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04.17.2003 - 7:44 p.m.
Thursday
I tell you that I live in Seattle,
but really, I don't. I live Across The Lake. On the east side.
People think once you move from the west side to the east side
you become completely boring and suburbanized, but, ha ha, that's
not true! No, really!
*cough*
We live in Bellevue, which is a vast stretch of middle-to-upper-class
houses, strip malls, and a "prestigious high-rise core"
that looks deceptively like it could be a Hip Urban Downtown
Area but is actually a boring clot of banks/insurance companies/dying
tech firms.
There are no cute bistros,
quaint shop(pe)s, or cool bars in Bellevue. There are many, many
movie theaters, Blockbusters, nail salons, "Jitters"
espresso drive-thrus, Radio Shacks, grocery stores, dry cleaners,
Home Depots. There is a retail mall with what I have heard someone
at Workplace refer to as "the classiest Hooters I've ever
been to". Almost every single car you see has a red circular
tag hanging from the rearview mirror marking them as a Microsoft
employee, and on 148th street there is always some sad fucker
wearing a yellow sandwich board sign (advertising a mattress
store) halfheartedly waving at people driving by.
Despite its lack of excitement,
Bellevue works for me and our homebody lifestyle - I mean, what
do I do on the weekends? I buy groceries, go to the dry cleaners,
rent movies, et-fucking-cetera. My neighborhood, while not exactly
'charming', has everything I need. Our house is at the end of
a quiet block, and there are any number of parks nearby with
ponds full of ducks. There's a Half Price Books in the Crossroads
mall down the way, along with an Old Navy. Just past the gardening
center is Uwajimaya
where I can get sushi supplies. And let's not forget Planet TanFastic where one can pay for the
privilege of having carcinogens beamed into one's body.
While I like where I live,
I'm glad for my commute - at least, on the days when it doesn't
take very long. My drive to work takes me onto 520 westbound,
where I cross Lake Washington and am startled anew on a daily
basis by the beauty of this area. Amazing houses dot the shoreline,
waterbirds are everywhere, and if I'm lucky, I can see the jagged
white tops of the Olympics on the way there, and Mt. Rainier
on the way back.
This weekend we are going to
drive and drive and drive and hopefully eventually reach the
southern Oregon coast where we are visiting JB's folks in Coos
Bay. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather is halfway decent
so we can have some beach outings with Dog.
We're stopping in Eugene tomorrow
night to see JB's brother, and we are going to join a mutual
friend's 21st birthday bash - which is purported to include a
trip to the Great Alaskan Bush Company, which, as its name ever-so-classily
implies, is a strip joint. So THIS boring suburbanite is going
to see some tits and ass, folks!
Let's hope I can stay up past
9 PM.
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0
comments so far.
I have moved. - 1.03.2005
Obviously, a work in progress. - 12.27.2004
Happy holidays! - 12.24.2004
Listen, I am not a complete dick, it's not like I want Joe to die alone surrounded by cats or something. - 12.23.2004
Plus I am convinced my butt is extra big when it's upside down. - 12.22.2004
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