No. No. No. And no.

Seriously? Convenience stores are the answer to groceries downtown? Or at least, to some groceries downtown? Who wants to have a convenience store located on every street corner across from their hip, downtown condo? Who wants to have a convenience store located across the street from their business? Who wants a "slew" of convenience stores to open in the downtown area?

This would be piss poor planning on the part of Tacoma to allow for ghetto grocers to move into buildings all over the downtown area. Now, if we're talking about small time grocery stores, like Tacoma Boys, or Dave's Meat and Produce (on Steele and North I), I would support these. These are not convenience stores, they are actual small, locally owned grocery stores with fresh meat, produce, and the like. You can shop there for a whole meal, or just pick up some essentials. They are charming places and do not attract bad elements in their various neighborhoods. But the majority of "convenience" stores are ugly blights that lend themselves to loitering and crime. Drive by the corner of 9th and Commerce one evening and you'll see what I mean.

Putting a real grocery store downtown is a fine idea if there are enough residents in the area to support it. But in the meantime, get used to driving for your groceries, just like pretty much everyone else does in the South Sound. I live in the North End and, believe it or not, I also DRIVE to get my groceries. I chose a home a few miles from the grocery store, and therefore, I drive. It's that simple. I didn't move here expecting a grocery store to be built next door. I don't complain about not having a cheap grocery store within walking distance.

And that brings up another point - the "affordable" downtown grocery store. Urban-centered grocery stores are a different animal than your suburban stores. When was the last time you saw a Fred Meyer or a Top Foods open in a truly downtown setting? Everyone who is convinced that you're going to get one next to the Tacoma Convention Center let me bust that myth right now - it's never going to happen. If the downtown demographic swings far enough in the family direction you might see a Safeway or the like, but otherwise places like QFC, Metropolitan Market, Thirftway, and Whole Foods - grocery stores that excel in urban environments - will be the companies that will be looking at setting up shop in Tacoma's downtown.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a vibrant downtown with a mixture of small time, independently owned grocers selling their wares, along with a good sized grocery store that coexists to meet the needs of all that live downtown and in the Upper Tacoma area. I think this would bring more people downtown on weekends and after business hours as well as allow for more businesses to stay open longer hours, which is good for everyone in the downtown core.

I cannot see any need, however, for a ton of hideous convenience stores. In fact, I would happily get rid of the ones right now that aren't attached to gas stations. In the meantime, understand that we've created a suburban world where most everyone drives for their groceries and start working on building a population density and identifying a demographic that is conducive to the type of business (read: type of grocery store) you'd like to see in the downtown area.

Posted by: Ensie at 08:30 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 605 words, total size 4 kb.

Braved the rain yesterday with Frinklin, Kevin, and Sarah to see Inlaws & Outlaws at The Grand during the Tacoma Film Festival.

We arrived with plenty of time at 3:50. The movie was scheduled to start at 4:15, however, we were told that it would not start until 4:30 because an earlier movie was running late. We headed over to One Heart Cafe next door and enjoyed some coffee in their comfy back room. When we returned at 4:25, the film was already underway. I HATE being late to movies, so this was really annoying. I felt like asking them to restart the film, "Hey - you told us to wait, so we did, and now you screwed me out of the first 5 minutes!" So irritating.

I really enjoyed the film, a documentary interviewing people about their love stories in a way that you didn't know if they were gay or straight until later in the movie. You just knew that they were telling their story about falling in love, sometimes talking about their childhood and various teen crushes, eventually getting to the love of their life (or in one case, a marriage that ended in divorce). Their narratives were so similar, you couldn't separate the gay stories from the straight, which showed exactly how similar gay and straight love stories are. By the end of the movie I was in tears listening to an elderly lesbian couple talk about their love for each other. There is also a heartbreaking story of an older gay man who describes the death of his partner of 50 years and subsequent struggle with heartbreak, desire to kill himself, and redemption at a North Everett church that welcomes him into their fold.

There is plenty to laugh as well. An odd, divorced woman keeps attempting to name her "life philosophy" and comes up with "all of life is grieving" and then states that "you should try to be happy." The elderly lesbian couple shares a little too much about their sex life in a G-rated way, "I lifted my pajama top and..." A few people come off as idiotically homophobic, "Can we get off this 'gay' topic please?" begs a single straight guy who doesn't think gays should be able to get married. There is a creepy, bald, unnecessary piano player to shows up a few times who stares unnervingly into the camera who gave me the giggles.

