kourteous

Honesty is a trait that people appreciate. The simple act forms a trust and loyalty to transparent people and businesses. It makes sense – no one wants to be taken advantage of, but it happens all too often.

 I can’t tell you how many times people have tried to hustle me for cash, with some elaborate story. It happens in almost every city, but isn’t very effective. On the rare occasion when someone is transparent, they should be rewarded…

Yesterday I encountered this man by Pike Place Market, gave him a dollar, shook his hand and thanked him for his honesty.

What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question that never seems to go away.

Twenty years ago, I was hell bent on becoming a ninja. The idea of being somewhat invisible by taking cover in the shadows of nightfall, and quietly completing missions totally captivated my imagination.

My neighbor, at the time, was an elderly gentleman. He enjoyed fishing and used live frogs as bate, which he kept in a cage behind his shed. This really bothered me. It was pretty obvious when he was getting ready for a trip, because frogs quickly multiplied in the cage a few days before he planned on leaving. It became my mission, as a ninja, to save all of the frogs that he captured. As the sun went down, I would change into my ninja outfit and sneak over to the cage to free the frogs. It was a success for a while, but he eventually decided to keep the cage in his garage. That was a sad day in ninja history – my short lived career was over.

Continue reading

Friends come in all kinds of personalities. It’s what makes friend groups interesting, and fun to be a part of. Despite the shortcomings people tend to have, there is one thing that holds friend groups together – love. Yup, that’s right! (Come on, it’s Valentine’s Day) By accepting others for who they are, we become better people.

In moments of weakness, there is nothing better than having a good friend by your side for encouragement.

Rough night...

Continue reading

In my younger years, I had absolutely no patience for board games (other than checkers) or Nintendo. Playing in the great outdoors was the only thing I ever wanted to do – creating a rift in my relationship with my brother, as he was the complete opposite. Though my love for the outdoors hasn’t changed, my patience and desire for learning new things has evolved over the years.

In college, I taught myself how to play Backgammon. Apparently the strategy is very similar to Poker (weird right?!?). This was news to me when my friend Jon asked me to teach him how to play, in hopes that it would make him a better Poker player. It was confusing (because I don’t play poker), but exciting none the less – I FINALLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY ANOTHER HUMAN!!!

Backgammon!

Continue reading

Bicycle adventures have always been one of my favorite pastimes. Gone are the days of my youth when I would hop on my bike to follow my older brother to his friend’s house – he would make a game out of it, weaving through uncharted neighborhoods in an attempt to lose me. It usually ended with a stream of tears rolling down my chubby cheeks, trying to find my way back home. Fortunately, I keep better company these days…

This weekend was a perfect time to discover new places in our new beloved city. With the sun shining bright, we mounted our bikes (God only knows how much I really want a tandem bicycle) and started the journey to wherever…

Continue reading

Years ago I had a summer job at a prestressed concrete factory. We built bridges, and exterior building panels on a daily basis. It was a stressful job because of the tight deadlines, and the hard labor that came with the territory. The employees there could have come straight out of the Wild West – the serious, tough, tobacco loving, don’t take no shit from no body type that you never want to cross. Verbal abuse was rampant, so if you weren’t a fast learner (fortunately I am) they made your life a living hell. Needless to say, the turnaround for summer workers ran fairly high.

Prestressed concrete bed

Continue reading