bus rides

"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place."
~Margaret Mead

oh seattle king county metro. where to start? well as you might have guessed, i take the bus every day to work which is about a thirty minute commute. and although there are always those sketchy situations...i love it. coming from the country end of things, being in a city, i find, is best taken in through the bus. every morning, we drive down the very steep hill of queen anne, and i look out over the city and mt. Rainer (if its not too cloudy). feeds the soul. as does the lemon lift tea i drink.

then i get down to the seattle center, say "oh hey" to the space needle and head into downtown. which is CRAZY all the time with people- tourists, homeless, business people, you name it. and i mean- downtown is always a bustle with things to do. pikes place, video gaming conventions (yes- that happened), the flagship nordstrom store (6 levels of ridiculousness). its crazy. then i get to capitol hill, best known as the crazy artsy section of town which as you might guess i would love. but the people- oh- the people. its a sociologists dream come true.

well there are the regulars you see every morning get on the same bus. the woman with the crazy hair who talks about gardening and cats and i love her. then there is the "beautiful man" as my roomate likes to call him who sits in the corner listening to music, reading political thrillers. the professor (at least i think he is) who wears a white hat like the man in curious george and keeps to himself. then you have the mom who brings the worlds cutest baby on board. adorable.

then we have the wild cards. people who run after the bus after it has started to move to try to make it. my personal favorite was a 15 year old kid who chased after the bus yelling in rush hour on his skateboard. you have the very verbal and somewhat grouchy individuals who complain about bus fare ( i mean, it is rather expensive) and how much the bus drivers get paid (i believe i heard somewhere that seattle bus drivers are among the highest paid in the country. after driving the narrow streets of seattle in a giant refrigerator van, i dont think they get paid enough).

then, you get these amazing moments where you meet a total stranger and have just the neatest conversations around. my second week here, my roomies and i went to the thriftstore where i picked up a tall mirror to use for our bedroom. an older man came on the bus, and was caught off guard by his reflection in the mirror i was holding. he sat next to me, and stated how you need to be prepared for the unexpected, because it is always around the corner. i came to find that this gentleman is a counselor for individuals who have lost a loved one to homicide. he was inspired to this work when his young daughter was murdered in LA by one of her troubled social work clients. amazing man. amazing stories. he handed me one of his business cards that quoted him saying "words unspoken are not unheard". beautiful.

i had a kick ass convo with a guy who knows his hockey. which i realllllly appreciate in town without a hockey team. which can i just break and say- how can you be this close to canada and not have a hockey team? they like soccer here. what the heck.

then there are the busdrivers. who are just the sweetest people in the world and have to put up with so much crap. one of my favorite drivers works on my morning bus route and when the mom with the child gets on board, he just lights up and stops the bus so he can oggle over the baby. then he animatedly calls out the stops and where we are heading next. "up next: pike and third; home of the pike place market, macy's, other overpriced retail outlet stores". you gotta love that kinda humor that early in the morning.

this was quite the random ramble, but bus rides rock. i love it. when i finally got my orca pass (bus pass), i felt like a true-ish seattle-an. am i a food/snow snob who complains that no one knows about hockey? yes. always. but i ride the bus in seattle and sort of know where i am going. i think that should count for something.

love to you all
~me

these are a few of my favorite things...

One ought every day at least to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

halllo everyone!
happy monday!...well tuesday for most of you now. anywho i just wanted to start by making a list of things that make me happy about seattle:

