This week, the crow learned that all things — good, bad, in between — must end. What did you learn?

What are you up to this evening?
I was supposed to meet someone to study, but it looks like they’re not coming.

What are you studying?
This is for a class in logic and philosophy. I’m getting my doctorate in healthcare administration.

That’s a good field to be in. Do you live on the Hill?
No, I live in Kent, but I work at Swedish, and I’m going to school in Seattle.

Where are you from originally?
I’m from Tacoma, but I also lived in Puyallup for about ten years. And I’m about to move to Houston in a few months.

Why Houston?
Warmer weather, plus it’s a big medical city. And my best friend lives there.

It’s pretty much the opposite climate—hot and dry, instead of cold and wet.
It sounds good, but I’ll miss the greenery. I might get homesick.

Does your family still live in this area?
My mom’s here, and of course she wants me to stay; I’m her baby girl. She says she’ll come visit, though. I’m also thinking about moving to Atlanta for a while. I have a girlfriend there who’s going to be in a reality show about real estate agents.

Like, “The Real Real Estate Agents of Atlanta”?
Something like that.

Would you have to pretend you’re a real estate agent to be on the show?
They want me to start doing real estate, which might be interesting, even though it’s not my field. Or, since I’m their friend, I just could be on the show from time to time.

You seem far too nice to be on a reality show. It seems like they usually pick much more contentious people for those things.
Yeah. I think it would be interesting to see how much reality is involved in a reality show.

I’m thinking, not much. The fights always seem really contrived.
They do! But in real estate, there’s a lot that people could end up fighting over.

Do you have any favorite hangouts on the Hill?
I’m still getting to know this part of town, but I like it a lot. It’s a melting pot. And pretty laid back. If I do stay here in Washington, I’ll probably move back to this area.

Any thoughts about life on the Hill, or life in general?
Just live life to the fullest!

What are you up to this evening?
I’m working here at the Hugo House.

Are you also a writer, then?
I’m a writer, and also in an MFA program.

What kind of writing?
I do lots of stuff, but I’m doing a novel for my thesis.

Can you give me a brief synopsis of your novel?
Stories I gathered when I was working at a butcher shop when I was 21.

Have you ever seen the movie Delicatessen?
I have not.

Upshot: it turns out that the meat is people.
It’s always people, isn’t it? If there’s a butcher in a movie, he’s always cutting up people…

Is it people in your stories?
Not the meat. There are people in the stories, though.

Stories about people? That’s an interesting angle. So, how did you get hooked up with Hugo House?
Writing, living in Seattle…

Where are you from originally?
Boise, Idaho.

You meet a lot of people from Boise in Seattle—like, tons. Why do you think that is?
It’s the closest real city to Boise.

Is there anything you really miss about Boise?
Diners. Like, truck stop diners. Hash browns. Seattle has too few diners.

I agree completely. Here, if you have a diner, they have to put arugula and organic fennel or what-not on your cheeseburger.
There’s a diner called Beth’s on Aurora, I just wish it wasn’t so far away from me.

Do you live on the Hill?
I used to, but not any more. I’m too poor.

Any favorite hangouts out on the Hill?
The Stumbling Monk is wonderful. Twice Sold Tales is wonderful…

If you had to give any advice to a young writer, what would it be?
Don’t stop writing, and even though your writing sucks right now, it won’t always suck.

What was the best writing advice anyone ever gave you?
Nobody gave me any writing advice.

Never, ever?
I’m just lying to you.

If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?
Melbourne, Australia. I have family there.

Have you been there before?
Yes, three times.

Any other thoughts on life on the Hill?
Less condos, cheaper rent.

Are you a Seattle native?
No, I just moved here six months ago.

Where from?
Boise, Idaho.

Wow—you’re the second person I’ve interviewed tonight who is from Boise!
I’ve met a lot of people from Boise since moving here. But I’m originally from San Francisco.

What brought you to Seattle?
I moved here for work. In was between Seattle and Boston.

Both are cool towns. Why Seattle?
For one thing, I like that Seattle is such a walkable city. I live on the Hill, and I walk downtown to work. I don’t’ like having to drive everywhere. Also, you can easily get out of town and go to the mountains, or be in nature.

What line of work are you in?
I’m in instructional design and human performance technology.