Overall it was very enjoyable, save for the odd musical cut-aways that did nothing for the movie. The music was good, but the singer was distracting. The film is offered for public viewings to communities and the like. A good starting point for people looking for a way to spark discussion about gay relationships. I think that this would be a fantastic film for high school gay/straight alliances (or possibly all high school students) to view.

Posted by: Ensie at 01:23 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 489 words, total size 3 kb.

Frinklin likes to joke that I should have a regular (daily) column on my blog called "things that piss Ensie off" or "things that are annoying me". The list of things that irritate me is huge. I just think I would overwhelm people with my whining and kvetching constantly. Everything seems to bug the shit out of me sometimes, and I tend to hold a grudge against random people that have no idea who I am.

Today I had to go to the Secondary Comic Book Store to look for the second volume of Empowered that was released this week. Unfortunately, like my First Choice Comic Book Store, they were out of it.

Frinklin and I were discussing the merits of various comics and laughing at the artwork on covers, as we usually do, enjoying our time inside the store. At First Chice CBS this will solicit commentary from Alex, the best clerk in the universe, which keeps us in the store for sometimes as long as an hour as we chat about the merits of various storylines, writers, art, artists, etc. In the Second Choice Store things went a little bit differently:

First, before we had even approached the counter, Lame Clerk decided to tell us, "Must have this week are Umbrella Academy, Unmen, and [something else I can't remember because it sucks]!" Um, no. A) Frinklin already has Umbrella Academy, B) I would never read Unmen and Frinklin hates it, and C) Why are you pointing your finger at me and telling me what I should buy before you even know what type of comics I'm interested in? If you wait until I'm up there and see what I'm buying and then make recommendations based on my purchase, that might make the slightest bit of sense.

Then there was this exchange:

Me: Dude, a Howard the Duck Zombie cover? Howard the Duck blows.

Clerk: Howard the Duck is silly!

Me: Howard the Duck is the lamest thing ever. The creator of Howard the Duck has disowned him. Howard is dead to his own creator.

Clerk: But he's funny!

Me: No. He's not. Howard the Duck is the essence of lame. Everyone knows that. It's the ultimate truth about Howard the Duck.

Clerk: He's funny.

Me: (internal: WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!)

Now, to you, this may seem like a simple exchange with a misguided clerk. But to me, this screams that the clerk is correcting me, a paying customer, as well as a simple truth of the universe over and over again like an idiot. And he would NOT let it go and allow me to be right. Because, obviously, I was right.

Witness another conversation:

Me: The Ms. Marvel zombie alternate cover isn't nearly as scary as the puppet-master cover. Puppets trump zombies for creepiness any day.

Clerk: But clowns are creepier than everything.

Me: ?!? (internal dialog: Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.)

I totally realize that I am overreacting in a major way to someone who was just trying to do his job. However, I have high customer service standards after working in customer service and retail for over 10 years. But there are simple rules for customer service, the first of which is DON'T BE FUCKING ANNOYING.

I like the owner of Secondary CBS, but I will never shop there when Annoying Clerk is handling the place again. He is dead to me.

Posted by: Ensie at 10:40 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 574 words, total size 4 kb.

One of my greatest fears is not being home when there is an emergency. My dogs and cats would be lost without someone to comfort them in a moment of chaos, not to mention the possibility that they may become lost, as they are all indoor beasties.

Today I felt a moment of panic while Frinklin and I sat in traffic on 38th Street wondering why there was so much traffic while were were running errands. Eventually I had the idea to switch from the Cougar game to the news on the radio where an explosion at the Atlas Foundry was being discussed. Or rather, being mentioned briefly. Almost an hour after the event took place, only the traffic problems were being talked about, the actual explosion itself was barely mentioned, except to say that it had been felt up to five miles away and that there was a 500 foot fireball.

Immediately we swung around and headed for downtown and an alternate way home. I heard Sprague Avenue being mentioned, which isn't far from my home, and doubled my efforts to get home quickly. Down Pacific, over the 5 (totally stopped), up 11th, down Fawcett, up Division, down Sheridan, and HOME.

Fortunately I completely overreacted and everything was fine at my house. All the pets were relaxed and happy to see us home as usual. Unfortunately, we are short numerous items we desperately needed on our errand run.

But household needs pale in the face of disaster, and I pray that everyone in and around the Atlas Foundry stays safe. There is still an unexploded propane tank that the firefighters are working around.

