"I really need to stop depending on birds for important information. They're cute to look at but don't have much upstairs."

I read this article yesterday (this blog didn't post, oops) and I thought how much we learn about the changes in the enviornment because of the oceans. You definitely have a keener sense of what's going on in the world, how close you are to to the changes relative to your distance from the ocean...

Craigslist Craziness, Saying Yes, a Sunday walk in the rain...

I was on Craig's list earlier this week looking for a bed, sofa or whatever - I've started to decide a bunch of it is junk and there's really not that much worthwhile on it - so sometimes I pop onto the groups list looking for a knitting group or writing groups. Sometimes I look on to the personals adds to see "what's out there" (I have to meet them somewhere besides at bars). This week was a little crazy though. There was some guy flagging all of these women who were subsequently getting kicked off. Othere guys were getting on and telling him he's a jerk for flagging all of these other women. Women were saying they would never post on this site. I was like - Yikes - what's going on with Craig's list??? I was told a full moon was approaching... maybe that explains it.

Sometimes you need to say YES! To meet new people, to experience new things. Yes, IÂ’ll go to this bar at the end of town. Yes, I'll go to Denny's at 4 a.m. Yes, let's start a Stitch n Bitch Group. Yes, let go out to lunch. Yes, let's dance. Yes, I'll go to the bar by myself. Yes, I will to see Walk the Line. Yes, let's go to this new restaurant. Yes, I want to get to know you. Yes it's really all about being open to try new things. It's all about saying YES. Let's try this.

And then you find those who love to dance like you and you feel like you've found a soul sister! Woo hoo. Then you meet someone else who has similar hobbies - and you keep thinking - what a great evening ! I've met all of these great possible new friends - but then one of these new friends pauses when they find out where you work or they find out you have a belief different from them and you feel something like a fool. And I'm willing to accept you, in all of your apple pie suburbia - are you willing to accept me?

Sunday walk in the rain... it was a beautiful Sunday morning. Pyg had sprang her ankle so she couldn't walk around Green Lake like we always do. I decided to go check out other parts of my neighborhood. I heard about a public beach down the street past Ray's Boathouse - which I have yet to visit. So I wondered down Market Ave, around the corner on 54th and kept going until I found this little sign that was faded and said "Public Beach" with an arrow pointing towards the water. It made my way down a driveway, around some apartments to a "beach" about the size of my car. I looked out into the Sound - there were a few sailboats that looked like toys off the in the distant rain and a cranee barge with a crain. I couldn't see Olympia Mountains but I felt like I was at the edge of the world. I turned to walk home when it started to pour. Not just rain but pour.

Uncle Sam like you've never seen him, The Look and Keel and government workers....

There is a Liberty Tax service just at the end of my street on 59th and 15th where a rather large man is paid to dress as a bright red and blue Uncle Sam. He's unlike any Uncle Sam you've ever seen - he has a big round belly, dark curly hair and a beard. He sports a walkman and dances at the street corner, waiving as you go by, making "peace signs" and dancing, dancing is his clear plastic slicker.

Last night I headed down to the Lock and Keel, where I've been once before. I wandered down there after work for happy hour and found a spot at the end of the bar. The beer was good and cheap. Shortly thereafter, two other guys came and sat down next to me eventually striking up a conversation. By the end of the night, I was friends with "crabbers", a couple of fisherman and a guy I called "Boston", with whom I shot pool. I managed to meet a couple of their wives, made promises to come back to this neighborhood bar, leaving at midnight, walking home in the pouring rain.

Thursday night I went to a "thank you dinner" for all of those people who raised money for the Campaign Fund Drive of King County. I have been to, in my many years of working in non-profits, many campaign fund kick-offs and events. The Campaign Fund Drive is for state and county government workers who give money to various charities and non-profits - much like the United Way for government workers. A variety of people were being honored for raising money in their departments; for being super coordinators and volunteers; for being motivators and inspiration. Various non-profits where thanking everyone for all of their hard work. There was even a woman who sang a "thank you" song with her acoustic guitar. The room was filled with granola crunchy hippies (squared) who all are dedicated to their communities. There were more awards, more cheers, and along with a deli tray and potato salad. By the end of the evening (which was bordering on torturous) I struck up a conversation with a couple of women who worked for the WDOT (wash. dept of transportation). One gal's family was from Puerto Rico and another was from Argentina. We exchanged information and promised to go out dancing and check out the Latin food scene here in Seattle making the whole evening worthwhile.