You design instructions? Or do you design humans?
Neither, exactly. My master’s was in industrial/organizational psychology. If training needs to be done, I do training. But we’re kind of the anti-trainers. Basically, I try to discover the root cause of a problem in an organization.

How do you do that?
By talking to a lot of different people in various departments, and analyzing the data. For instance, a company might think their problem is on the sales side, but it turns out it’s in the supply-chain or distribution end. It’s like a puzzle— I’m a geek , so I love figuring that stuff out. My doctorate was in adult learning, so…

You mentioned you’re from San Francisco—another great food city. Are there any foods that you find in the Bay Area that you miss?
Well, I also lived in New York for 12 years before Boise, so I probably have more foods that I miss from New York. What I really miss is Basque food, which you find a lot of in Boise.

Basque? As in, the region of Spain?
Yeah, there’s a really large Basque population in Boise. And I’m Basque. Well, my mother is Basque and my father is French Basque, so from a Spanish perspective, I’m a half-Basque. I got the light skin and the height, so I kind of stand out in Spain.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
I like to walk around and explore, whether in the city or in nature. Lately, I’ve been into snowshoeing.

Snowshoeing. That calls up images of Dr. Zhivago walking across Siberia. Is it hard?
Can you walk?

Yes.
Then you can snowshoe! Just pick up one foot and put it in front of the other.

Is there anything you wish you’d known about Seattle before you moved here?
When I first moved here, I wished I’d known that nobody has air conditioning. It was in the middle of a heat wave.

Yeah, but you only need it once or twice a year.
But when you need it, you really need it! Also, it doesn’t rain nearly as much as people say it does.

Hey, don’t jinx it! It’s been a really mild winter.
I know. Ask me again this time next year…

More CHS Crow:

• Rina, Terry & Tania — ‘I just want to live a good life’
• Emily, Neil & Kory — ‘Why not? It’s the Sapphire by the Sea’
• Anna, Zach & Perry — “I’m a citizen of the planet”
• More…

Marguerite Kennedy is a freelance writer, semi-professional thumb wrestler, and recovering New Yorker who currently resides on Capitol Hill. She blogs at www.marguerite-aville.com, and does that other thing @tweetmarguerite.

This week, the crow learned it’s about a body of work — not one episode. What did you learn?

First—I love your hair. Tell me about it.
They’re yarn hair falls—they go with most of my clown gear.

Are you a clown?
Yeah, I guess I’m a clown! I do balloon art.

Do you do that professionally?
No, just a hobby. I do performances, and chainsaw pumpkins for Octoberfest.

We’re in Seattle, so of course you chainsaw pumpkins! Do you live on the Hill?
No, I live in Ballard.

What brings you out here tonight?
The Unicorn, actually. The four of us went out to a fabulous romantic dinner, and we decided to come here afterwards, because they have the downstairs clown area…

You mean, the Narwal?
Yes—it’s like being at a carnival down there!

Speaking of carnivals, have you tried the famous corn dogs here?
I haven’t, because I’m vegetarian. Well, I’m pescatarian—I eat fish. Maybe they could create a salmon corn dog?

Capitol Hill has a remarkably vibrant food-on-a-stick economy, so if a salmon corn dog ever exists, it’ll probably be here. Do you hang out on the Hill very often?
No, I stay pretty much in my realm, in Fremont and Ballard. Maybe two times a month we come out this far.

I’m the same way about staying on the Hill. I was out in Ballard the other day, and it’s great—it’s not far, but if you’re not driving, it might as well be in Bangladesh.
It’s so true. Most of us tend to stay in our own little neighborhoods.

A lot of people compare Ballard to the Hill, and vice versa. What strikes you as one of the main differences?
The driving in Ballard—there’s no rules in driving there. In Ballard, you can just pull out at a stop sign, or pull out in front of people. Signs and traffic lights are more like a suggestion than a rule.

Driving in Ballard sounds like driving in Italy.
It is! Only, everyone’s going about 15 miles per hour. But on Capitol Hill, you have to abide by the rules.

What line of work are you in?
I’m in animal and pet care. I take care of animals of all sorts.

So, tonight is Valentine’s Day. Some people love it, some people hate it. Where do you stand?
It doesn’t have to be a Hallmark holiday. I want us to re-think Valentine’s Day, so it’s not just about romantic love, but about all kinds of love. It can be about celebrating your friends, and all the people you love.