UPDATE:

Video of the explosion is available here. 4:15 is the big explosion.

Posted by: Ensie at 03:47 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 293 words, total size 2 kb.

1 We were napping when it happened so didn't hear anything. Sounds like one person is sadly missing and they're still battling the flames.

Posted by: KevinFreitas at October 06, 2007 05:30 PM (ROdeo)

2 I am so sorry I missed your call! We were swimming at the Y and had no idea what happened until we heard someone mention their computers were down from "the blast." All it did here was make the lights flicker a little and there may have been an ever so slight rumble. One guy said it made his front door blast open (must've lived pretty close.) So sad for those workers.

Posted by: Sarah at October 06, 2007 06:24 PM (uy3BR)

3 Hi Sarah - no worries! I appreciate your comment! We made it home pretty quickly after I left you a message and everyone was fine, I just tend to overreact in situations like this. God knows what I'll do when I have kids. Thanks for the comment! Glad to hear that you and yours are all fine!

Posted by: ensie at October 06, 2007 06:48 PM (6We+3)

4 I just saw that video on the news and logged on to see if you'd blogged about it. Glad you and your family are safe. That was an enormous explosion. How sad that Angelina's minimal weight gain gets more attention than a 500 foot fireball.

Posted by: Violet at October 08, 2007 08:04 AM (GrpxK)

5 That company wasted too much time fighting its own. You can't always get what you want. 352-001 Watch me. 70-271 See you later. NS0-153 Have a heart. 642-504 I'm innocent. MB6-511 That eases my mind.

Posted by: Pass4sure engine at February 02, 2009 06:59 AM (P7E/+)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I have to start off this entry by apologizing to Deidre Norris and Jennifer Foster, who I promised I would write about way earlier, except that my life got in the way. So here is the blog entry that I should have written a week and a half ago...

Despite having lived in Tacoma for over two years, I had never visited the often talked of, almost mythical Sanford and Son. I'd head tell of the Middle-Floor Merchants, but didn't really understand how the whole thing worked. Turns out you walk into Sanford and Son on Broadway, viewing their amazing collection on antiques, then follow the signs downstairs. At that point you are at the "middle floor" deciding to go left or right, where there are amazing shops tucked away in stalls of varying sizes.

Deidre Norris' one is awesome. Deirdre was so much fun to meet and talk to about her art. She was in the middle of reorganizing her shop, so things were a little chaotic at the moment, but she still gave us the back story on several pieces she had put together ("I'm a dumpster diver!") and how she changed things from tossed trash to amazing art.

Currently Deirdre is "offering one-of-a-kind yard art, birdhouses, chair flair, unique & vintage chairs, pillow talk, custom headboards/wall panels, and many other unusual, vintage and quirky home decor items". She gave me a big hug as I left, encouraging me and my Mom to venture across the street to The Helm gallery, "Look! I just go goosebumps when I mentioned it! You must go!"

I bought this from Deirdre:

I'm thinking of mounting it on the wall.

Another of my favorite of the Middle Floor Merchants is Jennifer Foster who owns Country Girl Gardens where I stocked up on hemp washclothes (4 for $12!) and bought a gorgeous, handmade wool scarf that I've been using everyday for the last week. Jennifer handmakes the soaps she sells and has a great selection of items that make excellent gifts or just items to spoil yourself with. Decadent, environmentally-friendly products, as well as cool clothing that you'll want to buy.

Jennifer also let us into Folie A Deux, a space which sells art and old, (sometimes) refinished furniture, which was closed for a few days while the proprietor was repainting her house. I recognized the furniture - she used to sell it on the side of the street on North 21st. and had told me she would be moving into a Sanford and Son space some time ago when I had stopped to admire her work.

Also of note in the Middle Floor Merchants are Mondo Bizarro, a toy/comics shop that caters to the indy comics collector. My Mom purchased the Maus comics for my brother there (OK - so that's not so indy...) but don't go expecting to find a bunch of X-Men and Batman comics.

Sisters is a Muslim clothing shop that has fantastic scarves at great prices. You can find everything from tunic tops to burquas there if that's what you're looking for. The woman who owns the place runs a Muslim halfway house for women and is extremely friendly.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Re-Fine Clothier is where I met Nannette and, in a vintage pram, her daughter Natalie. Vintage clothing (and an especially fine selection of gorgeous coats!) at bargain prices. Mom bought a beautiful red sweater for only $5.00 and has been cursing the warm weather in San Diego that hasn't allowed her to wear it.

