MARCH 7, 2022
‍The Ukrainian-Russian war continues and is depressing as all get out because Russia is killing so many civilians and destroying tons of property and beautiful cities, depriving people of their homes, jobs, and lives. This situation is hard to watch on the news and even imagine without getting furious at Putin so I decided to get together with Quilla in Seattle. She advised us not to tune in to reports so we won’t get too overwhelmed with sadness/anger, but it’s difficult to avoid and we know it’s going on and can’t stop thinking about it. Also I see it as our civic and world duty to stay informed and in touch with facts. That said we had a nice visit and conversation.
The building behind the two round towers is Amazon headquarters.  It looks as if it’s not a tall building but it is– it’s just that I’m up on a hill and it is down in the urban valley. 
Macy’s has left its downtown building. Amazon has offices in that space now and Quilla was working there today, usually she works from home. It is right across the street from the plaza where we had the hot dogs and our catch-up conversation. In the chilly air.
She is on the verge of changing jobs from one tech company recruiting component to another…from Amazon to Microsoft.  She’ll still be able to work from home although the offices for Microsoft are a little farther for her to travel, over to the east in Redmond.  Fingers crossed that this is a wise move — she negotiated a salary and benefits package by herself — and the job will pay a considerable amount more than she was getting at Amazon  (and she was already getting more than I had ever attained even at tail end of my principal’s contract) and yet apparently be a lot let stress for her.  Our fingers are crossed that it is actually a perfect situtaion.  We are immensely proud of her.  Only wish she found the work ‘fulfilling’ like all my long-term jobs were over the years …making a positive change in people’s lives.  She tells me that ‘corporate work’ is rarely that way…although it does allow her to use her creativity for problem solving…but she tells me she looks at it as a mechanism to earn money that she can then use to fulfill herself by doing things she enjoys in life.  While I mainly ate up all my time with work and didn’t really have enough money to do some of the bucket list things we would have liked.  But neither of us are complaining.  We both have done good work and while in the corporate world she is trying to be decent and kind at all times.  Something I have always tried to be too.