My Hood, Your Hood, a pair of stocking stretch pants from the late 80's.

I got off the bus last night after having picked up a very fun raffle prizes for a young professionals event when my friend from Cleveland called. She also lives in the OC - Ohio City - my old hood. She had two stories to tell me. The first story: She was eating dinner, watching TV when she head this large boom. She went out back to find flames shooting up into the night sky. She called the fire department as a large (stolen) truck was on fire and she was particularity panicked that it would catch her house on fire as the dry winter grasses were starting to catch. Now she has a burnt out truck behind her house in the alley.

Her second story: Over the weekend she had gone to the library to return some books. The library is surrounded by a park where the alcoholics often battle the drug addicts for turf (it is true - I kid you not.) one of the homeless guys came over to her and commented "Your dogs - one of them is a terrier and the other is a yorky." She concurred. He then went on to tell her the history of the different breeds, why they were bread, etc. He then noticed her books and concluded she loved mysteries and did he have the perfect novel for her which he grabbed from the depths of his bag on the bench. He insisted, to her protests, that she take it home and read it.

While I was having this conversation with my friend, I came home to my apartment where there was a new phone book at my door and a bag of kitty litter (new) waiting for me. I too had a surprise from my neighborhood. I went out with a friend from college that I had recently found (more about this later) and when we came back to my apartment, the police were outside the complex having arrested a women who had broken into the corner apartment (she apparently knew who lived there.) I was told to keep my shades down so that people can't look in.

Your hood. My hood.

And a pair of stocking stretch pants from the late 80's are looped around the door knob stretching to the towel rack. This allows me to easily unloop the door when I take a shower and keep it open when I go to work. Kitty friends have locked themselves in the bathroom a couple of times now. It is funny. I'm pretty sure it's part of the 4 a.m. Olympics - run around the apartment, sprint over the sleeping human, vocal exercises, chase knit mice across the floor and play bat-the-other-cat-behind-the-door. One of them usually is on the wrong side.

We're going to Disney World - I mean the Super Bowl!

The Seattle Seahawks did the damn near impossible yesterday and won a play-off game that is sending them to the Super Bowl in Detroit. The city of course is completely shocked. In the Seahawks thirty years of existence they have never gone this far. Yes, yes, I even found myself at a play-off party at Pyg's house...

Why? You may ask. Because it's a huge phenomenon here. Jon told me when I moved to Seattle "Well, at least you're already use to loosing teams. We don't win anything here." Then as the Seahawks kept winning, he was in disbelief "We must just be lucky." Or "talented," I would say, "maybe Seattle has actually put together a strong team." "No, this never happens."

Even when the Seahawks were leading by a vast margin in the 4th quarter, only then did the participants at Pyg's party start to believe it was happening. It was kind of exciting - watching their disbelief clear up like a misty Seattle morning.

"You moved to Seattle and we're going to the Super Bowl. You brought us luck." Jon mentioned at the end of the evening. "No, remember I come from another city with no Super Bowl luck." He paused, "but still, what an exciting year to move to Seattle."

I'll give you that.

