Well, not too much new to report today - still looking at apartments, but I've seen so many white walls and off-white carpets I can't keep them straight anymore. I've got 2 more to go, unless I find new ones today or tomorrow, and if I don't find anything I like better, I'll be going back to the first one I saw, the Metropolitan Park, despite the construction.

What is far more exciting in my life is the many, many brushes with fame I've had in my short time here in Seattle. First Tom Bihn, of whom no one has heard but me, but today, a new name, marginally more recognizable, a member in the veritable "Who's That?" of minor celebrities.

I had an appointment this afternoon to look at an apartment in Uwajimaya Village, a huge Asian grocery/gift store/ridiculous mini-mall, which is located in the Southwest corner of the International District, basically across the street from Qwest Stadium and Safeco Field, and directly across the street from one of the Amazon.com offices - so I wouldn't have to drive to work, I could take a shuttle. They never showed up, so I'm going back tomorrow. To get there, however, I had to walk through Pioneer Square, the historical center of Seattle, and a hip and happenin' place. In Pioneer Square is a little tiny lunch spot I've been advised to go to called Salumi, owned by the father of Mario Batali, Armandino. I passed by yesterday, but there was no parking and a line out the door, so I gave it a miss. Today, however, I was walking, and had an hour to kill, so I went in.

The place is tiny, a 2-foot-wide hallway competing for space with a long but narrow deli bar, behind which sit some of the most delicious-looking cured meats ever. But as I got past a wall and could see both the deli bar and Armandino further in, I saw another face I recognized. It took me a minute to place it, but it turned out to be Anthony Bourdain, another fairly well-known food guy, with a number of books and TV shows to his name. He had with him a few camera people who were flitting about getting many different angles of him making sandwiches - which he did pretty well. So, if anyone hears anything about an episode of No Reservations in Seattle, let me know, since I'll probably appear in it.

The sandwich (braised Oxtail, today's special), was delicious, and possibly the messiest sandwich I have ever tried to eat out of a paper bag while sitting at a bus stop. Worth it, though.

Tonight I'm headed to Kirkland to meet David, a fellow Purdue grad turned Amazonian, along with another friend of his from Purdue headed to Microsoft, for dinner and who knows what. I'll report back.