Last day in Idaho

Things that I have learned during my 13.5 months in rural Idaho:

1. The "East Side" doesn't actually refer to the Bellevue/Kirkland/Sammamish/Redmond block.

2. People from North Idaho are prone to get really agitated if all you know about their state is potatoes. In fact, most of the potatoes eaten in Northern Idaho were actually grown in Washington.

3. This is a big, empty state. There's a reason the highway system is so spotty - because the highways that exist already connect the few medium-to-large cities in Idaho. Everything else is just "rural."

4. I really, really need to live in a city with a Gap, a Nordstorm, a decent thrift store and an Indian restaurant.

5. Rural girl, I am not.

I'm oh-so-happy to be going home.

Back in the saddle

It's been two years, but Tacoma Girl is back and ready to conquer new lands.

I finished my degree just over a year ago, and spent my time since then trying the handle of "newspaperwoman" on for size.

After a year reporting the news from Idaho, the state of citizen militias, Aryan pride and Larry Craig, I'm ready to tackle something truly foreign: the twenty-somethings of Tacoma.

I may have grown up in lovable T-Town, but that doesn't mean I know anything about what it means to be 23 there. My old friends have moved away, my baby brothers have grown up, and I don't even have a good-to-go pass.

Here's hoping 13 months as an Idahoan gave me a fresh perspective on what it truly means to be a gritty Tacoman.


Thanks www.tacomakids.com