Remembering the 2001 Nisqually Quake

Sunday morning I'm reminded of the big Nisqually earthquake in 2001 from a Facebook post by Vintage King County. They posted the following news link: http://komonews.com/news/local/look-back-nisqually-quake-15-years-later

I remember this quake well. I was on the ground floor of the Banner Building in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, on the phone with a contractor who was across the lake in Bellevue. I was facing out our large, near floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at what is now the Vine Bldg. Then the land had just been scraped in preparation for construction. I saw a backhoe raise up and down, followed by a mound of dirt raising up and down and another backhoe raised up and down. Western Avenue rippled with a huge wave, like surf rolling in. I thought for a split moment I may have been hallucinating, it just looked so surreal. Then the reality dawned on me. No sooner had I said to the contractor I had on the phone "I think we're having an earthquake," the wave rolled into my office. The solid concrete floor I stood upon began to warp and wave like JELL-O. I asked the contractor (who mind you was less than eight miles away) to hold, and placed the call on park. Just then my office manager ran up to me in hysterics asking me repeatedly whether to stay inside or go outside. Realizing we had many stories of glass facing looming over us, I urged her not to go outside. She bolted out the door. I then staggered to the back of our office see how my other three colleagues were faring. They were huddled under their desks. To lighten the mood I placed my hand against a concrete pillar, supporting the thick, solid concrete loft platform directly above us and said "I'm going to stand below the most fabulous beam in all of ArtSource." Just then the upper floors really began to creak and groan loudly. Suddenly my heart went from light to heavy with a surge of panic. And just as quickly the ground movement ceased. My colleagues came out from their desks. Our office manager came back inside unscathed. Come to find out, the contractor I placed on hold had held the line and we resumed our conversation. Had the quake's epicenter been closer to the surface, we may have had a very different outcome that day. Grateful the impact spared us. Tagged: Kelly, Nantini, Sam, Tina

Smudging

Mystics say the Native American practice of smudging, or purifying a room with the smoke of sacred herbs, can help clear negative energy from a space. The apparent benefits are steeped in science—when burned, sage and other herbs release negative ions, which research has linked to a more positive mood.

 

On occasion I like to smudge my home. Regardless of spiritual or ceremonial implications, I actually enjoy the way my home smells afterward; a little hippie-dippy.

Thursday afternoon was the last time I indulged this practice. I've been feeling less than stellar this past week, and it's something I've been meaning to do since our last house guest departed.

First I cleaned house. My kitchen was a mess, so I got that in order, tidied up the rest of the space (a never-ending chore). Then I referenced an online "how to", and proceeded to start with cleansing myself in the farthest, lower room in my house, which is the basement utility room.

I wrapped myself in sage smoke from toe to head in clockwise, then counterclockwise circles while saying a prayer. The prayer was about clearing negative energy, thought form, ideas or attachments never to return. After I finished clearing myself, I went through the rest of my house, going around each door and window as well as filling each corner with smoke. I continued repeating the prayer.

When I reached my lower floor bedroom, our dog came out from under the covers to see me. So I cleared her, too. After, she burrowed back under the covers and I went on to finish the room, closet and adjacent bath. Just as I was finishing the bath and about to re-enter the hallway to the bedroom door, our dog sprang out from the bed, charging into the hallway barking as though she were chasing someone. I nearly leaped out of my skin!

After smudging the rest of the house, I felt better, calmer. The next day our dog started having loose stool and has been a bit unwell. I started feeling a bit more blah yesterday and today a bit unwell, too. I feel like either I didn't do something right or perhaps this is part of the bad juju making its way out of our systems. One can only hope ...

Smart Meters Threaten All Life As We Know It

Ever stop to ponder our modern day and think to yourself, "Geez, the world has become a really weird place since 911."? You're not alone.

Environmental depletion, mass extinction, pollution ... Lack of clean air, water, food ... Mass disease and starvation. Corporations attempting to control most every aspect of our lives, including food and water. The world has never been a more toxic place.

Just when you thought there was enough ill in the world, your electric utility company is set to deploy something that you absolutely must be aware of. Introducing the "smart" meter, the revolutionary way our governing powers intend to fry us and be involved in every aspect of our lives.

According to my local electric utility Seattle City Light, more than 500 utilities across the nation already use this technology, with 50 million advanced meters installed at 43 percent of American households (Institute for Electric Innovation, 2014). So that must make it OK right? Wrong.

These meters emit Radio-Frequency (RF) radiation up to thousands of times greater than mobile devices, the health/safety hazards of which is still under-studied and/or under-disseminated. Further, these advanced meters, as they are also referred, have the ability to communicate with every piece of hardware or appliance in our homes and relay that info. back to the utility as well as third parties interested in knowing our personal whereabouts. That game gesturing technology is awesome, right? Depends on what it's being used for. Playing games. Government spying, detecting our every action, thought and mood. Talk about Orwellian dystopia. It's more like a horrible nightmare.

This subject recently came to my attention at a group meeting for Lyme disease patients such as myself. One of the attendees is organizing a community group to stop these smart meters from being deployed in their Seattle neighborhood. I don't want them in mine, either.

Today I called down to city hall in the small, suburban Seattle town in which I reside. I spoke with community outreach manager Amanda about this issue. She mentioned our town has no cell phone towers, and this is by design. She's going to look into this issue with the city manager as well as their utility contacts and get back with me early next week. Amanda said if we don't have anything on the books, I may be invited to speak to city council about this issue.

If you wish to further educate yourself on this subject, I highly recommend this site and documentary: www.takebackyourpower.net

My headline may seem a bit dramatic. Watch the documentary and then you decide whether it actually is ...

