Back to the City

So, here we are in Seattle, Washington. We've been here for about 2 weeks, well, just over 2 weeks.

We left Idaho at 5:30 in the morning to embark on our 13 hour journey to Seattle. It was a bit sad to see the back of Idaho. For all of my complaints, it's amazing the power of rose-tinted reflection. We did manage to make some friends and settle in a bit. We even had a little leaving do at The Frosty Gator. We were essentially being teenagers again. Living by someone else's rules, living rent free, having people buy our food for us. But as Dave always said, nothing is free. We had gotten ourselves a little routine. This mainly included going out for drives. We both worked in the same place. A place where, I swear, every employee was a stoner to some degree. I found out why this was - it was one of the few places in Idaho Falls that didn't drug test. So all the people who get lumped into the same category as a meth head have to find work somewhere. And admittedly, all bar one were good at their job. I can't believe their lives are going to be so restricted simply for smoking a bit of weed. But I was told of this slogan for Idaho Falls "Come on vacation, leave on probation." Honestly, the whole population were split into 2 groups - Mormon or on probation. I met one girl who was caught shoplifting a lip gloss at 13 and she was put on probation for something like 5 years. This method is merely a way of making money and from what I can see it turns people who wouldn't have gone down that path into more hardened criminals. And yet, everyone seems to drive drunk. I hate this misplaced drug war and their avoidance of addressing the more virulent problem of alcohol. But this is not a soapbox.

Besides, we are in a much more liberal part of the country now. They provide medical marijuana cards for starters. And I feel like I'm back in Bristol as far as the smell of green on every street goes. Our trip up here was fairly uneventful. But as we went through a canyon, rounded the corner and say the landscape around us change from desert to rich greens and browns, we received a magnificent welcome. As spectacular as I see that wide open space, I'm much more a forest kind of person. I'm not necessarily a tree hugger, but I will give them an appreciative pat every now and again. The city itself is nestled in the forest. You just see a little mass of skyscrapers poking out of a little silver pool surrounded by trees. Beyond the trees lie the mountains. Mount Rainier is apparently used in training for Mount Everest. Honestly, the views all around Seattle are stunning. Puget Sound provides plenty of beach area and there are walking and hiking trails all around.

We live just outside Seattle in a place called Lake City. I was speaking to one of the rare staunch conservatives in the area on the bus and she informed me that she wouldn't even drive through our area. As it stands, I've had no problems. On our second day, on a walk to the farmer's market, we passed a recent drive by. But even this had a tinge of the farcical as one of the victims hobbled away, grabbing his posterior and complaining "my arse, my poor arse." We also had a woman who was rather inebriated keep us entertained at the bus stop. Now, everyone likes a complimentary drunk, the only problem is you don't know if and when they will start to sober up and realise we are no where near as nice as we appear and start to pick a fight (all in their heads obviously). But this woman remained in good spirits. Apparently I have a nice smile and a good face structure. Dave has dreamy eyes. We were offered am orgy but politely declined. We were told we make a cute couple though. The poor woman had just found out that she might have breast cancer, so I really couldn't blame her. Ok, maybe she took a bit of crack and meth as well, and was an alcoholic, but regardless, I'd be drunk as hell too.

Our first trip into Seattle was not what we were expecting. We stumbled upon the gay Pride parade, and what a way to enter a city!! The atmosphere was brimming with free abandon. All the gang folk were looking around cautiously - they were greatly outnumbered anyway and their discomfort provided a great source of amusement. It was a great atmosphere, even though it thwarted our attempts to find anything as all the roads were closed off.

A lot of our time has been used furniture and job hunting. We finally found a couch from someone who would deliver (this is another major set back in finding furniture). We took a while workling out the measurements and seeing if it would fit. We decided it would, at a push. Well, push came to shove came to 'wait, no, just try turning it left at the bottom and right at the top' and the walls were getting more bruised than we could fix. A little thought outside the box and we took the couch through bedroom, out on to the balcony and through the balcony door. Fit like a glove! We are still waiting to get a bed - a blow up mattress has done the trick so far.

It was 4th of July a couple of days ago so we decided to hit the fireworks. There was an all day celebration at the old site of a gas works factory. It was crowded but civilised - not what I'm used to! But the fireworks were amazing. Getting home was a hell of a hassle, but we managed it, after stopping into am Irish pub to wait for the masses to clear out.

We also met up with an old high school friend of mine. It was great to meet up with someone you haven't seen in years and we had a lovely BBQ in their garden. However, on the way home, we were told to get 2 buses, and one would give us transfer tickets for the other. We got the first then waited for the second. We showed our transfer tickets but were told they didn't work on that bus. We had no more money, no free cash machine near by and not much clue about the city. An extremely kind girl gave us $5 to get on the bus. We were both stunned into silence. We tried to decline the offer but she would have none of it. We got on the bus and sat again in stunned silence. I went back to her and tried to invite her out for a drink in return, but she just said she knows how hard it can be and that karma will sort her out. I'm still in awe really as no one has ever extended that kind of hand to me. But you can be sure, if that happens to someone else and I have money, the same kindness will be passed on. I think that's more what she would have wanted anyway.

