, from the person on the street to their legislators, from judges rendering decisions on the bench, to the shadier deals that occasionally go on in back rooms. We must remember that the U.S. Constitution is only carefully changed, because it is our founding document, and to make a change to it is like adding on to a work by a famous artisan.

"The Patriot Act however, is not the United States Constitution. Like other laws, it will be given its chance, and possibly discarded as it becomes apparent that it will not become a masterpiece, much as we came to our senses when slavery was discarded as an institution in this nation. However, just the opposite may happen, and over the course of years, maybe even decades, it will be crafted into a beautiful work of art that can be admired for its dedication to freedom and the protection of liberties.

"Time will tell. I for one, am not well versed enough in both politics and the United States Legal Code to put a time on such a determination as scrap or a masterpiece however."

I never received another question. Following the Q&A, I got to work the merchandise booth, because my chapter adviser was kind enough to sign Susan and I up for it. After that we had to rush to prepare to go out with the rest of the chapter for dinner at Sky City at the Space Needle, yep, we had reservations.

It was, beautiful. We ran into one of the national advisers downstairs completely sauced. I mean totally...and found out that one of the textbook publishers was having a party upstairs, but not at the very top. So we went up to enjoy a lovely view of the city, completely rotating around over 47 minutes. I ended up getting a steak, and the cheapest of us was Jess with her seafood platter of some sort, that she ended up needing all our help to get eaten. So I had calamari for the first time in my life.

Then of course, for the prices we were paying already, couldn't help but get a lunar orbiter for dessert. Two scoops of ice cream, syrup, as well as frozen strawberries. We all got one heh, and they had it served over dry ice so there was a rolling fog effect covering the entire table. Then we got the bill, $444.98. A quick cab ride to the hotel ended that day.



Day Five:

The fifth day was spent at first at Pike Place Market. It was nice to see the harbor, as well as the market itself. Then we went to Georgios for subs, and went to another session, followed by the awards ceremonies. We won the chapter community service award. For my panel I got a certificate of participation, the conference's official tee-shirt for free, and a ten dollar Starbucks gift card.

That night was the reception, so we went to the Cheesecake factory again first, knowing the food there wouldn't last long. The reception wasn't that much fun. We mainly sat around chatting with various people, and our chapter tended to just head back to the hotel afterwards. Well Ryan went out a bit longer, but was there without a hangover when I woke up the next morning at least.



Yesterday:
Yesterday we simply prepared to go to back to our side of the country, and packed our things. We met the shuttle out front of the hotel, and headed to SeaTac International. Security was a pain to go through, as I ended up behind a man who set it off so frequently he had to be eventually patted down. United's lines were horrid there as well.

Eventually we flew to O'Hare, watching Stranger Than Fiction which I adored. It was nice. After that, we waited a few hours and boarded a really small jet to Pittsburgh International. We left forty-five minutes late, thank you weather and security. We got to PI at 12:15 this morning.


Today:
Today I slept for nine hours at Joe and Erin's before driving back down. Then spent time with the parents, and came back up here.