What's happening in Seattle?

I live in Seattle, and it makes me feel like I'm losing my mind. You know when you're driving, especially driving by yourself, and you need to get somewhere by a certain time, and you want to put your foot on the gas but there's all these people in the way, and you change lanes because it looks like that lane's going faster, and you end up behind a bus or something and you're actually going slower than you were before? I feel like that a lot.

I don't know how many people in Seattle feel like that, because I don't talk to a lot of people in Seattle. I've lived here for my entire life. The only family I had nearby were my parents, the culture of most of my friends was internet culture. If anything, the pandemic pulled everyone into my world. As quarantine policies ended, I figured that then was as good a time as any to start trying to get outside more.

The funny thing about being social after quarantine ended is that I can't tell if people were always this bad at socializing, or if we have societal long covid, or if it's just living in Seattle. I'm tempted to move away, maybe go south to somewhere more hospitable and see if there's a difference. A lot of people go where their job takes them, but a few of them seem to be coming home in the past few years.

The view of Seattle from the Ship Canal Bridge is absolutely stunning. There's a lot to do here, phenomenal food, fantastic parks. I think that a lot of people aren't happy with the poverty, or the public education system, or the housing market, or the justice system here, and that's kind of what I want to talk about here. I want people to be more involved in those topics, but when I try to learn more about them, be a little more involved in my city, I feel like I'm losing my mind.

When I'm driving, I like to roll down the window, tap the roof of my car, it makes me feel a little less mad. That's kind of what I'm trying to do here.

This week I recommend Hattie's Hat, particularly the chicken-fried chicken with spinach casserole and mashed potatoes, and Raise Hell by Brandi Carlile.