Frinklin sent me something ever so fun to play with.

Head over to the Walk Score website and enter in your address. It will map our your home and surroundings and the "walkability" of your neighborhood, taking into consideration the convenience of the nearby destinations. You receive a score from 0 to 100 depending on just how fully walkable things really are. Their scale is broken down like so:

90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

My score was 57, which is reasonable. We have a lot of restaurants and a few shops as well as a hospital (if one might walk there) well within walking range, but grocery stores are pushing the limits of walkability when you start to talk about carrying a lot of stuff back with you. I would assume that most of Tacoma is fairly walkable.

You can actually get a map to place on your blog. I thought it would be funny to see the walkability of my parent's neighborhood. They live out in the boonies:

They scored a 6. Not so walkable there.

Posted by: Ensie at 12:31 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 Now, there's a Sizzler within three miles so it's not all bad! My mom's address scored a 25. A little better than your parents but still pretty awful. The house I grew up in scored an 8. I'd say that's about right!

Posted by: Jenyum/Tacomamama at May 24, 2008 08:23 AM (LMqvC)

2 We got a 51 ... but two restaurants listed aren't really there. I'm guessing there's a N/S switch going on. Though I'd love to have Gateway to India and a teriyaki as close as it SAYS. I know I'm in the suburbs of the Proctor District ... sigh.

Posted by: tacomachickadee at May 24, 2008 09:49 AM (nWV/l)

3 The house I grew up in got a 2, but I think only because it counted an asparagus farm a mile away as a restaurant. Otherwise I think they'd be at 1 or 2. The nearest thing of any category was several miles away. In case any of you wonder why I'm perfectly happy in T-town with a score of 51 ...

Posted by: tacomachickadee at May 24, 2008 09:53 AM (nWV/l)

4 That's a great tool to objectively determine how "walkable" an area is. As an example, Fife has installed some great new sidewalks and treees but the distances between uses is so large its hard to walk to anything so every trip ends up being one in a car.

Posted by: Erik B. at May 24, 2008 10:53 AM (OVI7B)

5 Wow! Our site for cohousing (1002-4 S 12th St) got an 85! They are a bit funky on the search criteria though. Under schools, they listed Bates about 10 times (probably for the different "majors", and an LLC with Park in the name was listed as A PARK! All together, though, I'd say we picked a good place. Still looking for members!

Posted by: Earthdaughter at May 24, 2008 11:08 AM (JllhC)

6 Walk Score: 5 out of 100

Posted by: Eden at May 24, 2008 02:25 PM (BDCWt)

7 My home address gets a 60, which is better than last year when it left out even more, but it still leaves out Dave's market and Lowell elementary, which would probably boost it considerably. Lowell is actually much closer than Grant, but both are easily walkable.

Posted by: Jen at May 24, 2008 05:52 PM (LMqvC)

8 Yeah, there are definitely some glitches in the alogorithem (is that how you spell that?) that is used to figure out the acutal walkability. But it's still interesting to look at. My parent's house actually has some sort of odd "Quality Hydroseeding" place listed as a school nearby, which I don't believe has anything to do with education.

Posted by: ensie at May 24, 2008 09:35 PM (0Y/90)

9 Just for fun, I looked around on walkscore's site and found this interesting information on how they arrive at their scoring. http://www.walkscore.com/how-it-doesnt-work.shtml We can actually help them "fix" some of the errors in our neighborhoods and improve the accuracy for Tacoma. (P.S. It's algorithm.)

Posted by: Patricia J. Menzies at May 25, 2008 05:24 AM (JllhC)

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When I was new to the Pacific Northwest and still missing absolutely everything Southern California with an ache that would never end I went on a cereal eating binge. I lived on cereal. And not just any random cereal. For some reason I chose Honey Nut Shredded Wheat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over three months (apparently I'm not the only one to do this). I went through a box every couple of days, four or five boxes a week. I would supplement occasionally with meals out, but that was essentially what I lived off of.

At the time I was severely depressed and didn't have any friends in my new home to find my behavior odd. Just one husband who gamely kept me supplied and a therapist who told me that as long as the cereal wasn't hurting me she didn't see anything wrong with it. After three or four months I found the right mix of medication, the homesickness began to lift, and the cereal hunger lifted. I still wanted cereal, but just for breakfast, and maybe could I have something different?

Until last night I hadn't touched Honey Nut Shredded Wheat in two years. But last night there was a Cereal Party at the House of Freitai and as a nod to those sad months I brought a box of my OCD food of choice for others to share. I also brought along a box of my current fav - Special K with Strawberries, which I have each morning.