Do you have any thoughts on life on the Hill or life in general?
We like freaks! Create and love! I think that’s what today is about.

What are you up to this evening?
Everything. Being. Just hanging out. I was fortunate to find a bag of weed this evening. Want some?

No, thanks. But I’m glad it’s legal in Washington now, aren’t you?
I’m not. I think it’s one of the worst things we’ve ever done. Because there’s no need for the government to control it in any way, shape or form. It’s just one more thing for them to have their hands on. They ruined it for us—or, I should say, we ruined it for ourselves. What we should’ve voted on was extending club hours past 2 AM. You sure you don’t want to smoke?

I have to go home and do some work later, so…
Good weed should make you more clear-minded.

That’s what I hear, but it always makes me sleepy.
You haven’t had the right stuff.

Are you a Seattle native?
I’ve been in this general area for about 25 years, but I’ve lived in Seattle itself for the past year or so.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Right now, most of my time is free. I’m between jobs. I like to check out new parts of Seattle—it’s so much bigger than it seems. Even Capitol Hill, from here [Caffe Vita on Pike] down to the bridge is just a small part of it. It’s Seattle’s biggest residential district. I also like West Seattle—Alki Beach has one of the best views in the city.

What would be your ideal line of work?
I don’t know. I think it changes. I just want to live a good life.

If you could change one thing about Capitol Hill, what would you change?
I would change a lot of things, to be honest, but they would be small things—not one big thing. Like how it’s kind of pretentious—people get way trendy. That sort of thing can create divisions among people.

What draws you to Capitol Hill?
Its laid back, dynamic. You don’t have to worry about stuff for the most part—it’s an unjudgemental place, although it’s got its moments. I’m kind of surprised by how much it does segregate itself in some ways—for instance, rich versus poor.

Any other thoughts on life on the Hill, or life in general?
Push the boundaries, and try not to hurt people. And try not to hurt yourself.

What are you up to tonight?
Just helping out with the space, getting Hard L ready for this first one-night gallery exhibition. It’s going to be a regular thing, with a different exhibit each month.

It’s a really cool exhibit. Are these all Seattle artists?
Yes, 26 women artists, all local.

Is there a unifying theme?
Not really. It’s our first show—all women, and just really amazing art.

Are you an artist yourself?
I’m a photographer, but more of a hobbyist. My art is over there on the left.

This may sound obvious, but photography is hard…people don’t always realize that.
It really is hard to get it just right, the way you want it to look. Digital photography is a bit easier, but my stuff is all film, which makes it even harder.

What line of work are you in?
I’m a bicycle mechanic.

That’s a great job to have in Seattle!
It gets old after a while, but yeah. It’s a way to make a living.

Do your friends all ask you to fix their bikes? Because, I would totally do that.
Yeah, I guess that does happen a lot. I do the best I can to help them out.

I’m scared to ride my bike on the Hill, because of…well, the hills. More specifically, the cars not seeing bikers coming down them. Isn’t it dangerous?
I don’t know that I’d call it dangerous. I’ve had close calls here and there, but people are pretty mindful of their surroundings. Overall, I think it’s pretty safe compared to some cities I’ve lived in, like Tucson, Arizona.

Why did you live in Tucson?
It seems like there’s a large pathway between Seattle and Tucson. I think it’s because it’s so dry there and so wet here, you have to dry out every now and again.

Do you currently live on the Hill?
I do. I live really close to here.

What do you like best about the area?
I feel like there’s a lot going on, a lot to be involved in. There are a lot of changes that aren’t very fun, both other ones that are really great—like this space.

How long have you lived here?
About 15 years, on and off.

Are you a Seattle native?
No, I’m originally from Eastern Washington.

Any other thoughts on life in the Hill?
This is a great spot to be right now, especially for me and all of my friends and colleagues here [at Hard L]. This is an amazing venture for me, because it’s not something I normally do.

More CHS Crow:

• Emily, Neil & Kory — ‘Why not? It’s the Sapphire by the Sea’
• Anna, Zach & Perry — “I’m a citizen of the planet”
• Audrei, Tim & Jennifer — ‘I create things, I sew, I make corsets…’
• More…

Marguerite Kennedy is a freelance writer, semi-professional thumb wrestler, and recovering New Yorker who currently resides on Capitol Hill. She blogs at www.marguerite-aville.com, and does that other thing @tweetmarguerite.

