The beach at Gaza city

Click the pic. The article is pretty interesting.

Federal agent

It's warm enough outside right now for me to comfortably sit at a table at my apartment building's patio without having to wear a parka or winter hat, or anything at all made of wool. It's getting dark enough that I am beginning to be able to see the words that I'm typing on my laptop.

I've been outside for the past couple hours because inside, the whole building smells like sulfur. I'm not sure what went on earlier today on the Tacoma tide flats, but whatever took place stunk up all of downtown; it's very unfortunate that the wind has been blowing northeast all afternoon. Now the stink is stuck inside.

I am now officially a federal employee. I'll get a badge soon, or at least an official ID, probably on a lanyard. Now I can scream, “federal agent,” when I knock on people's doors, just like Mulder and Scully. Maybe not; I'm not entirely sure what this census work entails. I've only had one day of training. I guess I will find out the details next week as I will be training every day, Monday through Friday.

I'm still working at the New Frontier. I'm going to try to juggle both jobs. I may even write an article or two, if inspiration strikes. Or if I think of an easy article idea. I wrote this article yesterday. And, surprise, it is actually relevant to people who live outside of Tacoma.

Tomorrow I work at the New Frontier. It will be the first of at least ten straight work days. Sigh.

Impending success?

The last three Examiner.com articles I have written have all made it to number 1 most popular on the Tacoma section, if only for brief moments, including this one.

Artwalk and wine tasting

Tomorrow will be the third Thursday of April. That happened fast, right?. In any case, that means it's Artwalk, which means I probably wrote an article about it. Here's the link. The Dock Street Sandwich company will host a wine tasting during it, which I would attend if I were not already planning on going to Jake's-they have 17 IPAs on tap right now. I'm going to try them all. Maybe.

Afraid to fly

I've been seeing Rod Brown, my old hang gliding instructor everywhere. Well, I haven't actually seen him anywhere, but I keep thinking I see him - especially while I'm at work. He's even found his way into my dreams; I've had a lot of odd dreams about hang gliding lately, and about odd people I met throughout my training. I did meet a lot of very strange characters along the way. Who would have thought, right?

Yesterday Brittany and I drove down to Portland to visit her Great Aunt Allison. We had a great time and ate a lot of really delicious food at a restaurant called Veritable Quandary, which is probably the best restaurant name I've ever heard of, and at one point in our conversation, she mentioned the fact that current research indicates that people don't fully develop the capacity to understand the consequences of their actions until around age 24. Interesting, right? Maybe that has something to do with why I suddenly became terrified of the sport. I think I have some unresolved feelings, though.

I've been looking through old hang gliding pictures lately, and I've though a lot about how I used to take a lot more risks. And I'm not just talking about hang gliding specifically, I mean in life in general. I feel ready to try something new; I'm getting bored.

Paid sick days for all?

In Tacoma, 41,000 workers – 41% – have no paid sick leave. According to recent national statistics, 78% of restaurant workers, 55% of retail workers and even 29% in health care don’t have sick leave. The Coalition for a Healthy Tacoma is trying to help Tacoma become the fourth city in the nation to implement a paid sick day law. I just published an article all about it.