The entire list of Middle Floor Merchants is here, but I truly recommend that you check them out in person at 743 Broadway. Several of the Merchants have odd hours, but Saturday seems to be a good day to catch most of them open at one time.

Posted by: Ensie at 10:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 650 words, total size 4 kb.

Yesterday I left Tacoma in the late afternoon for an appointment in Everett. I was happy because there would be little traffic and it would be a relatively peaceful, short drive where I listen to NPR and think about what would be happening later in the evening.

Until I got to the Boeing Field area.

Traffic started to get a bit sticky due to a Mariners double-header taking place. I wasn't particularly bothered, figuring that things would clear up once I was past the south end of Seattle. Then a large Dodge truck pulled up next to me on the passenger's side.

I glanced over, taking note of my surrounding as I usually do, and was surprised to see a man about the age of my father (late 50s) making kissing motions at me. I immediately started laughing, which seemed to encourage him. Whoops - wrong reaction. Since were were in slow traffic, his vehicle was stuck next to mine and he had numerous opportunities to continue the kissing, waving, and other mime that indicated that he'd like to get to know me better. I held up my left hand and pointed at my wedding ring while saying "married" which received a shrug and "so what?" in return.

I tried to ignore him, but it's hard to stare straight ahead while someone has rolled down their window and is screaming, "I LOVE YOU!" at the top of their lungs at you. It's flattering and all, but it's pretty distracting. I finally called Frinklin to tell him about my not-so-secret admirer, and seeing me on my phone seemed to freak him out. The window went up and the kissing motions stopped.

We finally hit the express lanes in Seattle and he was about to follow me onto those express lanes when I made an executive decision to sit in traffic for a while and pulled back onto the regular freeway. He ended up in the express and I lost him. Thank God. I had visions of him following me all the way to Everett and harassing me at work. That would be awkward while I'm trying to meet with people at an appointment and he's screaming, "I LOVE YOU!" in the background.

At the appointment I was chatting with someone about their jewelry and mentioned that the store The Seven Muses carried some beautiful pieces similar to what she was wearing. We laughed at the fact that Tacoma had a bad reputation, but she said she was trying to broaden her horizons.

All I could think was, "Hey - in Tacoma I don't get creepy older men leering at me in cars for several miles!"

Posted by: Ensie at 10:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 478 words, total size 3 kb.

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day! Shiver me timbers!

I'm totally exhausted from my trip down to San Diego. My Mom flew back with me last night for a week's vacation in the PNW and our flight was a good hour late last night, finally landing at 11PM.

I wish I had more to add, but it will have to wait until later in the week when I've washed some clothes and caught up on sleep.

So nice to be back where it's not a million degrees outside!

Posted by: Ensie at 07:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 90 words, total size 1 kb.

Another blogger outing to a local Tacoma restaurant resulted in full and satisfied stomaches I'm happy to report.

Jen noticed Opa! opened their doors August 24th and organized a blogger meetup last night for dinner. Never one to pass up good Greek food I happily agreed and sat down with Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and Joe for an excellent meal.

Service was extremely quick from our appetizers to our meal. Drinks came immediately (Kevin - a Fanta? Seriously?) and we settled in to eat. We ordered a selection of four dipping sauces and were impressed by most except the hummus, which I noticed sat untouched by most after the initial dip. The Tzatziki was excellent, as was the Skordalia (potato-garlic dip) and we all enjoyed the Tirokafteri (Feta cheese, olive oil, lemon and herbs) as well. The pita was served hot and delicious.

When our meals arrived we dug in with gusto. Sara and I both ordered Myzithra spaghetti which was fantastic. I had never tasted myzithra cheese before and absolutely loved it. I highly recommend it, but plan on taking a box home with you - my stomach was full long before my plate was empty. Jen and Kevin ordered lamb dishes - Jen a stew and Kevin chops - both of which were gorgeously plated and came with rice and potatoes tasting deliciously of lemon.

Joe was the only one to clean his plate, having ordered a chicken dish. You can see Kevin's shots of him digging in here, and the aftermath here. Well done Joe!

I ordered the strawberry cheesecake for dessert and Sarah and Kevin split the white chocolate baklava. The menu states that the desserts are all fresh and homemade, but they taste like they come straight out of a freezer box at a mass produced warehouse. The only disappointment of the night.

