Washington Elections

For the amusement of friends and family in Oregon, here is some insight into Washington elections.

1. The primary is next month, contrasted with Oregon which was in May.
2. We are in the Portland TV/radio market, so we get the Oregon political ads. (Side note: does Chris Dudley really only have one ad? That is going to get really old with all of August, September, and October to go)
3. We didn't go to all vote-by-mail in Clark County until the last election two years ago. Crazy. Sure, we had the option to register permanent absentee, but gosh the expense of having polling places. And I believe some counties still have a mix of mail/polls.
4. There is a perpetual candidate named "Mike the Mover." That must be his legal name in order to file for office. He's running for senator. Sorry, no photo or statement submitted.
5. BUT there is another senatorial candidate named "Goodspaceguy." His picture looks like a high school physics teacher from the 60's or maybe the 50's. I haven't been brave enough to try his website (if you dare: colonizespace.blogspot.com) because it is probably similar to his voters pamphlet blurb:

"Dear fellow sheeple, I, Goodspaceguy, object to the billions of dollars of waste that I know about. We sheeple are regularly shorn, but we are the foundation of power. Let's unsabotage our economy. Vote for the small spenders. Big spenders, big government must shear you!
"In solving world problems and unsabotaging our economy, think of your Earth as Spaceship Earth. Think of yourselves as crew members, working to improve Spaceship Earth and building a job/wealth partnership. Abolish the evil minimum wage. The unemployment rate indicates how badly the current power-structure has decreased our jobs. Upward with Goodspaceguy. Study economics."

Luckily we have 13 other choices.

Honey, could you bring me a pillow?

No, Mike didn't ask for a pillow, but if I could have taken a picture of his predicament (he declined my offer of the photo-op), that's the caption I would have put on it.

The house phone rings at 9:10. I answer, and after Hello (twice), I hear "Hi, it's your hubby, in the backyard. Could you come help me get out of the raised garden bed?" Oooo-kay. He had gone off on an adventure. At dusk. Which also means the mosquitoes are biting. Not a plan I would have endorsed, but I wasn't consulted.

I will take a picture later and add it to this post to show that the terrain is not friendly for someone who is mobility-challenged.

So yes, there he was. At least he managed to fall into the one that doesn't have any plants.

Starbucks

A family member we recently visited had been a teacher for 30 years, and retired about five years ago. She decided earlier this year that she would try something completely different: Starbucks barista! And once she was working 21 hours or more each week, she would have medical benefits (the cost of which was taking about half of her retirement check).

Chris has a longer story about the types of people who work there, and the juggling of detailed orders. "Vente drip in a tall cup" threw her off the rythm!

But the best story was on her first day, with ten minutes left in the shift. She said to the leadworker, "I have ten minutes left, what would you like me to do?" The assignment: "Pick up the crafts."

Crafts? We have crafts? Chris was looking at the windows and tables, trying to figure it out.

Nicole, the lead, finally put her hands on her hips and explained, "For heaven's sake, Chris, the crafts for the milk."

Chris (the former language arts teacher) did not say anything when she finally understood: carafes. I would have just said pitcher, but Starbucks has to have their fancy labels.

Chris also soon found out they never schedule 21 hours. She stayed eight weeks.