Liberty represents

Think: Top Chef meets Roller Girls. With a twist of lemon.

Sunday, a crowd of several hundred people packed into Century Ballroom to cheer contestants in the Seattle round of Speed Rack, a national women’s bartending competition. Master “mixtresses” from all over the Pacific Northwest — including representatives from Capitol Hill’s Tavern Law, Liberty and Smith — slung their best and fastest cocktails in pursuit of the title of Miss Speed Rack Seattle.

“We wanted to give women an opportunity to shine at their highest level,” said Tess Mix, twin sister of famed bartender Ivy Mix, one of the co-founders of the competition. “It’s still a male-dominated industry. Some classic cocktail bars only hire men. A lot of women in the field go overlooked, even though they’re just as hardcore and bad-ass as any of the guys.”

Created by and for female bartenders, all proceeds from the contest go to breast cancer education, prevention and research. And, as everyone knows, charitable fundraising involving booze, boobs, and booze-and-boob-related puns is better than all other kinds.

Not a mere contest of speed; contestants are also graded on the flavor, nuance, and artistry of their creations.

At the beginning of a given round, each of the four judges orders a different cocktail (one example: an Old Fashioned, a Singapore Sling, a Daiquiri, and a Last Word). The two contestants then have mere minutes to rack up the drinks in an astonishing flurry of pouring and mixing and shaking.

The judges then sip and critique the finer points of each beverage—kind of like Padma Lakshimi on Top Chef, only a bit sauced. (Or, per the reports of Melrose Market cheesemonger Sheri LaVigne, exactly like Padma Lakshimi).

Audience members were not left out of the booze-fest. Sponsors provided Big Gulp-sized “tastings” of cocktails made from their products. At one point, full-sized coupes of a St. Germain cocktail were passed down to the audience from the stage, for some reason. Nobody complained.

“It’s very empowering and encouraging,” echoed Speed Rack competitor Crystal Bertholic of Bon Bon Lounge in Spokane. “I didn’t win, but I’ve had a great time being part of this event.”

Although local “bartendrixes” represented our ‘hood well, the 2013 Miss Speed Rack Seattle title ultimately went to Lacy Hawkins of Seattle’s (friendly!) arch-nemesis craft cocktail city, Portland, Oregon. Winners in each regional competition will go on to participate in the Miss Speed Rack USA Contest in New York City in the spring.

Seattle may not hold the regional title, but audience members will agree that playing host to the contest is way more fun.

At least, for those of us who can remember it.

This week, the crow learned we might find a CHS intern in Northgate. What did you learn?

What brings you out tonight?
My friend told me about this networking event tonight. I recently graduated from college, so I’m on this road, but I’m not sure where I’m going. I just want to get a better idea of what I could possibly do.

What did you study in school?
I majored in English and Creative Writing.

So, which restaurant do you work at?
Actually, I’m a barista.

As a fellow English major, I think food-service and coffee-making skills should be part of the core curriculum…Do you have any particular medium or genre that you specialize in?
Fiction, mostly short story writing. I like poetry, but I don’t think I’m a great poet myself; it’s something I like to play around with as a challenge.

At the risk of sounding like your parents, what do you see as your career path?
I’ve always had a passion for fashion, and the writing thing just sort of came to me towards the end of college. It all started when wrote an essay about Coco Chanel, and a writing tutor said I should be a fashion journalist. I’d like to work in fashion, but also entertainment.

What’s life like for a recent graduate?
It’s hard—it’s SO hard! I honestly wish I’d done more internships during college. A lot of the places I’ve applied to want experience, and I’m just starting out as a writer. I started a blog with a focus on urban life in Seattle, food reviews, and Seattle fashion.

What’s the name of your blog?
It’s called A Stain, at www.astain.wordpress.com. It’s about fashion, but also food—I’ve been exploring a bunch of restaurants and taking pictures. I love to cook, and I love to explore places and share with people. I want to be able to inspire people, and increase awareness of what’s available in Seattle.

It seems like the fashion publishing world is mostly in places like New York, although that’s changing.
I really wanted to go to school in New York, but I got into UW, so I ended up going there. Over the years, I’ve started to fall in love with Seattle, even though I’ve lived here my whole life. At some point I’d love to live in Seattle, and then come back here, and bring something back.

Do you have any favorite spots on the Hill?
I really like Roy Street Coffee. All the restaurants that come to mind are in Ballard.