The was a bit of a surprise when the check came. I thought the total was a bit high so I looked over the check closely and noticed that there was a gratuity already added. It seemed odd to add a gratuity for serving just 5 people, so that's something they may want to reconsider. Either make your customers aware that this is the practice in your restaurant or do away with it since it's not customary.

For a place that's only been open for 5 days, Opa! was bustling with customers and has a good feeling. The owner came out and bussed our table and said hello, which was nice. The menu has a lot of choose from, if you don't want Greek food you can have lots of other "fusion" options. Our waitress was funny and friendly, the atmosphere was nice, and I will definitely be making a return to Opa! in the future.

Posted by: Ensie at 09:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 475 words, total size 3 kb.

We've officially reached the point where blogs are controlling people's mealtime habits in Tacoma. Kevin will point us in a direction and say, "EAT" and people will show up and eat they will!

Today the designated hot spot was Mary's Burger Bistro on Pacific. They opened their doors bright and early for breakfast, but Frinklin and joined in for the noon rush hour, and holy crap, was it busy!

We met up with so many well known Tacoma bloggers I hardly need to name them. Head over to feed tacoma and pick anyone you want and they were likely there. Reviews are up all over the place. I sat with Frinklin and Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and met Todd for the first time. I also spotted Joe (with a fancy new blog) and Michael of Red Hot Tideflats fame. And I had the luck to meet Tacoma Chickadee in person finally. It appears that even Ed of Ed's Diner made an appearance today.

The atmosphere was festive when we arrived at noon, and the line was out the door. The folks behind the counter were jumpin'. It took about a half hour to order, but we entertained ourselves by meeting new people and munching on the free cookies that were handed out (great cookies, BTW!). Once our food was ordered came the long wait. And long wait it was. Our food took about an hour to come, but we chalked it up to working out the kinks and there was very little grumbling. Free cookies continued to keep the troops happy.

Frinklin proclaimed his BBQ onion burger "great" and happily inhaled it. Unfortunately mine resembled more of a burnt hockey puck. When I pointed out my disappointing burger to Mr. Mary, he immediately swept away the hockey puck and moments later an enormous MIGHTY BURGER was thrust into my mits. Piping hot and deliciously adorned, the MIGHTY BURGER was perfection in burger form. The fries were fantastic and I left mighty satisfied.

The general consensus is that the food is good, operations are still working the kinks out, but overall everyone left feeling full and happy.

Posted by: Ensie at 04:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 361 words, total size 3 kb.

I totally blame Kevin and Sarah.

But now that the blaming is over, we're having a blast. You can read the sumarized version of how we came to own a Wii this weekend. The slightly expanded version is that we played around with Sarah and Kevin's on Saturday night and by Sunday afternoon we were playing around with our own.

The gaming console is tiny and takes up almost no room. It's shockingly simple to set up and even more easy to use. There are no complicated manuals and walkthroughs to play the Wii Sports game that come with the system (yes, you heard that right Playstation and XBox fans - FREE GAME). There is the simple wireless remote ("wiimote") that is super cool and minimalist. And there is the idea that anyone can use this gaming system from the very young to the very old and have a good time doing it.

Frinklin and I are having much fun beating the crap out of each other at various games and sports. We picked up a few other games including the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Wii Play. Wii Play may go back to the store as a trade in, but Zelda has proven to be pretty cool.

In addition to the games, Wii also includes a news channel with the latest in national and international headlines, global weather, and photos. It's like a web browser within in your gaming console. I've found myself using the Wii in the morning instead of the computer to read the latest news and check the weather.

If you're thinking about getting a Wii I highly recommend it. I'm hoping the next positive thing to come from this will be weight loss. I was on my feet for a good three hours today playing tennis, bowling, and boxing and I'm exhausted!

Posted by: Ensie at 07:39 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 316 words, total size 2 kb.

Joining up with several other bloggers on Wednesday at the brand new Tacoma eatery The Red Hot turned into an excellent evening of great food and good company. Frinklin was, of course, in attendance. Kevin and Sarah were both there. Mr. In-Tacoma himself. And a representative of This Shirt Is Pants. Frequent commenter (start a blog already!) Erik was there, as was Sparkrobot (buy his house!).

Special message to Angela and Steve - get a website...everyone's doing it.

