Public Transportation and Free Food

Seattle is one of those cities that has a great bus system. People here ride the bus, not because their car is broken down or because they don't own one or because they've had their license suspended for one too many DUIs; they ride the bus because it is economical, environmentally responsible and available. The transit system website is easy to use. So figuring out which bus to catch and where to make your transfer is just a piece of cake. Nikki and I have ridden the bus all over town this week while all of our peeps were occupied with their daily obligations. We rarely had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes for the next bus to come along. Of course, Nik is used to public transit. She rides the Strassenbahn (streetcar) in Ludwigshafen every day. It is her primary mode of transportation. I remember riding the city bus as a teenager in Salem and I've used public transportation in lots of European cities but, as an adult, I've not lived in an American city that has a decent bus system. I know lots of cities in the Northeast have mass transit systems that are integral parts of their personalities but few cities in the West can make the same claim. Hooray to Seattle and her citizens!

And now to free food.....as you all know (because I have bragged ad nauseam), Shauna works for Google. One of the many perks of being a Googler is that there is free food everywhere all the time. All the snack foods (both healthy and not so healthy) you can imagine, drinks of every kind and what they call micro kitchens containing quick and easy foods should anyone get hungry in between the free breakfast, lunch and dinner that is offered every day. Needless to say, Shauna doesn't do much cooking at home. She eats at work. I joined her for lunch last Thursday. The salmon was delicious. Yesterday Michael, Nikki and I had dinner with her. BBQ ribs! Nikki and I were downtown this afternoon when Shauna texted us to say that tonight's main dinner entree would be prime rib. Would we care to join her? We absolutely made a point of being there at the appointed hour. Hooray to Google and her chefs!