come as you are

the halcyon days of summer have come to an end, signaling the start of school. summer's end also marks a full year of living in the pacific northwest.

for me, that has meant 365 days of grunge, sir-mix-a-lot's "baby got back," and jimi hendrix on the radio; 365 days of fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables at the public market; and 365 days of being panhandled.

neither a bustling metropolis, nor a mid-sized city, seattle confronts this identity quandary with an inferiority complex, excessively celebrating even minor accomplishments. (see continued airplay of "baby got back).

as with most cities, neatly categorizing the types of people is unhelpful and the categorizations are most often untrue. yet one cateogry of people sticks out in seattle. when lieutenant colonel frank slade welcomes charlie to the big apple, he yells "welcome to the greatest freak show on earth." seattle, for sure, has a disproportionate amount of freaks. i've seen people dress more bruno (do not know how to insert an umlaut) than bruno (again with the umlaut), i've see a man in cutoff jean shorts and a wifebeater walk his ferret on a leash, and i've seen a woman place her starbucks coffee and nordstrom's bag on the sidewalk, hug a tree and slowly start chanting.

other than myself, this city's largest asset is mother nature. i've spent time in british colombia, the oregon coast, the columbia river gorge, mt. rainier, and the olympic peninsula, and only red rock country in southern utah or the continental divide in glacier national park match the natural beauty of the pacific northwest (none of these areas, however, can give lake tahoe a run for her money). the scenery here is truly remarkable.

i will refrain from further inadequate descriptions of the city and instead invite you to come experience seattle for yourself.

on an unrelated note, we are almost at 1000 page views.