There was definitely a festive feeling in the air upon our arrival at six, and the place was already busy. The bartender recommended the Woodchuck Pear Cider which went down well on such a warm day (not recommended if you're looking for something strong - it's more like a soft drink). I started a tab and ordered a couple of appetizers for the table.

Consensus on the apps is that they were OK - not recommended for large groups, but we hardly paid anything for them, so no great loss. Everyone ordered something different. Michael ordered the Tideflats which has absolutely everything on it. He wins the award for bravery 'cause I know my stomach would have put up a serious fight over that thing.

I had the Chicago dog minus the onions, peppers, and tomato. I KNOW OK! I KNOW. What kind of Chicago dog is that? But I wanted the poppyseed bun. Essentially I had a dog with mustard and relish and it was delish! Whatever neon green relish is used - it's the best I've ever tasted. Absolutely amazing.

Kevin's dog had cream cheese on it which sounds weird, but tasty. I'm branching out in that direction next time. Frinklin said the sour kraut was great, as was the slaw.

After three dogs, the cider, water, a root bear, and the two appetizers our grand total was $20.25. Practically nothing!

This could become a regular thing. Thanks Chris!

Posted by: Ensie at 02:57 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 331 words, total size 3 kb.

Kevin Freitas and his lovely wife Sarah, along with a couple of friends will be joining Frinklin and myself for dinner at The Red Hot on Sixth Avenue for dinner on Wednesday, August 15th at 6PM. According the the blog of the owner of The Red Hot, Beer and Hot Dogs, they will opening their doors on that lovely day.

Who can resist beer and hot dogs?

Every time I pass The Red Hot my mouth waters with antici.......pation (3:33). Hope to see you there!

Posted by: Ensie at 10:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 95 words, total size 1 kb.

Happy Birthday to Meeee!
Happy Birthday to Meeee!
Happy Birthday to Ensie!
Happy Birthday to Meeeeee!

I'll be celebrating by going out to Joeseppi's (did someone say birthday tiramisu?!) tonight with Frinklin and the In-laws. Thanks so much to Kevin and Sarah for doing drinks and dinner last night. It was tons of fun, even as we discovered they are just better looking, younger versions of Frinklin and myself.

Posted by: Ensie at 09:37 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 75 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Had a great time last night. Another fun fact: My car is dark blue and Sarah is silver. Happy Birthday!!!

Posted by: KevinFreitas at August 10, 2007 09:59 AM (/fI+2)

2 Happy birthday Ensie!

Posted by: erin at August 10, 2007 12:44 PM (wlZTb)

3 Happy Birthday to Youuuuu!! I had a blast hanging out with you both last night! I haven't laughed so much in one evening in quite awhile. We definitely need to get together again soon!!

Posted by: Cassioposa at August 10, 2007 01:04 PM (/fI+2)

4 Thanks guys! Kevin - Stop it. You are freaking me out. Cassi - Looking forward to it!

Posted by: ensie at August 10, 2007 01:56 PM (6We+3)

5 Happy Birthday! We need to get together sometime once I'm thoroughly done with the Martian Death Flu and not contagious anymore.

Posted by: jen at August 10, 2007 05:56 PM (LMqvC)

6 Happy Ensie Day!

Posted by: Eden at August 10, 2007 07:47 PM (BDCWt)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Frinklin and went to a showing of Sicko at The Grand Cinema last night. Initially Frinklin wanted to see The Simpsons Movie tonight, but I wasn't in the mood for the ginormous multiplex, so I talked him into the health insurance documentary instead...what?

Little did I know I'd end up in hysterical tears on the way home, sitting in front of the house yelling, "And they're all evil! Evil!!" While my husband grasped at what the appropriate response would be to this statement.

This is your typical Michael Moore movie. In turns dramatic and funny, over the top and obvious. Hillary Clinton is the "sexy, sassy" bombshell wife of President Bill Clinton who brings the idea of Universal Health Care to the uneducated masses and when the idea fails is never allowed to mention it again. George W. Bush is seen as a bufoon and the Republican Congress is easily bought by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Canada, England, France, and Cuba have Socialized medicine and therefore have superior health care than the U.S. Which, after watching not just this movie, but other documentaries and reading pieces on medicine in other countries, I am inclined to agree with. As someone who is seriously wanting to start a family soon it kills me to hear the expectant mother in the UK state that all new moms get six months paid maternity leave and another six months optional unpaid leave. And in France you get a nanny to assist with laundry and meals twice a week, it's mandatory to take at LEAST five weeks vacation each year, and doctors make house calls. Did I mention it's all free? Those crazy French.