Some observations... a little closer to the west coast

Ok, let's just face, I'm on the West Coast. Seattle in on Puget Sound which is part of the Pacific Ocean - definitely the west coast. And though not rocket science, it's taking a minute to get use to this cultural shift (which I'm not saying it's better it's just different):
* snowbirds (retired people) go to Mexico, Arizona or Hawaii for the winter, not Florida.
* going to Japan or Hawaii isn't really that big of a deal. It's not really that far away.
* skateboard parks are in many communities here (basically a empty in ground swimming pool without ladders - for those of you who don't know, skateboarding as a phenomenon started in California - in empty swimming pools).
*high cost of living- oy. (This just keeps going up. Of the 88,000 people who MOVE TO Washington State last year, more than half were from California where everything is more expensive and think they're getting a deal here and don't mind paying $1 million for a small house - after all, they just sold theirs for 3...)
* technology - not everyone but many, many people have access to lots of technology. Everyone (almost) had an ipod, palm, laptops, etc. (This also goes back to the incredible wealth in this city and the fact that Microsoft, Adobe, and many, many other technology companies are based here).
* This is a very international city with many NGOs based in Seattle and many people having travels to many other countries.
* Fit. This city is fit. A part of that belong to the west coast obsession with fitness the other part belong to Scandahoovians who first settled out here. Like Meenisota, the cold, rainy weather isn't view as an obstacle.
* Craigslist. I know it's catching up in Cleveland, but it's HUGE out here. Everyone's on it, using it, a part of it (started in San Francisco).

There are a million other observations I have about the city, my life, the West Coast, etc., but I'll start with these few and add one more. I went for drinks with a friend from Ohio (who I had met a couple of times) and we were talking about our experiences. He came out a day after me from Wisconsin and ran into that horrible snowstorm that I had just missed. Anyway, we were talking and he asked me if I missed the Midwest - the honesty of it. And I thought about it, and said, not yet. I don't miss anything yet from the Midwest but then it dawned on me. Seattle, the place I have been going to on vacation for the last 5 years, was now my home. It would be like all of the sudden moving to Hawaii or Key West or where ever you go to vacation. It's now your home but doesn't quite feel real yet. Though I'm sure it will.

Cookies...

I'm personally a cake person. I love cake! My mother use to make a Duncan Hines cake every Sunday growing up and we ate it for dessert during the week. My sweet tooth has almost all but dried up which is why weddings are so fun - cake and dancing!

Across from my bus stop (the new one I take in the morning) is a store called "Cookies". They don't have very convenient hours (only open until 6 p.m.) but you can peer in and see all the different types of cookie cutters there are. There are the typical holidays ones: Christmas trees, hearts, stars of David, egg shapes, wreaths, etc. There are aprons, sprinkles, pans, hats, pretend sets for kids. But then there are the cookie cutter shapes I've never seen before: carrots, a fly, dogs (all different breeds), martini glasses, sharks (I'm getting this one for my favorite 5 year old), dolphins, polar bears, apples, camels, windmills, birds (all kinds), ducks, houses, cars, cats, dogbones, etc. I can only imagine, if you love cookies, and not cakes, what a joyful place this must be....

It's also a nice distraction early in the morning before you get on a crowded bus.

In Memory of Martin Luther King Jr. (a little late)

Monday was MLK day. That day has become synonymous with any holiday we get off. I didn't notice the free orchestra concerts though there were some parades marking the memory of this man who put every effort forth to assure a different place in history. I wonder how many people noticed or though of him on Monday - at least for a moment.

I did. Ironically, I thought of him late last week when I became aware, as I have before, of how miserable many people are in their jobs. I have a friend who wishes "I was just more useful, I was actually doing something important." My brother, whose not miserable being his own businessman, recollected when taking the kitty-friends to the vet how people responded to her. "I was at the vets and there were all of these people depending on the vet to take care of their animals - essentially make them happy. I make people happy that their networks run but it's not quite the same."

I have other friends who just wish they were passionate about their jobs, felt like they were making a difference somehow. It's not jus supervisors (though that can be a part of it) it's the lack of that feeling of worth. It's a large part of the day - of our lives - our "work".

It made me think of Dr. King and his work organizing, agonizing, persuading, fighting, righting the wrongs and trying to change this work and make it better for his people, for all of us. He certainly was not alone in his fight but he was willing to stick his head out and ultimately it cost him his life. I'm sure though, he loved his work.

So this is what I'll wish you all on this post-MLK day - I hope that all of you find passion in your "work" - whatever it may be - and make a difference.

Hold that thought...

I've actually had a couple of things to write about lately but I've been having some technical difficulities and will get them posted as soon as I can. I have a nice piece about MLK day and other random thoughts on Seattle.

I've also had a frustrating last few days as I try to get settled into my neighborhood. My neighborhood is great! But the commute was too long last night (1.5 hours) and this morning I took a different route that was to get me in so bright and early and here I was lost downtown for 1/2 hour. Blah, blah, blah. Hold that thought - I'll be back.

