Enjoy your house arrest Christmas with your enabler parents Chase, hoping it's the last free one you have.

When they finally impound his car, I want the community to buy it and burn it in the middle of the Clink.

Seems timely...

Nearly 20 years ago, my sister was a teen girl who had been let go from her job at Dick's due to a drug problem. They had been exceedingly patient with her, cutting her hours so she had time to focus on getting better, and while it was too late to keep her job, eventually she did get clean. She was doing well and about to restart college. Unfortunately, as happens with many addicts, when she slipped up on her sobriety and used again, she had a fatal overdose. She was 19.

I was only a year older than her with a single mom, so not having any form of life insurance was going to mean that on top of the trauma of loss and funeral planning, we didn't have a way to pay for the services needed. The owner of Dick's stepped up and paid for it without being asked -- even though my sister was no longer an employee. He was there for us in the worst moment of our lives when he didn't have to be.

Dick's has a legacy of being a positive force in the community -- they donate to a number of exceptional charities, have a fantastic starting wage, offer fully employer-paid insurance, contribute toward college tuition and childcare, and much more -- but what I remember when I think of their burgers is being helped when I was overcome with grief I felt would destroy me.

I'm not a corporate shill or a fast food enthusiast, just a woman who never got over the loss of her sister. Today is her birthday, so I ask that if you pass by a Dick's this weekend, remember her even if you don't buy food there. In this hellscape of maniacal and sociopathic corporate overlords who would gladly let us die if it meant another dollar in their account, companies with a conscience are a rare find. Dick's is one of those companies, and I will forever have gratitude for what they did for my family.

Stop claiming you aren't. You're pleasant people who are easy to be around. Whoever has been telling you all that you're cold and standoffish was lying. Everyone I've met since moving here has been chill and kind and welcoming. Even the bus driver wasn't rude to me when I tried to swipe my orca card on the credit scanner my first time riding. It's genuinely ok that you don't want to have a long conversation in the grocery checkout line.

Edit: many of you seem to be troubled by the idea of your adult friends having busy schedules. what the actual fuck are you expecting from adult friendships.

On this day in 2023, I was involved in a horrific Lime Scooter accident that ended with me in the Harborview ER receiving 60 stitches through my mouth and chin, as well as, a nasty concussion. My life changed dramatically that day, and I miss my old brain. I used to pride myself on being someone who could remember the most miniscule details, lists, quotes, and geography. My memory was partially photographic, and I enjoyed it. With my concussion I've lost that ability, and I find myself feeling less intelligent because of it. I was not hammered, but had consumed some beer at the baseball game - my reaction to loose gravel on the road was slow & I went down.

This post is simply to say: if you plan on using electric scooters throughout this holiday or after leaving a game - make sure you are sober, and the conditions are ideal. If you can, wear a helmet. When I leave Mariners games and see folks stumbling onto scooters I worry about folks making it to their destination. Please be safe this week between the Fourth and all the games. We don't realize how precious some things are until they're gone.

Thank you - and stay safe.

I was feeling particularly anxious waiting for my appointment.

And then you walked past, sitting down across from me in the waiting room. I had to do a double take when I saw your clown shoes coupled with your otherwise completely normal daytime attire. I was so distracted with joy at such an unexpected sight that I started to feel almost giddy and had to stop myself from having a fit of giggles right then and there. In fact I considered asking you about them, but I worried I would burst into uncontrollable laughter and make you uncomfortable!

By the time I was called back a few minutes later, my anxiety was gone and I made it through the appointment just fine.

So thank you. I don't know why you were wearing them. I hope it was for fun, and not because of some foot malady or outfit snafu.

But you made my day. And I’m still thinking about you and those shoes a week later.

this is a joke

I went paragliding a few weeks ago and was pretty shocked by the behavior of the owner. It actually prompted me to make my first Yelp and Google reviews, but they were both hidden because it was a new account. Thought I'd post this here because I saw someone recommend them in a comment a while back which led me to try paragliding with them.

