top 4 seattlesuck stories
I pretty much agree with the many comments people have made about Seattle and its people - the weather is shit, people don't make eye contact, no one knows how to get into a fight, everyone avoids conflict like the plague, the sports teams suck, etc etc...
But since I found this site, I wanted to just share my top 4 seattle-suckiness stories that showcase some of the classic behaviors:
1. I parked a little too close to someone in a parking lot. Instead of keying my car (like they would in NYC), scraping against it (like they would in Boston), or just pulling out carefully (like the rest of society in a rush), this passive aggressive Seattlite, with no balls at all, took the time to carefully write me a frigging note, in nice lettering, saying "please be more aware in the future when you park your car, you are making it difficult for other people to get out." DUDE, just scrape my car if you are that upset, but don't write me a stupid note! Grow a pair!!
2. The tiny playground by my house turns into an impromptu dogpark in the morning from 7:20-8:00 (but ONLY at that time, the rest of the time its empty). I used to bring my dogs there and still do sometimes, but despite the fact that we spend 30 minutes standing in the cold together every morning, all the dog owners there have dutifully ignored me every day for months. Generally I don't give a crap, because who really wants to talk at 7:20AM. But the other morning I am walking THROUGH the park with my dogs (not going to let them off leash, since I can obviously see that there are like 20 dogs and their accompanying humans there) and as I approach, this guy, no doubt wearing fleece and carrying his coffee mug, throws up his arms, lets out a wail, and says (not to me but to the air, obviously) "NOoooooo, no more!" And others around him start audibly rumbling and scoffing (to the air) about how I have ruined everything by bringing my dogs near the PUBLIC park that they own from 7:20-8:00 and crowding the park too much for their pooches to enjoy it. You could smell the entitlement in that air. Nothing like a little neighborly hostility at 7:20 AM.
3. Bikers who are rude to pedestrians. Twice this has happened to me, where I made a SLIGHT error while walking because I was - dare I say it - spacing out a little?? Once I ALMOST took a step off of a curb into the x-walk when it wasn't my turn, and, as I teetered on the edge of the curb, with my nose slightly over the threshold of safety, I was greeted with a passing biker yelling, literally at the top of his lungs as he sped by, "What the f*** are you doing??" and giving me the finger. Thanks for the wakeup.
The other time this happened was just this afternoon when I was walking on the SIDEWALK on the UW campus and was, yes, talking on my cellphone. A middle-aged woman on her bike (wearing all the spandex and bright yellow crap) crossing the walkway at full speed, made a loud mooing noise at me and yelled "keep your head up girl!!" Now, I'm the first to admit, talking on your phone can be offensive to strangers in many public situations. But here in Seattle you might as well throw out your phone, because it is impolite/offensive to do it almost everywhere: in the supermarket, on the bus, in your car, on your bike, and now, WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK?? I mean, where CAN you talk on your cellphone? At home, where you have a landline?? Anyway, the bikers... sheesh...
4. Wow I could really just keep going.. But just one final one - and this one gets me badly because I just don't get it. It goes back to the neighborliness. Seattle and its perfect neighborhoods. I live within 100yards of 3(!) houses that have chickens. That's right, three sets of hens that squawk and lay eggs EVERY DAY. And they make a lot of noise, but I don't really care because I think local food is good. But do I get to benefit from those chickens or my tolerance?? NOPE. Since NO ONE in Seattle talks to their neighbors or would, god forbid, try to make friends with their neighbors, I NEVER get an egg. Not even to buy from them. Just have to listen to all 9 of those chickens squawking away. I'd bet those people have dozens of eggs sitting in their fridge uneaten. True symbols of this unfriendly land.
Thanks for letting me get it out.