A visit from my brother, kitty friends, starting to feel at home.

My brother arrived with his friend from Cleveland and brought kitty friends along. His friend when off with her friend for the entire weekend and Mike and I got to hang out tromping thru the city. The kitties were fine on the flight though Monkey almost got away - Mike looked down to see her little head popping out of the bag. That would have been a serious delay.

Thursday: We went on the Seattle Underground Tour (so interesting!), to a couple of pubs (one thing the siblings do well together - drink), out to dinner at the BEST Mexican restaurant in Seattle (La Carte) with Pyg and Jon, off for a night cap. Friday: I headed off to work; Mike went to the Space Needle, walked to the peer, around Pike's Place Market (where he saw, among many things, the guys throwing fish) through the downtown mall, all around. We met for more drinks with friends after work on Friday at the Dragon Fish, then to the Pig and Whistler to shoot some pool. Saturday: Mike's friend picked us up, breakfast in Queen Anne (5 Spots - delicious), toured the city a bit, went to Issiqua where friend had his house he had just sold. Went to Snoqualmie Falls (of Twin Peaks fame), ate lunch at Pike's Place Grill (fresh fish), friends left; we found a pub to watch the Bronco's game in Fremont, stopped by a party (lost yet another earring), went back to La Carte for late dinner. Crashed out. Mike went home this morning (the ONLY sunny day of his three day venture in the city) - we had a great time.

After dropping Mike off at the airport, I took a walk with my friends around Green Lake. I came home and curled up on the air mattress on the floor with my kitty friends and took a nap in the sun.

#4 and a little rain

#4 has paper thin walls so that I can hear my neighbor snore. It also had a pink tile kitchen countertops and a yellow one in the bathroom.

#4 has a mildew scent. I have cleaned all the windows, wiped bleach down the walls and lit a small city worth of candles (not to mention the white vinegar and cups of baking soda) to ride my little 1960's apartment of the its-been-vacant-for-a-month-smell. Now it just smells like bleach, candles, vinegar and citrus.

#4 is only four blocks from the bus I need to catch to take to work. I've only made the bus once this week - I've been too tired these two days and have had to drive. But I will not give up on the bus.

#4 is just the right size for me and kitty friends. It has one large bedroom and a large open front room with a place to eat and a small kitchen with pink flower knobs on the cabinets.

#4 is the place I started calling home this week.

I think I'm going to like #4.

... a little rain

So, I mentioned in a past post that the rain was really just an excuse to keep other people out of Seattle. Well, it appears today we've hit day 24 of consecutive rain. Yesterday started something of a record. Honestly, it isn't so much different from Cleveland. Ok, the rain part is different but the gray is not. Actually, the gray out here is really different. It's better because the sun actually takes a moment and peaks out every-once-in-a-while.

Moving in, mojitos, mini Arlington and Cupcake Royale.

Moving In
Yesterday, Pyg and I packed up our cars. They both managed to be full - one because I didn't do quite the same careful packing job as I had done when I zoomed out here and second because my mother has shipped boxes out - mostly my kitchen stuff, clothes and book. Then it started to pour down rain (and I mean POUR). We watched the last of the Hawkeye game vs. Illinois with Jon - then he threw some furniture they were giving me in the back of his truck and headed two miles west and south to my new neighborhood.

We got there and the manager's wife, Jacqueline, came out to greet us - s0 did another neighbor as if we were in Cote d'Ivoire. The two of them helped us and we had the cars unloaded in a matter of minutes. Pyg organized and put away the kitchen. Jacqueline put together the bathroom and I tried to make sense of it all. One of Pyg's friends (also becoming my friend) stopped by with two queen size inflatable mattresses, some kitchen stuff and a couple of chairs to sit on. It was perfect. My little apartment was coming together.

Two hours later we zoomed off to the Pig (not Pyg) and Whistle for some yummy, yummy food. I was staying one last night at Pyg and Jon's place because I just didn't want to sleep in the midst of "new apartment chaos". After a brief nap (I have the flu by the way) I went off on my second date since coming to Seattle.