The harder parts of the film are the insurance denial horror stories. The woman with the haunted eyes that tells the story of her husband who died of liver cancer while the insurance company denied treatment over and over again. "Experimental treatment" they claimed, month after month as his doctor tried valiantly to find something that would fall under the banner of "conventional" treatment. When the doctor found a bone marrow donor that matched perfectly and declared it his last chance, the insurance company denied that too. The woman pled her case in person in front of the insurance board who condemned her husband to die for no good reason. Whoops - there was one good reason - money.

Or the story of the baby with a deadly feaver insured by Kaiser Permanente who was brought to the wrong hospital - MLK in Los Angles - a place infamous to those in Southern California (I used to listen to LA radio and hear about how many people they would kill every month). Kaiser insisted that the baby needed to be taken by car to the nearest Kaiser hospital for treatment while the mother begged that the baby be admitted and receive treatment immediately. While the hospital, the insurance company, and the understandably hysterical mother argued, the baby was eventually moved, and died.

The movie ends with the much-talked-about trip to Cuba with 9-11 rescue workers and a number of other people. Initially they plan to go to Guantanamo Bay to get the same health care as the "evildoers", but abort that plan when alarms go off as they get close. They end up at the Cuban hospital instead where everyone appears to receive the treatment they need, free of charge.

What really got to me about this movie are the people who sit on high in the insurance companies denying claims for no good reason other than to keep the money in the hands of their company. There is a woman who testifies before Congress that in order to move up in the health insurance industry, she had to deny claims, and it is further discussed that saving the company the most money would win you a bonus within the company.

This is a seriously fucked up system. A very evil system.

It is truly evil to allow people to pay you, to allow them to think that they are paying you to protect them when they are at their most vulnerable - potentially dying from a terrible disease, or that their loved ones are dying from a horrible disease, when all the time you are looking for ways to undermine and destroy them. There is an entire system in place to ensure that your benefits are not paid, or if they are paid, that they are returned to the insurance company at a later date, and that you will be retroactively billed. Or that you will be dropped from the insurance company for making a claim.

I can't help but think what would I do if Frinklin were hurt or dying, and the insurance company that we have, that he works for, were to screw us in such a horrible way. Oh, the pain I would rain down upon them...

Universal Health Care Now!

Posted by: Ensie at 08:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 838 words, total size 5 kb.

Because Kevin eats, sleeps, and breathes computers, he blogged about this event hours after it actually happened, however, I'm just now getting to it a few days later. I had some important, uh, weekending to catch up on in the meantime.

Last Thursday evening, myself, Frinklin, Jen,and Kevin traveled to the KOMO televison studios to attend a blogger meetup for the Seattle area. After scaring the bejesus out of everyone in the car a couple of times and taking a few wrong turns we managed to arrive safe and sound.

There were a good 75 bloggers present and the mingling was excellent. I met several new folks who I may never have run across in the blogosphere otherwise, and I hope to share a cup of coffee with in real life in the future. We also ran into Derek, and had a lovely time chatting it up Tacoma-style.

I know you're going to be jealous of this - but we go to take our picture in the Northwest Afternoon studio, and then we go to play a bit at the KOMO Anchor Desk and the green screen for weather. Somewhere there are shots of Jen and I doing the green screen weather thing. I even made it into the shot on the Seattle PI Big Blog (along with 20 other people, but still!). Since I'm anonymous, you'll just have to take my word for it. Although if you look at all of Kevin's pix, you'll eventually work it out. Although you'd have to be a really obsessed fan (or really pissed off supervisor of mine) to care that much.

After the meetup, the Tacoma bloggers sans Derek had a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory downtown. We had a great time getting to know one another and I'm looking forward to spending time with them again!

Posted by: Ensie at 03:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 316 words, total size 2 kb.

So...I got a little got a little invite in my inbox today...

KOMO-TV and its owner, Fisher Communications, has graciously agreed to serve as host for a blogger meet-up at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday August 2nd. The event will be at Fisher Plaza, 140 Fourth Avenue North in downtown Seattle. Light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments (alcoholic and otherwise) will be served and everyone who attends is promised a cool piece (or pieces) of KOMO swag. That's right; we're digging deep for this.

This is a social event, so come prepared to meet and make new friends. If you know of a local blogger who's not on the list here, please let me know or feel free to invite them, too. We'd like to meet everybody.

