Our pal Aarti Shah has been roaming the great Pacific Northwest over the past several days. Aarti is the Bay Area bureau chief for PRWeek, but her beat extends well beyond Silicon Valley. She covers the technology beat for the PR industry’s leading trade publication and was in Seattle to visit with MWW Group and several other Brand-X agencies.

While she doesn’t cover technology exclusively, Aarti is one of those reporters who understands the challenges of 21st Century tech PR. She listens well, asks tough questions, works hard to break stories and isn’t shy about calling for a timeout when some flak starts to max out her BS meter. But she also understands that the best reporting usually results from well-developed relationships, rather than pushing an agenda or asking a million questions. Last night was a great example of that.

We spent time chatting about various topics over dinner and wine at Purple in downtown Seattle. We only talked shop for a couple of minutes — traded a few rumors, dished some gossip, and so on. Sometime, somewhere, Aarti and I will have some news to talk about, and the relationship will be there to ensure that we both make the most of that opportunity.