On the other hand, we went to the DMV yesterday. it was a long wait so we hunkered down. There were 2 obvious meth heads there waiting too, they were a bit of a train wreck. The elderly gentleman who was sat next to them went up to do his thing and realised his wallet wasn't in his pocket. He went out to the car to look for it and came back in with his accusing finger ready. She got all defensive and walked out, at which point a quarter of the people in the room jumped up to chase her down and get his wallet back. Well, she gave him his wallet back. But the $500 he had in there was gone. Her friend had the gall to stay around and give the audience a bit of lip. The other girl by this point had run off and as we walked back to the car saw her friend getting arrested. But, it got the whole room talking to each other. This room was pretty much silent and segregated up until this point. Just goes to show it takes very little to bring out the social beast in human nature. Just a shame it takes something like that to break down those barriers.

Idaho Falls - an insight

Well, since being here I would like to say a lot has happened. And it has, in a life revelation kind of way. But not in your everyday, something always happening kind of way. I run the risk of being one of those people who, when asked how their day went, begin by describing my morning ablutions, what I had for breakfast, how long it took me to drive to the shop etc. If there was something interesting to talk about, I would. Perhaps people get by on family and friends, and that is something I see a lot of. Some of Dave's family live around here, and I'm sure that is to be close to his grandmother, and they all chip in to help her out. She knows what she wants, I'll give her that, and does not mince her words in the telling. But she is equally as generous and kind, despite having to talk quite loudly. Dave has almost given up on this - I have become the grandmother-grandson translator.
I found work fairly quickly here, as did Dave. Both of us hated our first jobs. He was selling satellite TV door to door and I was working in a sports bar called the Frosty Gator. We went to this establishment just before I started to get a feel for a Friday night. Turns out they like to get messy just as much as the English and we saw a fight get broken up. This was apparently due to a woman who had legs like tree trunks behaving lewdly with another woman. I had seen a bit of this behaviour but had missed the move that got her chucked out - she jammed a hand up her counterpart's skirt. It was noticed by staff and swiftly dealt with while the man that they were with proudly swanned out after them. I bet he just gets to sit in the corner and watch personally, didn't look too much like the Casanova he obviously thought he was. When we had drunk our fill we went out the front to hail a taxi and were convinced by some locals to join them at a karaoke bar. With free drinks promised we tottered along. I would describe them, but they had little to no comic or interest value aside from getting us drinks, so I'll spare you. We ended up home safe and sound albeit a little wobbly around the edges. So far that's our only night out to date - go us!
Unfortunately the Frosty Gator turned out to be more hectic than it needed to be as far as working goes. All mistakes paid out of my wages in full. The people were nice but took very little interest in me. I mean, I'm not presuming that I'm worth talking to, but at least find out?! I had one customer enquire after hummus - so I started with chickpeas (first mistake, they're garbanzo beans out here. Yes, I know, weird) and as I got half way through the description he asked 'So, is it meat?' Reaching into the depths of self control I responded with the negative to which he replied 'Ah! Hell no then!' I desperately wanted to turn to someone and have a giggle, but wondered who I might offend in the process, so I kept it as my own personal joke til the end of the day.
The main relief here is shooting. Before this, I had shot a gun a handful of times, and that was under Dave's instruction also. But I now find I have an eye for rifle shooting, which I very much enjoy. Handguns are fun, but not as easy to aim, and shotguns are great fun and rewarding because you rarely miss a target. Sadly I'm not shooting bigot Idahoans but just bottles and any other target type stuff lying around. But honestly, I have never come away from shooting without feeling better. It's not even the big bang (which is disappointingly small on some guns), and I've yet to put my finger on what it is. It's not the power, I think it might just be the pure concentration that goes in to aiming and firing a gun. But out here there is plenty of space to shoot. I can understand why the gun laws are so lax, and the state also has the lowest instance of gun crime in the country. When people are piled on top of each other, keep strict gun laws. Out here, you can just drive out to the middle of nowhere and fire off a few rounds. Better than a therapist!
We spend our days off either shooting at shit (non-alive shit), or walking across amazing old lava flows or in the mountains. The scenery out here is something else. So much uninterrupted space with a mountainous backdrop. I miss trees though, well, forests. Apparently northern Idaho is good for that. I'm working in Idaho's version of a fine dining restaurant. It is nice, I'll give the place that, but it's not how I'd do things. So maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and open up my own place. Just get me the hell out of Idaho first!