are seattle-ites always nice?

now, people in the South have their southern charm, i suppose. maybe it's because i'm in the more affluent of neighborhoods, or maybe it's because their businesses (or maybe a little bit of both), but my, people sure are friendly.

cases-in-point:

• open my wells fargo account and my personal banker tells me all of the inside security mumbo-jumbo, but then we get to talking about HIV after he wanted to know why i moved to alaska, and aside from being like most of society and not knowing anything about the virus (he thought there has been a cure for some time, now)...he was genuinely interested in being informed (i don't think i've ever emphasized and lectured on the importance of condoms to a banker), and recommended certain banking tips and options to consider in my future. his name was daniel, and he was asian...maybe that was where the niceness came from...
• i walk across the way because i see this market has potted plants that i'm considering planting in our yard for fall. the associate told me what kinds to buy and what works best in seattle (mums and asters, if you're interested), and that they'll be getting a better selection in the upcoming weeks, "so hold off for now...."
• i had to drop off my x-rays at my new dentist. she said, "oh, you're the guy from mobile...." she warmly extends her hand, giving her name, and proceeds to be very cordial; not sure if a "receptionist" has ever extended a hand to me.
• i saw there was a local bike shop next door, so i pop in. their bikes were 5000 dollars so there was no way in hell i was going to seriously consider anything, but the sales guy was telling me the best places to shop for used bikes, what was essentials in seattle are, the best routes to take...very helpful and friendly...

all in all, it was a pleasant day of shopping and browsing in my district.

i came back to the house where i continued my cleaning spree. i'm about a quarter of the way done. i'm telling you: if this whole medical school thing doesn't work out, i'm becoming a cleaning maid, because i will work my ass off to clean up your mess. i'd be a bargain. my OCD-self has to have things all perpendicular and parallel. i've noticed that if things aren't just so, it's as if i shouldn't have bothered at all. i've created a "staging area" for all of my stuff so it's ready to easily be moved into my room when it's ready....

this evening was nice as well. i unexpectedly went with a med school friend and her mom who arrived into town after catching up upon randomly signing onto gchat, which i rarely do, and accompanied them to costco home in kirkland (the town that is the origination of the megastore), wherein we browsed furnishings so ornate and ridiculously priced, i can hardly understand how they sell anything at all. 4000-dollar tables, 70000-dollar golfing theatres (yeah, i didn't know they existed, either), and a plethora of relatively unique home decor that i'll never be able to afford.

we also drove around almost all of bellevue after not really knowing where we were or how to get to somewhere we had never been, finally arriving at the shopping district of this rich mini-city, where we had some delicious pizza.

i think i'm going to like the city.