Do you live on the Hill?
No, I live in the Northgate area, but I come here pretty often.

If any CHS readers want to offer you an internship, I guess they can contact you through your blog?
Yes, please!

What do you do for a living?
I’m an attorney.

What’s your specialty?
Intellectual property, business law, and entertainment law.

How did you get into this field?
There’s this school we go to. It’s like dental school, only for law.

You have to go to school? Can’t you just watch a bunch of back episodes of Law & Order, and be done with it?
It’s frowned upon in most legal circles.

(Cough.) Elitist.
What was that?

Just a cough! What’s your favorite attorney joke?
There’s nothing funny about being an attorney.

So, all those jokes about attorneys—do they hurt you in your feelings?
Yes. It’s very painful. Please move on.

You’re good at redirecting a conversation. I bet you excel at… you know, lawyer stuff. Moving on–are you a Seattle native?
No, I’m from Cleveland.

People who are from Cleveland seem to love it. I mean, really love it. Like, they never shut up about how great Cleveland is.
And yet, they do not live in Cleveland. Or even visit Cleveland.

Is there anything that you really miss about Cleveland?
(thinks…) No. It’s a great place to be from. It’s not a great place to live.

Why Seattle?
Why not? It’s the Sapphire by the Sea. The people are great. The weather is beautiful in the summer. It’s a great place to live, as long as you can avoid the suicides.

In other words—the winter months. How do you get through them?
You have to go to Hawaii every other month. Or Cochella—that’s Palm Springs—for March, or Miami for Christmas. November was Maui. Why would anyone stay here all winter?

A lack of funds, maybe?
You can drive to San Francisco pretty easily.

Do you live on the Hill?
Yes, I live and work here.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
Climb, snowboard…

Any favorite local hangouts?
All of them! I think my favorite hangout right now is Canon.

Is that still on the Hill?
It’s like 12th and Madison. Can they get the Capitol Hill blog down there?

Yes, but you have to use the long-distance Internet. Do you have any favorite cocktails at Canon?
They have a bunch of great drinks. Their alcohol album is a bible. I think they have $1,500 shots of stuff from the 1800s.

Have you ever had a $1,500 shot?
No, but I think I’ve had $80 shots. Somebody else was paying.

Do you have any thoughts about life on the Hill?
It needs to be a little bit cleaner. Compared to, say, Georgetown in D.C., it’s really filthy. Also, it’s interesting how nobody is out on the streets at 9AM. It’s like a ghost town in the morning.

You’re sitting in a tattoo shop –are you getting or giving a tattoo this evening?
Neither. I do hair next door, at Zero Zero. But I like to hang out here at the tattoo shop.

I see you have a lot of interesting tattoos. Did you get any of them here ?
Some of them, others I had done in Portland and Spokane.

Do you have a favorite?
My favorite would have to be the octopus taking down a pirate ship on my thigh.

Is there any unifying theme to your tattoos?
I like to do the traditional old-school style of tattoos. I really like the Day of the Dead, how Mexico celebrates their Halloween. That style inspired my sleeve. And I feel like my spirit animal is a fox—that’s what inspired the fox on my hand.

I see you have a tail—does that represent your inner fox?
Yes.

Why do you think your spirit animal is a fox? Because you’re foxy?
The fox represents courage and loyalty. It’s also spunky and intelligent. I’ve really had a thing for foxes for quite some time. I’ve always loved them, ever since I was a kid. I would collect fox toys and pictures and books, and try to draw them all the time.

Are you a Seattle native?
No, I just moved here four months ago from L.A.

How do you like it so far?
I love it. But I’m definitely feeling the “Seattle Freeze” that everyone talks about around here.

I think that’s the actual freeze this time of year. People here are much less social in winter. Seattleites are like some strange species of hibernating hipster bears…
I can’t wait until the summer, so I can start making new friends. It’s hard not having anybody to hang out with or connect with.

L.A. is very sunny and warm. How are you dealing with the weather here?
I don’t mind it. I love wearing hoodies and hats and scarves and boots. Fashionably, it’s really fun.

Is there anything you miss about L.A.?
The sand between my toes. But that’s about it. The people there are pretty different — it’s a very different scene.

Why Seattle?
I came here on my vacation during spring break last year, and was here for about four days, and completely fell in love with Seattle. I was walking around, and thought, “Why am I not living here?” So I waited until my lease was up, and I moved here.