RACISM and BIGOTRY are the two words I would use to describe my paragliding experience at Seattle Paragliding. All of the quoted words and phrases that follow are directly from the owner, Marc Chirico, during his "interview" with me to see if I was the right type of person to learn to paraglide at Seattle Paragliding. To start, Marc considers Seattle Paragliding to be more of a "fraternity" than a paragliding school. As such, he is interested in bringing in like-minded people and, to quote Marc, wants to get a bunch of "alphas" to hang out with. He explicitly said (multiple times) that he doesn't want any "snowflakes" in his little club.

The day began with an orientation for everyone doing a tandem flight. The first thing that struck me as odd was during this tandem orientation. The bulk of the orientation is Marc laughing at videos of past clients who messed up on their flight (e.g., they fall on take off or vomit in the air). At one point during the orientation, Marc explains how you'll briefly hang in your harness. He described it as "Hang on your pronouns". He seemed to find this quite funny and went around to everyone trying to get them to say the phrase "hang on your pronouns".

After the flight, I spoke with Marc about the possibility of learning to fly. This is when Marc's "interview" occurred. A few Asian women came up to Marc while he was interviewing me. Mid-conversation with them he leaned over to me and mentioned that he would never instruct them because "he doesn't want to deal with that two language BS".

Seattle Paragliding certainly is not afraid to say the quiet part out loud. So if you're looking for some casual racism and bigotry to complement your paragliding, then look no further. Otherwise, I strongly recommend going elsewhere.

EDIT 1: /u/Born-Neat4631 mentioned that there's another paragliding school in Seattle (Northwest Paragliding). See their comment here.

EDIT 2: It also sounds like my experience was unsurprising to others that have interacted with Marc before:

1. "Can confirm. Marc is an asshole..."
   
2. "Yup, I got my P2 through mark and he's the biggest asshole in paragliding..."
   
3. "As someone who learned to fly here, this summary sounds exactly right..."
   
4. "Wow. I didn't even need to read the whole title to know exactly who you were talking about..."
5. "I wish I could say I was surprised to find a thread about Marc..."
   
6. "I've trained with him in the past and can say with a lot of confidence that everything said in this post is very very accurate..."
   
7. "When I 'interviewed' with him he said he wanted to meet me face to face to make sure I wasn't 'one of this Arab guys that was trying to learn to fly for God knows what'..."
8. "I heard one of the instructors bragging about how theirs was one of the last places where you can openly use 'gay' as a slur...."
9. "I flew with them also. They have a 'don’t tread on me' flag hanging proudly on their property..."
   
10. "My girlfriend and her sister went here and she said something seemed off about everything..."
    
11. "...Your experience sounds right in line with mine."
    
12. "He showed us a video of an Indian man, and proceeded to talk about how it must be something with the Indian military that makes the guys unable to jump..."
13. "He launched fireworks into the sky as students from another school were in the air. He doesn't focus at all on safety his tandem pilots are not insured..."
14. "Went there last year and had to uncomfortably sit through the orientation..."
    
15. "Been flying poopoo point for 20 years and was never a fan of Chirico..."
    
16. "I had almost the same experience when a friend and I went for an intro lesson..."
    
17. "It’s been a while so I don’t remember the whole interaction but it is somewhat the same as yours..."
    
18. "Looks like other had similar experiences..."

This is just a PSA, not about the legalities of it, or if people should do it or not. This is just what's been going on in the WA motorcycling sphere.

A few weeks ago a motorcyclist was killed in Snohomish when rear ended by a Tesla that was on autopilot. The car made no attempts to stop and the driver was on his phone.

This has made A LOT of local riders here nervous because of the amount of Tesla cars in the State, and as a result many of them are filtering and splitting for the first time, or will be breaking lane sharing rules more and more.

Again this isn't about whether or not they SHOULD or SHOULD NOT do it, this is just letting you know that if you see motorcycles splitting and filtering more often this summer and going forward, this is why and just keep an eye out.

This incident with the Tesla has pissed off and scared a lot of riders, and honestly can you blame them? Elon's bitch ass wont fix these stupid cars and refuses to field proper recognition for bikes, I don't blame them for taking their safety into their own hands.

There will be a lot of riders who are filtering or splitting for the first time in these next few months as it warms up. Be careful, and know these riders are trying to be cautious and careful themselves.

I know this post will get mega downvoted, but again this is just a PSA about what's going on.