Stroll Down College Memory Lane

My college newspaper celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2016. My department put out an open call for some of our prominent memories while we were on staff at the paper. We're to submit a 250-350 word anecdote to be used as part of an interactive timeline. Here's mine:

The Mustang Daily diligently reported about important issues and prominent people of our time, even as fledgling student writers. Dennis Peron was my first notable interview. He was a legend in San Francisco politics as well as a close friend and political associate of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man on the city board of supervisors. Peron was also an avid AIDS activist, author of the successful California Proposition 215 (which legalized medical marijuana in the state and ignited a national movement) and a Republican candidate for California Governor.

Peron was expected at the October 1997 San Luis Obispo County hemp rally to promote the herb’s compassionate medical use as well as his candidacy for governor. I called him at his San Francisco home to make an introduction ahead of the event. Peron appeared to be really won over by this and he was instantly disarmed. He completely opened up to me, sharing very personally about his life partner who died of AIDS as well as the horrors he experienced on the battle field during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. I listened intently. In this moment I stopped being a student and started being a journalist. This is what Cal Poly’s “learn by doing” philosophy is all about.

Reporters from practically every news outlet in the region were at the rally to report on it and grab a few quotes/actualities from Peron about his gubernatorial campaign. When I greeted Peron, he regarded me as though we had been long time friends. He spoke to me exclusively and refused to give any other reporter an interview at that time. All cameras were turned on us sitting on the county courthouse lawn where we talked. All the while I feverishly scribbled notes onto my reporter’s pad, trying to maintain as natural a conversation flow as possible. That was a thrill. Having earned Peron’s trust and respect, especially as an inexperienced student, was priceless.

Never underestimate the power of human connection. Forming relationships is fundamental to success. No one does it all on their own. This will make all the difference wherever you steer your career.

Pharma Bro, Karma Bro

The idea that a human being can carelessly, or possibly even maliciously, steal from the sick and dying ... It's beyond greed. It's the worst kind of sinister.

I think the Cock, excuse me, Koch Brothers have a new recruit. Let's get him behind bars before he can commit any further crimes against humanity.

The ugly irony here is some of the congressional leaders grilling this guy, well they support and defend the exact same kind of "free market," capitalistic greed this guy was engaged in. And he was only arrested when he defrauded white collar investors. So ...

IOWA COIN TOSS

What are the chances of winning six coin tosses in a row?
#Rigged

p.s. When the people lead, the leaders will follow ...

PO Talk

Years and years ago, the old me, who was ironically the younger version of me, was the type of person who found joy in even the most mundane of tasks. I'd strike up conversation with perfect strangers, my days always felt so bright.

As I've grown older, and sunk deeper into the throngs of my responsibilities as a small business owner, I've erroneously strayed away from that part once so core to my former self.

Today, however, a glimpse of the old "young" me returned at the counter of the Burien post office branch no less. The nicest woman helped me. I remembered her from a previous time around the holidays, when the office was jam-packed with people shipping and mailing all there holiday who knows whats. She wasn't very nice to me then. If I had to handle all those pensive people, one after another, for hours on end, I wouldn't be very nice to me either, even if I was Pope Benedict.

So our conversation starts in the usual way. She asks me how I'm doing. I said well, thank you, how's your day going? She told me it was going well, she was just about done for the day, and it's her Monday. I smiled. She smiled.

Madonna's 'Everybody' was playing on the overhead speakers as background music. Out of nowhere she exclaims, "I LOVE MADONNA! This song, oh it takes me back. I think this was on her very first album, which I had on vinyl - I think I also had it on eight track. This was back when music was good, really good. Those were some good times ..." she ended a bit wistfully.

Believe me, I know great artists bring people together. Am I a racist for being a little bit surprised a middle aged black woman was into Madonna?

"Ah yes," I said. "The 1980s. What a great time to be alive. That was a time when optimism flowed freely through pop culture. We did have some incredible music back then, didn't we."

Sidebar. I recently read an article about older music outselling new music for the first time in history. True story.

We continued bantering back and forth while she weighed and stamped each of my large letters. I remarked about being just a kid when this album debuted, a simpler time before having a real job. She let out a laugh and told me she was working her first job out of high school for the government. I asked what area. She proudly revealed for the department of defense. I asked her what she did for them. She was a paper shredder, working for minimum wage at $1.60 per hour at the base in Sand Point. I smiled, and she laughed a bit more considering what a measly sum that is by today's standards.

She asked if I grew up around here. I told her I did out in Issaquah. She asked if I graduated Issaquah High, to which I confirmed I had. She asked what year. I told her 92. She laughed again and told me I'm just a baby, she was 18 by then and she graduated in 1974 from Roosevelt. I asked if she lived in the Burien area. No, Skyway. She grew up in the Central District.

For a time she was in law school at Seattle College before it became Seattle University. She said thought she should have started at a two year school first, and she rushed to get out into the real world. I acknowledged when we were younger we were always in a hurry to grow up. And now that we're older, how we wish things could be how they were before we were tied down by our adult responsibilities.

She said she's now been with the post office for 30 years. I said it must be treating her fairly well for her to stay that long. She agreed it has been good. I asked what area of law she was studying to practice. She said corporate law. Her uncle was a corporate lawyer. She then said with a big smile by now she would be retired from her corporate practice on her own private island. That was her dream. I told her it's great to dream and it's never too late until it's too late.

I really felt a sense of connection today with this near perfect stranger. Near perfect because I recall having seen her at least once before. While we were bantering back and forth, someone came in to drop off a large basket of letters. I said hi to Lynn, and she greeted him back and asked how he was doing. So as we were saying our goodbyes I called her by name and told her to have a great rest of her day. She sure made mine!