11:14 a.m. - 2005-06-02
You would like Michele
Michele Grimes is someone I enjoy a lot and miss a lot. Sensible. Smart-smart-smart. Self-aware. Humble. Gentle. Good listener. Pleasant. Helpful. Thoughtful. Willing. Good cook. Nail biter. (This is somehow cute and endearing.) Dog haver. Volunteerer. Always with excellent hairstyle.
How do you know me?
I met you in Seattle way back in the beginning. We used to drink and
eat together here and there, and then we watched a lot of Kiefer in a
very short window of time. And sometimes we went to church. And
other things.
What does your life consist of right now?
I work at a coffee shop in Seattle (i know, how cliche, right) for a
million hours a week and do my best at remembering names and drinks,
petting dogs, and finishing the crossword puzzle faster than my
breakfast (which never happens). I walk my puppy with zeal, trying to
wear her out at times that are convenient for me. I still eat and
drink things, but now without Jessi since she moved away. I live with
four other people and 2 dogs. Sometimes I hang out with homeless kids
or kids who need help with their homework. And sometimes I hang out
with my friends.
Who do you live with and where?
Oops. I should read ahead. I live with these humans: Renea, Mike,
Josh, and Angela. josh is my boss and most people think that's
absurd. but it's fine, i promise. and, these dogs: Myla, Lotsky.
Myla is mine. I live in Seattle, neighborhood Queen Anne.
What would you most like to comunicate to the thousands of people (millions,
really..let's be honest) who read this blog?
I would like to communicate that I really do suck at the
most/least/best/worst questions. so much pressure! But that's a
cop-out, isn't it? ummm.Does everyone know that Jessi is afraid of spiders?
Okay.
Tell a story with me and you in it from back in the day or whenever:
Well, this is the only remarkable one I can think of off the cuff, and
it's more about me, sort of. And I'm trying not to spend 75 years
doing this. So. One time it was the night before Thanksgiving and
Jessi coerced me into dancing at neighbors, which is the hippest hip
gay dance club in Seattle. I do not dance, no way, excepting the
living room once in awhile. But I'm a good sport, or something? So I
had a beer at dinner, and then another one quickly when i learned I
was going dancing. A drink (jack and coke?) at an in-between bar. A
cranberry-vodka at the clubby club followed by another HUGE
cranberry-vodka, and the BOY, did I dance. And BOY, did I get dizzy.
And BOY, did I throw up all over myself right by the bar on the way to
the bathroom, thinking the whole time in my overthinking way, even
then: "at least no one knows me or will ever remember me and i never
have to come back here." This was also a transvestite dragshow
fundraising sort of night at the club, and Jessi bought a raffle
ticket, so we had to wait to see if she won. I think I might have
thrown up again, but it sort of all blurs together at this point.
The moral of the story is that I was still throwing up in the bathroom
when Renea's parents came for Thanksgiving the next morning, but then
I ate unfathomable amounts of delicious food all day long without
getting full. The end.
Do you have any hobbies we should know about?
cracking dumb jokes. sarcasm. knitting, in the winter. freckles, in
the summer. Oh, and I used to collect basketball cards. This has
been coming up a lot lately.
Who is the most important person you've ever met?
I haven't met anyone famous and important. So can i take this any
direction I choose? I'm going to take the liberty and pick people who
have shaped my who I am the most, so far. My Granny taught me to love
words and language, and to be polite. And my friend Jennifer Lineer
taught me to love Jesus outside of all of the ridiculousnesses that
make Christians fight with each other and represent things I disagree
with.
What do you wish people would just "get" about you that they usually don't?
Ohhhhhh boy. I work in the public service industry. I could go on
and on. In that context, it goes something like, "I am an intelligent
human being, so please treat me accordingly. However, I also can't
read your mind." In the real world? Lying doesn't help. Drama also
doesn't help. Yelling and crying can help a lot, but only if you
listen, too. Listen to each other, and things will be okay.
I just realized that I'm answering this question wrong, as if it
simply said, "what do you wish people would get?" in general. But
I'm going to leave it because I like my answer. Now for the right
answer to the right question, about me: first, this is a good one. I
can be the queen of feeling un-understood. A lot of times I think if
I could communicate only in writing, people would "get" me more.
And....it's a lot of work for me to express "bad" emotions like anger
or sadness properly, without eating myself alive first. But that
doesnt mean I dont feel them. And when you can read between the lines
and take the time to get there with me, I really appreciate it. Feel
free to see me personally if that doesn't make any sense.
What is the worst name you've ever heard of someone naming their child?
I know this is a cultural disparity, but. I knew this Cambodian kid
whose name is something like Kenley Khoukabiansumbath. He was in
kindergarten. I used to be able to spell it exactly, but I've lost
it by now, so that's a rough paraphrase.
Share one of your latest crazy stories...and "guess what happened to me" story:
On Monday a very old, very sweet coffee regular who is without a
larynx---although that is beside the point---apparently pooped his
pants in the cafe. When he got up and left, a little turdball fell out
of his pants and I had to clean it up. with mounds of paper towels,
I'll tell you what! And then an hour later when I got home---the same
smell. In my bedroom. bastard puppy dog pooped in her crate, for the
first time ever. Two poop-cleans in one morning.
Greatest strength?
Another hard one, Jessi. I guess.....i think I listen pretty well.
And I've been told I have a good head on my shoulders once or twice.
I feel like these are dumb answers. I'm sorry.
Lamest weakness?
lamest? decisionmaking. cartwheels.
Favorite beverage (non-alcoholic)
coke, coffee.
Favorite alcohol beverage
gin and tonic, whiskey, samuel smith's oatmeal stout, and special for
the summer, pyramid curve ball ale. This one changes around
frequently.
Favorite dessert:
crem brulee for special occasions. brownies and breyers vanilla or mint for
regular occasions.
Most romantic moment of your life:
pass.
Next vacation planned:
I'm taking a mini-vacation to oregon where I will camp and attend a
wedding of a couple I've never met. Then I'm going to Iowa, but I'm
sorry, I don't consider that vacation. That's familyvisit. My real
vacations this summer are all the visitors coming here.
Best thing to do on a night out in Athens:
I've been there three times. 8 nights, approximately. So from my
vast experience, I vote Casa. or anything with the cookes, who live
there and not here, for some reason I dont understand. (why, God,
why?)
One thing you know for sure is true:
I just realized. Body fluid stories are rampant in this interview.
How true to nature.