-lavender bushes everywhere! makes the air smell amazing!
-palm trees. yes- palm trees. what up with that? i dont know but its cool.
-the amount of older couples who hold hands and kiss (general pda-ness). its adorable.
-the views! ahh! mountains and bays and sunsets and...its beautiful!
-there is a farmers market in every neighborhood on any given day of the week. and then there is always pikes market which is open everyday ;)
-when i read the church program this week advertising for a cookout, veggie burgers were offered as part of the food being provided. pretty sure that would never happen in buffalo/midwest
-every building here is ordered by law to spend at least 1% of their building budget on artwork. the result=awe inspiring work.
-speaking of art, the downtown public library looks more like the cleveland rock and roll hall of fame mixed with the museum of modern art. and it has practice rooms in it for musicians. what what!
-theo chocolate: the only organic and fair trade chocolate company in the united states who are environmnetally friendly. whats that? the factory is a 20 minute walk from my house with heaps of free samples? yes please. also- hey give these tours for 5 bucks and tons of free samples, so please come visit so i dont go by myself and eat the whole place...the dark chocolate cherry almond bars have been getting me through each and every week here!
-the fashion here, although very legging oriented- makes me smile. people mish mash colors and patterns and i am finally at home with my fashion ridiculousness. my roomies always check me in the morning to make sure i havent overdone anything- but yeah, black and brown outfits happen. and it rocks. (that one is for you e....)
-there are bike lanes as well as bike racks on the front of buses...annnd they have handicap accessible ramps on every bus for anyone who needs it.
-do you know when you go to the store and they advertise for washington apples? yeah, they are from here. i had one the other day that was straight from the orchard. yuummmmm. cant wait for some cider!
-the weather, (i know i have mentioned it before) has been awesome so far. i know it will get more cold and overcast- but it is never humid and is so refreshing!
-every sunday night at 9:30 at the st. marks epicopal church there is a Compline service held. basically, an all men's choir sings in perfect harmony with each other in this gorgeous chapel with great acoustics and people from all walks of life come into the church- lay on the alter, sit in the pews, you name it. it lasts for half an hour- everyone sits in silence. it is one of the most moving things i have ever experienced.i think i am going to go every sunday i can. if you come visit me and happen to be here on a sunday- we will go ;)
-there is a floating bridge! over lake washington. AND it is the 90! its like being on the other side, but being connected to the other end to my loves in b-lo.
-the food! although i am living on a limited stipend- i have been able to experience some of the many amazing restaurants and such in the seattle area. some of my faves: molly moons (like jenis splendid) where i experienced strawberry balsamic ice cream, the dahlia lounge (thanks aunt linda and larry!) where i ate one of the best meals of my life and had a kick-ass creme caramel and coconut cream pie, and dicks (an old dive place with greasy burgers) where i got a tasty cheap milkshake.

in case this list has not indicated, i am pleased with life. of course to every city or place there are some downfalls. the distance from all of you, for example, makes being in the emerald city not quite as great as it could be. but i am going to stay positive for now, and i will let you know what else i observe along the way. sending love all your way and thanks for reading!

love!
~me

food. yum.

"When we make food an integral part of our lives and our homes, it becomes part of our theology. We are connected to our food- cultivating it, preserving it, and persevering it, and preparing it. We are nurturers instead of consumers. This shift affects our relationship to the Giver of our daily bread. We become co-creators with God and stewards of God's garden....We are what eat- physically and spirituality. Doris Longacre states that "change is an act of faith." Our interaction with food will express our faith."
-Forward from the More with Less Cookbook (amazing, amazing cookbook that i HIGHLY recommend reading and experimenting with!! it is our house bible in some ways....)


oh hey there!

first of all- 14 followers on this blog? go you guys. thanks for reading/pretending to read (hehe)- i feel so loved! i hope everyone is doing well as classes are starting and post-labor-day-getting-ready-for-fall-ness is starting in full swing. i think about each of you throughout my day and am keeping yall in my prayers ;)

so thanks for reading that long quote at the top. i freaking love it. how cool that we can understand God in a new dimension not only by the food that we eat and taste, but through the decisions we make with our food that influences how we connect to others and our world. there is a lot of emergent information coming out these days about how Americans overeat, how we have obese children, how we still have hunger on our hands. but do any of us actually look in the mirror and ask how am i part of this problem? i mean, its a hard question to ask when the cheesy chicken casserole dinner and chocolate torte dessert just tastes so darn good. its sooo easy to hide behind the food that takes away our stress, that provides us with instant gratification, that connects us to others in a social way. but the thing about food is that I believe we miss out on the lesson that God wants us to learn about His love. How many times does the bible use food as a reference to Christ? The fruit of the spirit, being part of the vine, the mustard seed, fish and bread for a huge crowd, and lets not forget the last supper. i mean- what better way to communicate to us dumb humans how amazing and compelling the Lord is than through our stomachs. God got it alll right there.

so i am on a mission this year. as i have already experienced in my first couple of weeks as an LVCer...i really do want my decisions to reflect simplicity and sustainability. in training my taste buds to ween off processed sugar and fat. i used to just eat and eat all the time whether i was hungry or not. now, i eat food that is good for me when i need it. i savor my food and take my dear old time when i eat it. last night, i enjoyed a bowl of vanilla yogurt and locally produced honey and spent 15 minutes just spending time with my food and reflecting on how God had blessed me with the chance to eat the literal milk and honey. i thought about how sometimes, we just shovel food into our mouths without really thinking what we are doing. instead, i slowed down and took the time to savor and to feed my spirit. i think you get the picture.

in working around food all day at work and seeing how much food is a form of social change for the elderly and those with HIV/AIDS, i have begun a journey of appreciation for what food can do as an extension of life. it is an extension of community, it is an extension of God. it is an extension of love. i freaking love food. and all of the aforementioned items. so its basically a win win situation. anywho- i am off to bed so i can get up nice and early tomorrow to run a pick up center down in Tacoma- and i am soo excited. excited to share love/life/food with some truly amazing people.

goodnight yall- sweet dreams and sweet eating!!!