Mojitos
He drank mojitos. I had beers. We talked for hours but there were no sparky sparks. (I don't know if I'm expecting too much?)

Mini Arlington
Today is cold. A storm blew in yesterday afternoon and it's actually chilly. Pyg and I walked around Green Lake early in the morning with Listie where the Green Lake Peace and Justice group was putting up cross, tombstones, etc., all made out of white cardboard. It looked like Arlington National cemetery. You could pick some one's name out of the book of all the American soldiers who had died in Iraq, put their name, rank and hometown on a paper (with or without a message) and attach it to one of the tombs. I picked someone from Ohio. There are a lot of dead soldiers from Ohio. All total, in the US, it's more than 2,000 now. That's too many.

I eventually made it back to my apartment where I continued to try and make sense of it all - the apartment that is. Someone was playing music loudly, someone else was running around in the apartment above me and I became nervous that this was a bad choice. But eventually the music stopped, the kid settled down and I put away more stuff.

capsize Royale
And my treat is a chocolate cupcake before I head off to Seattle Steve's for dinner. I don't think this will spoil my dinner.

Keys...

Keys to my heart are not available at this moment (though have I told you how much I love my peanuts!). However, I did just get keys for my apartment - I'm moving to Ballard tomorrow! Ballard. The pink kitchen and yellow bathroom will be enhancing my life here in Seattle as me and kitty friends (who are coming next week) settle in to our 1960's apartment. I'm actually a resident, complete with a driver's license, tage, a library card and a place to live.

A few of my favorite things

Dancing. I love to dance! I went to the Century Ballroom tonight with the guy with whom I salsaed in the New Year. There was a free class that we were late to and then open, fantastic, salsa dancing. Early on, it was just the people first learning out in the ballroom but then the great, fancy, fast, highly skilled, funny, sexy, fabulous dancers started to appear.

Note: I started dancing in college. (I wanted to dance when I was younger but my mother said "go play soccer with your brothers). I fell in love with salsa along with the boyfriend who exposed me to it. I took this love back to Cleveland and fell into a group of absolutely wonderful people, world travelers and xenophiles who became a great group of friends. After Peace Corps, I came back to Cleveland and becoming a samba dancer where I met another group of crazily wonderful people. And so I take this love to Seattle. Dancing is a good thing - for me.

I took my friend out to the dance floor and wanted to be dancing like the rest of them - but I was with a beginner tonight - which is fine too - we're all beginners at everything at some point and need someone to help us along.

Other favorite things
my peanuts, my small family, my kitty friends, traveling, writing, my human friends, snowy mountains, knitting, snowy sidewalks, sleds, generousity, my vrooom vrooom car, board games, books, movies, orange, flowers, trees, oxgyen, love, blankets, coffee, yougert, compassion, grapefruits, people, silliness, pale ales, rollerblading, french, wind, pepper, lipstick, music and many, many other things.

*many of my least favorite things are on the news every night and i don't need to tell you about them.

Love on the bus, drunks on the bus, I'm on the bus

So yesterday there was something like teen agnst on the bus that probably passed for love, it went something like this:
Girl: They'll never love you. I mean why are you putting up with this crap. They don't care if you success and I bet you, I bet you not a single person on this bus has as disfunctional of a family as you do and put up with it. (boy just looking at the ground). You have to be the smartest guy I know. And I'm smart but I've learned so much from you. You are so smart. And I believe in you. Screw them. I believe in you.


Today, I took four busses to get home. (I experienced my first less-than-enthusiastic bus driver today.) I took two to my new community where I purchased new plates and tags at the closest DMV ($205 - yeah, I'll get to that one another time), then two more busses to get back to Pgy's. At my bus stop heading north, a group of 4 older "well sauced" folks got on the bus. They were loud, trying to start fights with each other. One of the guys was babbling at the bus driver that he was too drunk to drive home (clearly). The body language of the entire bus changed.

Drunk people on the bus (and I've been one, once) ssssshhhhh.

An eclectic group and a new place to live.