Is there anything you wish you had known about Seattle before you moved here?
How expensive it is to live here.

That’s surprising. L.A. seems pretty expensive…
It’s about the same price—it’s about $900 for a studio in L.A., and it’s about the same here.

Do you live on the Hill?
Yes, just a few blocks from here.

What’s something you like to do in your free time?
I like going to Re-Bar poetry slam, every Tuesday night at 8PM. It’s really cool. Every week they have a featured famous poet, and they’ll come and speak their poems, then it’s back to the competition.

Do you write poetry?
I used to in high school, but then, college and career, things change. But it’s given me the inspiration to start again.

More CHS Crow:

• Anna, Zach & Perry — “I’m a citizen of the planet”
• Audrei, Tim & Jennifer — ‘I create things, I sew, I make corsets…’
• Stephen, Karyn & Whitey — ‘Yes, and I’m an herbalist’
• More…

Marguerite Kennedy is a freelance writer, semi-professional thumb wrestler, and recovering New Yorker who currently resides on Capitol Hill. She blogs at www.marguerite-aville.com, and does that other thing @tweetmarguerite.

This week, the crow seriously considered if any skills acquired in the course of writing for CHS are transferrable to other parts of life.

What do you do for a living?
I manage Gamma Ray Games, and I also work at the Ray Gun Lounge.

I’ve heard from some women that gaming can be kind of a “boy’s club.” Have you ever encountered that?
In our store, we don’t have a lot of that. Here on Capitol Hill, we have a really large variety of gamers. It’s very inclusive. We have groups for queer and lady gamers. But I managed a game store in Bremerton for a few years, and there were a lot of “neck beards.”

“Neck beards”?
That’s what we call the kind of nerds who live in their mom’s basement and are a bit anti-social and who, nine times out of ten, are huge misogynistic jerks. Sometimes I would answer the phone at the store, and a guy would say, “Can I talk to someone who works there?” or “Can I talk to someone who knows what I’m talking about?” before I even said anything else. But I’ve never had that happen at the store on Capitol Hill.

If you had to give advice to a girl or young woman who was interested in gaming, what would you tell her?
If she’s local, I’d say to come to one of our lady gaming nights. We also have queer and alternative gaming nights, which are open to all sorts of people. Since I started taking over the War Machine scene on Capitol Hill, there’s been a big increase in lady gamers. Sometimes just knowing that other women are involved in a game makes women and girls feel more comfortable about participating.

Do you have any favorite games?
War Machine. It’s a miniature war game based out of Bellevue, Washington. It has a really Steampunk aesthetic, and it’s a lot of fun to play.

How would you explain War Machine to someone who had never played it?
You have your little painted army men, and they have their little painted army men, and you try to kill each other’s leader. Like chess, with a three-dimensional playing field.

Do you feel like any of the skills you’ve developed from gaming are transferrable to other parts of your life? For instance, have you ever had a long, strategic battle with your landlord?
Whenever you have groups of people who are really passionate about anything, there will occasionally be drama that carries over outside of the game. But fortunately, it doesn’t happen too often.

When you’re not gaming, what do you like to get up to?
I study Chinese tea culture and tea theory. I enjoy the art of making Chinese teas.

Do you live in the neighborhood?
I just moved here, about three blocks away.

Other than Gamma Ray and Ray Gun Lounge, do you have any favorite local spots?
Remedy Tea, up on 15^th. And Annapurna, the Indian-Nepalese place on Broadway. I used to live in Bremerton, and there were days when I would wake up and be like, “I really want Anapurna!” and I would take a ferry over just to go there.

Wow—it’s ferry-worthy! That is a very strong endorsement.
And Skillet—they have the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had in my entire life.

Now you’re making me hungry…Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year?
To paint more of my models. I play with a lot of models that are unpainted at the moment.

You don’t want your soldiers to be naked. That’s just obscene!
Yeah. And I also to find a good comic book store in the area and start up a subscription…

Maybe CHS readers will have some comic store suggestions?
That would be great.

What brings you out tonight?
I’m here to play some War Machine, and learn a bit more about the game. I’m really loving it, so far.

How did you get involved in this group?
I moved to Seattle about six or seven months ago. Back home, I played a lot of Magic: The Gathering. Gaming is a good way to meet people.

Where did you move here from?
Minnesota.