Frinklin brought a couple of his favorites, as did everyone else. We each gave a quick speech about why had brought our specific choices before diving into the selections. Surprisingly with nine different types to choose from, no one had duplicated anything. Sarah brought bananas and there were several options for milk - nonfat, reduced fat, whole, soy, and chocolate.

I didn't grow up in a house where sugary cereals were allowed and because of that sugary cereals taste SO sweet to me. We didn't have anything overly sugary represented last night other than CoCo Puffs, which I didn't eat (other than a bite of Kevin's terrifying chocolate nightmare). I did enjoy small bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (sweet, but not overly so), Rice Krispies (with a bit of honey, the way my Grandma used to make them for me), Apple Jacks (yuck), mix of Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies (OK, but I don't like chocolate cereal).

I'm sure this will become a regular tradition. As you can see, we are serious about our cereal.

Posted by: Ensie at 04:00 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I have a long history of locking myself out of things. I'm really good at locking myself out of various vehicles. I went through a stretch where I did it weekly, sometimes twice a week. Twice I did it while the car was RUNNING. I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment.

I've been locked out of my computer more times that I can tell you. Or various websites that I swear I can remember the password for, but upon my three attempts suddenly find that I need to call customer service because I no longer have any type of access. I finally had to create a hidden secret "cheat sheet" that I use to get to the various portals around the internets.

I thought I'd really done it a couple of years ago when Frinklin and I locked our selves IN our house. Yes you read that correctly. IN the house.

The deadbolt to the front door broke due to shoddy workmanship of the previous owner (a reccurring theme) and since we don't own a key to the back door, and our back gates are padlocked shut (a detail that will become important later in this blog entry) we were trapped. A very kind locksmith came and removed the deadbolt, re-keyed the front door, and fixed the crappy job the last owner had done with the whole thing. I highly recommend Jack at Security Lock, Safe, and Alarm.

I really didn't think it would be possible to top locking myself IN my house. But yesterday I did it.

Yesterday I locked myself in my backyard.

Really, it was all the cats' fault. But lets back up.

Remember how I told you earlier that there is no key to the back door and the gates are padlocked shut? We've been having issues with the back door not shutting all the way unless the deadbolt is thrown. The wind will push it open and 4 of our 5 indoor only cats will sneak outside to frolic on the deck, eventually making their way under the house.

Yesterday I happened to be walking past the back door and noticed it was waving gently in the afternoon breeze. Immediately panicking I jumped into action and ran outside. All four adventurous cats were outside. Making a grab for the one closest (Clyde), I felt fur and threw him in the house, slamming the door behind me. One down and three to go! An orange streak flew past my feet. Percy! I snatched him up and grabbed the door handle, leaning in to open the--ow! Open the--

Oh for fucks sake. I hadn't latched the deadbolt, but the small doorknob lock was thrown and it was good and closed this time. As Percy squirmed in my arms I grabbed for another orange kitty and picked up a clawing mass of Barney. As his talons sank into my body I thought, "this is bad." Turning to the right, I watched as Moby slipped under the house.

As I lost more and more blood from Barney's slashes I realized I was going to have to let the cats go, even if they did go under the house. I was either going to need to try to climb through a window (all locked), climb the fence (six feet high), or find a friendly neighbor with a cell phone to help. Fortunately, a friendly neighbor happened to be standing just on the other side of the fence.

"Excuse me?" I called, trying not to look insane with orange cats dangling from my limbs. "I have locked myself in my backyard and am in need of a phone. May I borrow yours?" Hopefully proper grammar and being the picture of politeness would help my cause.

"Uh, IN your backyard?" replied the kind neighbor.

"Yes. You see, my door is locked from the inside and I lack a key (Ow! Barney stop it!). And my gates are padlocked (Dammit! Ow!)." (Big smile)

"Sure." Kind neighbor tosses cell phone to me over fence. I should explain at this point that Frinklin was out assisting friends with their 72 Hour Films Festival (tickets on sale now!) submission. I called him. And called him. And called him. Angels be praised - on the third try he picked up. I make no apologies for the messages left that sound something like, "Iamtrappedinthegoddamnbackyardandyouarenotpickingupyourcellphonewherethefuck
areyourightnowIreallyneedyoutocomehomeandhelpme!" To his credit as soon as he did pick up the phone Kevin, Joe, and Frinklin did rush home to rescue me. I sulkily entered the house, sans cats.

Ah yes. The cats.

The next three hours of my life were devoted to cajoling two stubborn kitties out from the tiny (non) crawl space of the house. Percy decided he'd had enough of the great outdoors and came quietly, but Barney and Moby found a playground of smells, sights, and a possible doorway to a wonderland of adventure through that little gap in the concrete. I'd like to say that Frinklin and I tempted the cats by calling their names and offering them treats, but that did absolutely nothing for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Also ineffectual; lying on a towel to avoid dirt and other backyard debris while peering under the house with an industrial strength flashlight (although I got a close up look at one of our air vents). The best technique was to stand absolutely silent and still for 10 or 15 minutes, pretending to be a part of the house, then pounce when the cat came out to explore. Good to know for future reference.