If you don't already know me, I'm Chris Pirillo - coffee addict, Seattlite, and a regular ol' blogger who also has a YouTube channel. If you have any questions about this event, feel free to contact Leanne Dillon from KOMO-TV at (206) 404-6055.

KOMO-TV is interested in getting to know bloggers in the area, and what better way to do that than with a little party? Again, this is a social event; there's no agenda for the station other than helping facilitate this meet-up. Fisher Communications recognizes the significance of the personal media revolution, and they want to listen and pay attention to what you're saying. I think this is a good way to start.

KOMO-TV news anchors will be there, so don't forget to bring your camera! You'll also be able to take pictures of yourself (and your co-anchors) at the anchor desk.

Please use the RSVP function of this Evite to let us know if you're coming. We want to make sure we have enough food for everybody.

We should all use "komomeetup" as the tag for photos, videos, blog posts, etc.

Anyone planning on attending?

Posted by: Ensie at 02:54 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 321 words, total size 2 kb.

As part of my new position at Bob's Hogs, I'm required to go through the files at all the local stores. It's taken a me a couple of weeks to do this, as some stores have boxes, instead of drawers full of old information. And so much of it weird or bad info. that had no reason to be saved, but I digress.

In going through the business card collection for one store, I came across something frightening. I hate when clowns just creep up on you that way!

I've blacked out the contact info. to protect the creepy, but still!

Even better, the back of the card has the price list ("Klown with magik, hard triks, free toys and free kandy" - enough with the Ks already!) and at the bottom there is a special note, "And I clean ovens, refridgerators, floors and windows. Money back guaranteed, becuase I am a master cleaner. Money back guaranteed." Guaranteed!

"But cotton candy and scotch, that's a weird funk. It's like - oh man - did someone just fuck a clown in here?!" - Dave Attell (Skanks for the Memories)

Posted by: Ensie at 05:00 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 200 words, total size 1 kb.

I'm probably the 500th person to use that title, but WTF - it fits.

Frinklin and I went to the first showing of Transformers today in Tacoma and GOOD HOLY GOD did the movie ROCK!

If you, like me, were a fan of the television show growing up - go!

If you like to see kick ass special effects - go!

If you like to see lots of shit get blown up in a big, big way - go immediately!

I'm not usually a Michael Bay fan, but this movie met every expectation I had in a big way. The nostalgia factor is huge with this movie, and judging from the reaction of the crowd, everyone was happy. There was a lot of clapping and shouting, especially when Optimus Prime made his first appearance. On more than one occasion several people stood up to clap. Shia LaBeouf was great - after seeing him in this action role, I'm definitely looking forward to the fourth Indiana Jones film.

Posted by: Ensie at 10:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 177 words, total size 1 kb.

A week ago, I noticed a strange lump on Matchbox's right shoulder. It was about 15 MM in diameter, and was hard and rubbery feeling. I waited a couple of days to see if it was just inflamed from a bug bite or the like, but there was no change over the weekend.

Monday afternoon Matchbox and I headed to the vet and Dr. Warren took some tiny samples and sent them in for cytology (is that the correct usage of the word "cytology"? I really should have finished that biology class). When the results came back with some irregularities, I decided to have it removed immediately.

Dr. Warren removed the lump with wide margins in case it is cancerous. Even though I was warned that there would be a large scar, I was surprised at the size. Biopsy results should be back in a week.

Matchbox has been wearing a T-Shirt to keep the other dogs from tearing out the stitches. He LOVES wearing the T-Shirt and shoves his head into it when putting on a fresh one.

What a weirdo.

Posted by: Ensie at 05:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 188 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I think you're going to have to keep dressing him. He looks too content

Posted by: Eden at June 30, 2007 12:56 PM (BDCWt)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Hey, guess what? It's June! It's officially summer! And the weather is crappy.

There have been a few days of nice weather, but it always seems to be bracketed by dark clouds and rain. I realize that I'm in Western Washington, but come on already! Last year at this time we had warm sunshine and gorgeous white puffy clouds.

I feel like I've put in my time this year with rain, snow, and gray skies. I'm due for some consistent sunshine! No more nights in the 40s!

Weather report shows that Tuesday next week we may get up to 79 degrees. But of course, over the weekend, it will be raining.

Posted by: Ensie at 10:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 123 words, total size 1 kb.