A Woman in the City.

I've got this crazy curly hair and I'm clumsier then heck. I'm short but make it a point to tell everyone I'm average height. I'm flawed, of course, and often use "than" when I should have used "then". Although, I will never mistake "your" for "you're" -- promise. I moved to Seattle in March and want to tell you everything: How I am a woman in the city and what that means exactly. How I got this old man cat who tries to escape out the window every chance he gets. How I am obsessed with being topless and how my neighbors could care less. Part of me wants to jump right in and tell you how often I buy ice cream and candy because they always seem to be on sale. The other part thinks I should introduce myself, you know, to give you a little idea of who I am and perhaps convince you to continue to reading this for the days and months to come. My name is Lauren. My middle name in Tiffany. It's about to get good. I'm in the midst of tackling my twenties and am quite fond of wearing short skirts with tight blouses. "Why Seattle?" you ask. Prior to the life I live now, before I had my own refrigerator filled with Session beer and cookie dough, I was living in Los Angeles with my parents working at a restaurant making cheese plates. It came to be that I ran out of money after spending four months in Europe and had to beg my parents to live with them for awhile. I slept in the exercise room right next to my Dad's dusty spin bike. With my heart heavy from missing my friends and life I had created in San Francisco, I slowly but surely acclimated to my LA world. My Mom and I became fast friends and for reasons I will explain later I was on the bus A LOT. I was lucky to meet some wonderful people at the restaurant (and lucky to work with my big sister!) and the men at the bus stops were unique. I had the opportunity to pretend I was deaf once after this gentlemen told me he wanted a pen-pal hella bad and needed a dime. As soon as I moved back home I knew I couldn't be there long. Also, I knew if I moved back to my San Francisco, a place full of familiar faces and crazy memories, it wouldn't be the same and I could be disappointed. In January, I bought a ticket to Seattle as a birthday present to myself. With my back-pack stuffed with sweatshirts and "East of Eden" in my hand, I flew up to explore and get lost on purpose. It was then I fell in love. I'll be honest, it was the burger and beer at Quinn's that cemented the feelings I developing for Seattle. I welcomed the rain with open arms and that pear I had at Pike's Market was so perfect I just about devoured the core. I ate a lot  things, wrote silly postcards and had this incredibly dorky smile on my face the entire trip. The Victrola coffee tasted incredible in my mouth and my stomach smiles when I think of French Onion soup I enjoyed at Le Pichet. I was certainly a smitten kitten. I felt excited, eager, and scared in the best way. The motivating, get me the heck outta Los Angeles, kind of way. I had an amazing friend of a friend drive around to look at apartments for me. When he found the one I call home, with the "Rear Window" feel and beautiful view, he encouraged me to contact the manager asap. I did. I wake up to the Space Needle, the downtown city scape and the Olympic mountains. What more could a girl want? Well, to be honest, I wish my neighbors were a little nosier. I dance and sing a lot in front of the window hoping for an audience. I guess the "Look in here, please" memo I sent out wasn't well received. However, I refuse to give up. So .. the life I'm building here is one of adventure, intrigue, hilarity and includes but is not limited to: urban treks, booze, a chubby cat with an "unspecified" thin tail and dainty little legs, hiking boots, expensive laundry, dinner parties, burnt cookies, fire alarms, un-nosey neighbors, field trips, family & friend visits, dinners out, pen-pals from home, an incredible lady that happens to live on a river in the country and much, much more.. Won't you join me for this ride? I promise not to disappoint.