I really need to get the back door re-keyed so that we can unlock it normally. And probably need to have the entire thing worked on so that it actually stays closed when the wind is blowing. Hopefully I'm working a good average and I won't lock myself back there again for another three years, minimum.

Bonus trapped in moment! Trapped IN my pants!

Posted by: Ensie at 12:50 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Dang. What a crazy afternoon/evening. And you handled the situation much better than I would have. At the point I would've realized I'd locked myself in the backyard, my head would've just asploded.

Posted by: Cassioposa at May 04, 2008 04:54 PM (/fI+2)

2 damn. I would have.... um... I dunno. Uttered alot of curses. Many of them well-conjugated strings of cursewords. I can demonstrate that curse-conjugation skill for you someday, if you like, though I suspect you may have the skill within you.... Nice to know your peaceable kingdom is all well again

Posted by: JCBetty at May 04, 2008 09:46 PM (lvOTL)

3 This is something I would do. Glad you got all your various cats back inside.

Posted by: Jenyum/Tacomamama at May 06, 2008 03:58 PM (LMqvC)

4 JCBetty, Oh, I uttered A LOT of swear words. Don't worry. I may have even been speaking in tongues at one point. It was not pretty. I'm surprised I didn't scare away the Kind Neighbor. Fortunately I didn't though, and he stuck around long enough to lend his phone.

Posted by: ensie at May 07, 2008 12:49 AM (0Y/90)

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This morning started off rough.

Frinklin got up early to help out friends with their 72 hour film festival submission only to find that one of our cars was broken into overnight. It was nothing terribly dramatic, and unfortunately (or fortunately, since it meant there was little damage to the car) it was a situation where one of the doors didn't close properly and was jimmied open. Everthing in the vehicle had been rifled through but the person who broke in only stole my expensive and very cool pea coat. Note to self: don't leave expensive and cool stuff in car.

In the grand scheme of things this isn't a huge deal. The car is relatively unscathed, nothing major was taken, and both Frinklin and I are mostly just annoyed. But it's unsettling to have someone violate your privacy and your space. This is the second time that Frinklin and I have been robbed. Both times it has been due to a door left ajar; last time it was in an old apartment we couldn't wait to move out of in 2001.

Before moving to Tacoma I received a lot of half-joking warning about the crime rate here. I, myself, have joked about livng in a city where crime is just considered part of daily life. A few months after moving here Violet came to visit from Chicago (where she was terrified of living in her own haunted house and somewhat crime-ridden neighborhood alone). Her first night in town we told her we lived in "the good part of Tacoma" with a lower crime rate, "less violent crimes."

Frinklin went on to say, "We do tend to have a lot of kidnappers and serial killers though," naming Ted Bundy and a couple of others. We laughed it off (I know I'm going to hell) and got ready for bed.

Just as we were readying the pull-out couch Violet looked outside and asked, "Are those police lights?" We all rushed to the window to see cops blocking off our street and officers with German Shepherds marching up and down our block. A helicopter began circling overhead and spotlights swept the ground. Frinklin called the non-emergency police number and was told in a stern voice to, "Stay inside. Lock the doors. Do not exit the house unless instructed to by a uniformed police officer." Oh. Great.

Violet told us the next morning she slept better that night than she had in months.

"The police were everywhere! I felt so safe!" she smiled.

The TPD is no longer hovering around my house and even when I call them to report a prowler they don't bother to stop by. I've had my car egged twice, my mail stolen, the guy trying to get into the backyard, and now the car, all in three year. But I feel relatively safe due to the 90 lb. German Shepherd/Pit Bull (who's my puppy?) that doesn't like strangers sleeping next to me at night.

It's just emotionally draining to have someone violate your space and have to put your stuff back together again. And there's the enevitable "what if" thoughts that haunt you. What if they come back? What if they took something I didn't notice? What if they try to break into my house next? What if they hurt my animals? What if they hurt my husband or me?

I'm tired of thinking these thoughts. What I'd really like to do is leave a big 'ol sign on my car that says, "Hi. This message is for the person who broke into my car and stole my coat. I've lived in Tacoma long enough to know that a video camera is the best way to keep your property safe. Bring back the coat - put it on the front porch. I've got you on tape breaking into the car. If you don't return the coat within 48 hours, I'm turning in the tape to the Tacoma Police Department. Thanks."

Posted by: Ensie at 12:14 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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