You can always tell the folks from Minnesota—they’re the ones wearing light windbreakers and/or shorts outside on days like this, when the rest of us are freezing our asses off.
Yeah, people here think this is really cold, but I can assure you—it’s not that cold compared to Minnesota winters.

What brought you to Seattle?
School. My girlfriend is going to law school, and I’m pursuing my B.A.

What are you studying?
Biology and Philosophy.

Philosophy—to have something practical to fall back on, I guess?
Yeah, right?

What do you want to do after school?
I’m planning on applying to med school, so hopefully that’ll work out.

When you first moved here, was there any one thing about Seattle that struck you as a very different from where you lived in Minnesota?
Everything’s open later in Seattle, and you can get alcohol just about anywhere here, apparently.

You know, this time last year, that wasn’t the case.
Yeah, I guess we got here just after the law passed. I walked into a grocery store and there was wine and every kind of alcohol, and I thought, “You can’t just do that!”

Do you live on the Hill?
Yes, over on Howell.

Any favorite local hangouts?
Not so much. Between school and working—I work over at GameStop— it takes up about all of my time.

Are you a video game player as well?
Yes, I am. Less than I used to, but still…

How many hours do you think you spend gaming?
I don’t know, but it’s definitely gone down. I’d say…20 hours a week?

Dude! 20 hours a week! I have to ask—has it ever caused any problems between you and your girlfriend?
No, she’s actually very, very understanding.

Sounds like she’s a keeper.
She is!

Any other thoughts on life in Seattle and Capitol Hill?
Just that I enjoy it. People around here are really friendly.

What brings you out tonight?
I was looking for a place that was open late enough to hang out in tonight.

I see a suitcase—are you going on a trip?
No, I’m homeless. Okay, not really. I live in the Universe. It’s a big place with lots and lots of room.

Are you a Seattle native?
No, I grew up in Illinois, born in Iowa, came out here in 1981.

What brought you out West?
I planned on working in the fishing boats in Alaska, but the Canadian bus drivers were on strike at the time, and you had to go through Canada to get there. So they gave me the closest ticket possible, which was Seattle.

I’ve never been to the Midwest. What’s it like?
It’s a depressing place. Very depressing.

More depressing than Seattle in winter?
Recently the weather’s been quite crisp and cold, but blue skies — you can’t complain about that.

If you had to describe your ideal place to live, what would it be like?
It would be wholly un-American. I’ve renounced my American citizenship.

Are you a citizen of another country?
I’m a citizen of the planet. If you have the right to withhold your consent to be governed, which everybody does, then they can’t take any steps against you if you renounce your citizenship.

What inspired this point of view?
My experience with America has been nothing but a nightmare. My constitutional rights as a child were violated by my parents, by the school system, by the State of Illinois, which put me in children’s homes where I was introduced to drugs and things of that nature. For most of my life, it’s been an onslaught, a barrage of misfortune.

That must’ve been very difficult.
It hasn’t been all bad. I’ve had a lot of time to think, which is a rare commodity in the United States. Everyone here is so busy getting a career, or going to school, or whatever. You don’t have time to sit down and think about what you’re being told, what you’re experiencing, what’s going on around you…

How do you think people could learn to think more effectively?
Pick up a book on logic. The brain works in accordance with certain laws and principles. With the right reasoning and mathematics, you can see that a small percentage controls and dictates everything else. Everyone shakes their heads and agrees, but nobody does anything about it.

If you could change one thing about the country—just one—what would it be?
I would change the nature of the economic system in the United States. Make it more Socialist than Capitalist.

Is there anything you would change about Capitol Hill?
I think I would bring back more of a sense of community, which was lost with the gentrification of the Hill.

On a lighter note—since we’re in a coffee house in Seattle— do you have a favorite coffee drink?
I don’t have one favorite, but I like anything strong and dark. I just like coffee.

More CHS Crow:

• Audrei, Tim & Jennifer — ‘I create things, I sew, I make corsets…’
• Stephen, Karyn & Whitey — ‘Yes, and I’m an herbalist’
• Alvina, Korte & Patrice — ‘Sometimes people want a change’
• More…

Marguerite Kennedy is a freelance writer, semi-professional thumb wrestler, and recovering New Yorker who currently resides on Capitol Hill. She blogs at www.marguerite-aville.com, and does that other thing @tweetmarguerite.