Category Archives: Streamline

Marathon

Art, Daily Life, Mecca, mur, Streamline

Never stop moving. Just go from one step to the next until you’re done. That’s how I approached the impending month. Scheduled to work every day of August, I knew it wouldn’t shake out that way. Small concessions from co-workers broke it up into 3 legs – 9 days, 7 days and then 11 in a row. That leaves 4 days off, one of which was a dentist appointment. Working eight to ten day stretches feels like a relay race with my rent payment except sprinting and stopping is more like conditioning than an event. It’s not something I can do faster, I merely endure a set schedule. I come up for air by deliberately excavating free time well in advance.

The hard part of working every day isn’t the work. It’s the boredom. It’s being surrounded by people I can’t talk to. Free time is not longer a solid thing. I melt into the moments between obligation, finding time for necessity and luxury in weighted measure. Times like these, freedom is more intoxicating than the alcohol I drink to commemorate the occasion. A day off involves ceremony and certain tributes around my favorite locations. It’s important to maintain a presence when you are the most unavailable.

The strength of my family is the only thing getting me through these moments. Not my blood family, who still seem to stymie my dreams at every turn. The people I can reach out to when I need real help. My co-workers at Streamline and the handful of people I’ve met in the neighborhood. An ex-husband in Memphis and the ghosts of too many dead friends. There’s a certain bartender that likes to remind me how far I’ve come. Even some random dates have provided great companionship at just the right time. These things have laid a foundation more solid than concrete.

I met someone this time last year who just completed his first half marathon. I logically asked when he planned to run a full marathon. He stated that full marathons are silly because they push someone past rational physical limits. I was flabbergasted. To be clear, I don’t run for recreation. It’s a personal choice and I don’t hate on people that like doing it. But when someone chooses to run a half marathon and states that full marathons are irrational, I just assume they don’t understand the word marathon. If you’re measuring accomplishment by a specific factor, what sort of person only strives to complete half of it? This is just one of the many unanswered questions I have for a human I never got to know.

Rimble Ramble

Art, Book, Daily Life, Games, mur, Random, Reasons for Things, Streamline

My superpower is rooted in the ability to shift perspective.  Call it a defense mechanism if you will but I have unleashed the inherent power.  Further than a sense of empathy, I can provide a fresh look from any angle.  The cost for this is inability to blend in.  I cultivate invisibility by hiding in plain sight and it works most of the time.  If I’m ever spotted, I use my feminine assets to misdirect and then make a quick Irish exit.  Continue reading Rimble Ramble →

Three, Some…

Daily Life, Quick Thoughts, Random, Rants, Stories, Streamline

Last night, I was propositioned by a couple. It started with a blonde woman sporting bottomless cleavage sidling up to me at the bar.  I’d seen her come in behind an aging frat boy in a backwards baseball cap. Her guy took up a post on the opposite end of the bar.  Slurring from the start, she opens with a diatribe about how she is much smarter than she seems. I smile and nod.  To further convince me, she describes specific aspects of her appearance and assumptions people make because of it.  I listen with sincerity, knowing all too well the plight of being pretty with big breasts.   Continue reading Three, Some… →

Cost of Living

Art, Daily Life, Dives, mur, Random, Rants, Reasons for Things, Stories, Streamline

The most poignant parts of my life happened in books. Every time I discover something great it’s with a fictional companion. Not a wonder I feel destined to write a story. In the meantime, I’m working on telling my stories out loud. I’m the Jane Austen character that wishes she was Jane Austen, not believing in myself is part of the magic. That ability to zone out and take apart the world around me. Not caring what people think and simply continuing on my mission.

I feel freer now than I ever have. The problem is it hurts to breathe. I’m not wanting for anything except more time to process things. Constant sources of entertainment and new experiences. Potential to start over in career paths I once loved. Living in denial this long is a bit like leaving a cult (or a bunker). The cost of living in my previous life was so infinitely higher than here.  Shifts in resources have been dramatic to say the least but the difference is truly the human resources.

Some family networks are too large to fail.  Fortunately, I found a great divestment option that only costs me biological children.  A prodigal soul made better by the journey, regardless of results.  I come from a fertile bunch and resisting the call of motherhood was never an easy decision. My only problem is sapiosexuality doesn’t promote good genetics.  I’m not a physical specimen that should get replicated.  That said, I’m pretty sure I gave birth to a religion recently, so I might live up to my original namesake.

Drahmah

Art, Book, Daily Life, mur, Streamline

The main thing I avoid when selecting favorite people and places is drama.  Unless there’s a stage show, in which case the drama should be dialed up to at least an 8 or 9.  Unscripted drama had its time when we squished reality up against a TV camera.  The value of that genre lasted about as long as shock rock.  Writing and directing the chaos that we seek is best left to a collaboration, like bullfights.  That doesn’t mean I won’t watch when it’s free.  Continue reading Drahmah →

Pouring

Daily Life, mur, Quick Thoughts, Rants, Streamline

The thing most people asked about with me moving to Seattle was, “Doesn’t it rain a lot there?”  Continue reading Pouring →

Streamline Tavern

Art, Daily Life, mur, Quick Thoughts, Random, Streamline

Americana distilled, this dive bar apparently got ousted from their original spot on Mercer a year ago due to increased rent costs. So they picked up the bar and walked it one block over to set up shop in another dive spot that was about to close down. Timing worked out for everyone but the bartender confessed that it’s a sign of the time. Apparently a wave of dive bar closures hit Queen Anne recently and the two I’ve found are the remaining holdouts. Based on what I’ve seen, this place should be able to eke out another decade or two at least.

The entire place is lit by neon lights and Christmas lights scattered like cobwebs around the ceiling edges. It’s my second time here and I’m already chatting with the adorable bartender who also reminds me of an old friend. Maybe I’ve had too many friends? Of course, I met most of them while drunk so there’s still room to make an impression. The Wednesday night regulars are filtering in, filling the gaps at the bar. There’s a community of artists in the corner booth with paper and sketches spread out. Two strangers sit across from me watching TV over my head.

The pints of cider are $5 and there’s a coin-op pool table. Most of the patrons seem to smoke cigarettes outside, so having a dugout/joints with me will blend right in. I predict a lot of my laundry money will derive from visits here. “Uh oh, I’m low on quarters. Time to play some pool at the Streamline.” I wonder if they have a weekly pool tournament?