I write with complete skepticism about the place I found to live today until I actually have the keys in hand but I thought maybe I could reveal a couple of details, a little bit of information. When I have the keys in hand, I will tell you all about it! I'm not superstitious - just maybe a little.

Yucky, very rainy Monday.
My favorite cupcake shop/coffee shop in Ballard looking at Craig's list, calling places where no one was calling me back (off today) and just generally feeling a little defeated about the whole thing.
My cats.
Walking around Ballard trying not to get too mopy in the rain.
Nanci says "It will work out - it always does."
Passed a cute place...passed another that looked completely too expensive, etc.

Found an apartment with a 60's facade on the front, looking a wee bit cheesy.
Got to see it and it turns out it's cheap compared to Seattle standards.
Cats are ok.
There's an 80 year old lady on one corner.
Migrant workers upstairs.
Young couple and someone else who just moved in.
Perfectly eclectic group of people.
Hardwood floors.
Pink tiles in the kitchen.
Yellow tiles in the bathroom.

I'll fit right in.

The Big Grey, a dash of Jobim, and a touch clueless

Happy New Year!

The Big Grey
I was talking to a colleague and he said we're heading into "the big grey" meaning constant winter rain that's not like the misting for which Seattle is famous. It's also dark in the winter because of the latitute of the Seattle and with the lack of snow, the city is just darker. He says it lasts until March. I said that's ok, sometimes it snows in Cleveland - in April.

Jobim
Friday night headed out to my new favorite neighborhood of Ballard and sat at a coffee shop Verite Coffee Shop and Royale Cupcake (yes, they have gourmet cupcakes!) and with an Americano and a mini-gourmet cupcake in hand, I spent nearly two hours working on a play.

Eventually found myself heading out to the Wonder Bar to hear the live Brazilian band they have on Friday nights. The crowd was light at first but the music was absolutely fantastic! The band was 5 members, two drummers, two guitars, and another percussionist (tambourine, etc). There was a beautiful Brazilian woman who was just a fantastic dancer who had most of the floor to herself at first. The place soon became crowded with the rainbow nation, both women and men packed in around the band. I found myself tossing my jacket on the floor and samba dancing to some Antonio Carlos Jobim, meeting some new people and learning about other great places to dance in the city. I left at 1 a.m. exhausted with a standing date at the Wonder Bar on Fridays.

A Touch Clueless
I couldn't decide what to do exactly for the New Year. There was a crazy artsy party I was considering attending with some of Pyg's friends in the city and there was also a house party just down the street a little way (also one of Pyg's friends). I decided at the very last minute to go to the house party thinking my chances of meeting new people/friends would be much better in a more intimate setting (even if there were 100 people). I arrived with my bottle of wine around 10:30 p.m., grabbed a beer myself and headed down into the basement. I was watching some people play dance revolution when this guy turned to me and said:

Guy: You look just like my friend Aubry's sister.
Me: Oh, well I'm not. My name is Michelle.
Guy: Hi. This is Inga and I'm Scotlin.
Me: Scotlin? I think I know you.
Guy (complete look of surprise)
Me: You're friends with Steve and the two of you came out to Cleveland four or five years ago to visit Kathy and we raged the city one night.
Guy (still looking shocked)
Me: Remember, we went to Mango's, the Fulton and danced at Twist.
Guy: Oh my gosh! I have pictures of you at my house! I completely remember you.

How absolutely fun and random! Now I have another friend here in Seattle.

I met a guy whose always wanted to be a writer and so we made plans to write in the new year, meeting up a my new favorite place in Ballard. I met quite a few people who worked for Microsoft (surprise), some engineers and foresty type people. I met a guy who delivers pizza to Dave Matthews (he lives two blocks from where the party was in a very modest house). We counted down the New Years with the ball in NYC (though clearly it had happened hours earlier) and danced to the tunes of a bunch of different DJs. At 3:30 I found myself teaching a new gay friend how to salsa, and decided that I had had a wonderful time, had stopped drinking hours ago and it was probably a good time to head home to bed. It was a great way to start 2006 in a great new city making new friends.

(Oh yeah, the clueless part, it turns out that the guy I was teaching to salsa actually wasn't gay and was just trying to get to know me... Wooops. Gotta pay better attention.)