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Exploring Seattle: The Seattle Aquarium
I absolutely love aquariums. I’ve been wanting to check out the one in Seattle since I moved here 3 2/3 years ago, but I just never quite got around to it. After a while, you get kind of sick of doing stuff by yourself. I’m glad I waited, because exploring it with my boyfriend was…
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“I Can Do It Myself!!!”
According to family lore, that was one of the first full sentences I ever uttered. That does not surprise me in the least. I’ve always been very independent. I started working when I was 10 years old, growing house plants and selling them at the local flea market. My first major purchase was tickets to…
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No, It’s Not in His Kiss
I was listening to Cher’s cover of The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss) on the way to work the other day, and I realized that that isn’t really true. I’m speaking as someone whose boyfriend just drove 7 miles to give me lunch before I headed out for swing shift. It isn’t in…
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Entitlement
I recently wrote a blog post about the cubic yard test, an antiquated test that the Seattle Department of Transportation uses to see if you’re qualified to work in one of their field positions—a test that I suggest excludes most women. Apparently this post struck a nerve for some people, but not in the way…
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Package Thieves
When I arrived in Seattle 3 ½ years ago, I was shocked to discover that you could pretty much count on your packages getting stolen off your doorstep out here. That never, ever happened to me in Florida. I had no idea what a fool’s paradise I had been living in. Based on conversations with…
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Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
True confession: I’m a National Park Geek. I even have a National Parks Passport, and nothing makes me happier than adding a stamp to it. There, I said it. So when I discovered that there was a National Historical Park right in the heart of downtown Seattle, I was transported to a level of ecstasy…
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Seattle’s Underbelly
For my birthday this year, I treated myself to a Seattle Beneath the Streets tour. I’m so glad I did, because this tour, in its current form, at least, won’t be around much longer. More and more of the underground alleys are being closed off for gentrification. They’ll soon turn into slick underground malls, and…
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Andy Johnson, or Unethical Politicians are Nothing New
Not a day goes by when there isn’t some outrageous story about a corrupt politician. I’m relieved that most of us are still shocked by this, but I can feel the cynicism growing all around me like kudzu on an abandoned Southern house. I rue the day when we all become so used to it…
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Several Layers of Warmth
The joys of home ownership. The repairs to my fireplace wound up costing me twice as much as I anticipated. To say this is a hardship for me is putting it mildly. Living in the Seattle area is wonderful for many reasons, and because of that it’s expensive. Brutally expensive. I walk a precarious tightrope…