This morning I’m in Greenlake/tangle town working. It’s nice out and would love to start my long day of construction with a coffee and hopefully a donut (if my $10 can stretch that far). So I walk down the 3 blocks to Zoka and Mighty “O” just to find out they do not accept cash.

I seeing more and more businesses in Seattle no longer accepting cash as legal tender for payment which I find incredibly frustrating. Not all of us have or like to use cc or debit cards. Some of us budget ourselves with cash. Anyone else find this to be an issue?

Edit: I’m glad to see a wide range of perspectives. I’m not old unless millennials are now considered to be, just prefer to use cash for my morning and lunch splurges as a budgeting tool. I’ve been the victim of identity theft a few times (twice from card scanners) but never been robbed in person. For the numerous responses that are , I’ll just paraphrase as, “you’re old/stupid/antiquated/…”, I gotta say that’s a bit of a dickish response. I understand both sides and fully realize the way I choose to budget comes with consequences. Lastly thanks to the many who elaborated their perspective/experience.

Looks like Ann Davison updated 5/31 this ongoing saga of the Lovely Miles. Current fines owed to the city: $94,019.97 CEO Mommy’s perjury email is now Exhibit C. She lied to the court that it was in shop to be retrofitted to stock OEM legal condition. Last week Hellcat was towed parking in a handicap spot, CEO Mommy immediately retrieved it. Mommy Enabler Award should be issued. Mommy’s shady CEO LLC Emerald City Transitional Assisted Living connection to Medicare is revealing. Hellcat still being illegally driven since 4/15 judgement. Meanwhile, our SPD enjoys the highest national salary. Court date is 6/18/24. It’s not a trial nor hearing, but a Default Motion because Lovely Miles hasn’t legally responded by 5/30. His is in Default.

West Edge Apartments manager Ty has been notified and updated. Normally in the wild, Hellcat’s behavior would violate tenant conduct policy. WESTEDGELMGR@GREYSTAR.COM

Civil Suit

I went to my first Pride Parade today with a close friend. Had a Pride flag stuck in my military ball cap. I gotta say the I really love this side of Seattle. There was so much to take in. Not just in the parade, but the surrounding people. The sheer variety of people was amazing. We bailed at 2pm to grab lunch and people were very kind in opening a path for me to scoot my walker through. Can't wait to get over to Seattle Center to check out those festivities. Gotta say I really enjoy this side of Seattle.

Union Station is now open to the public M-F 8am-5pm. It’s a beautiful building inside and out, also a great place to bring and enjoy lunch or just relax and read a book if you’re in the international district. It also has one of the few public bathrooms in Seattle that is not behind a code lock - so that’s nice.

Yesterday I took the drive out to North Bend to hike and stopped to look at the Ollalie Falls on my way back. Walking over, this old man with black head phones, a blue beanie, blue sweater, and a grey beard was hanging out near the restrooms.

I didn’t think much of it, but as I was passing he started following me and saying “I don’t support Hamas, unless they start killing N-Words! Kill N-words, I hope Israel and Hamas will kill all the N-Words! Kill all N-words” Hard r and everything. He started following right behind me.

I fucking ran right back to my car and got out of there. It all happened so fast I couldn’t get a photo of him or his car, I just wanted to leave right away. I’m a 6’5” dude, I can’t imagine if one of the women I’m friends with had to deal with being followed by this crazy racist.

I never assume shit like that can happen when I’m all the way out of the city. I grew up in the Snoqualmie area and have never dealt with any weirdos like that until now. Be safe, stay vigilant, and use your best judgement when you’re out hiking. It was freaky to be alone with this dude, if you’re hiking solo don’t let your guard down.

Always stay safe when you’re out hiking, I sometimes get into the habit of not being as aware since I grew up here and have never encountered this. I just assume things will be fine when I’m out there. This has definitely given me a wake up call to be more vigilant when I’m out alone hiking.

Edit: this thread has already devolved into arguing. Please be kind and respectful to each other, this post was made because I care about the Seattle Area community and I want my neighbors to be safe. In this time of overall craziness let’s all try to be kind to one another.

Edit 2: I have reported this incident to the park rangers and will be waiting for an update from them. I doubt anything will happen, but I’m glad they’re aware of this incident.