The Salmon Nation oath:

I believe that where I live matters.

I believe that there is enough for everyone.

I recognize that we all live downstream of one another and are thus interconnected.

I am a Citizen of Salmon Nation and I pledge to live here like I mean it!

I am a cyclist, I hate cars. I have been yelled at, run off the road by, hit, and have had litter thrown at me, by cars and the people who drive them. The worst part is that what happens most is people swirving into the bike lane on a downhill when I am riding at car speed (20-25 mph). Thank god I have not bit it yet or been hit at that speed. Do they not understand a bike offers no protection from impact. To swirv at a cyclist is very dangerous, especially at high speed. I say f em. I will not take this crap anymore, f cars. But the biggest middle finger always goes to the redneck with the "redneck" bumpersticker, and women because they cant drive. Amen

Don't go.

If you must go, don't go today.

If you must go and it has to be today, bring lots of patience and a high tolerance for thick crowds. Be cautious in the parking lots. Once inside (don't go) cultivate the fine art of flowing with the crowds, duck and weave when necessary.

It is a bee hive, actively buzzing.

It is a circus, with 100 rings all going at once.

It is a sanitized marketplace, overflowing.

It is the mall, the Day After.

Oh, yeah. Another bunch of stores will fill that empty feeling I have inside. From The Olympian:

Some mall shoppers this week were pleased to learn that stores previously only found outside of Thurston County would be coming to Olympia.

Teri Lund of Olympia said she became familiar with Bed Bath & Beyond while a Western Washington University student in Bellingham. She said the store would be a positive addition to the west Olympia mall.

Sarah Nelson of Olympia said she hopes a TGI Friday's restaurant will open in The Promenade.

More important to Nelson, she said, would be if a Wal-Mart store opened in west Olympia.

"The other one in Lacey is so packed," she said.

Mark Curtis of Olympia said the new Borders bookstore drew his attention to the project, which he hadn't been paying much attention to before he heard the news.

A fan of blues, bluegrass and spiritual music, Curtis said he likes the music selections available in Borders.

"That would be a good addition," he said.

I only recently stopped. From HeraldNet:

OLYMPIA - A steadily growing number of Thurston County residents commute to jobs outside the county, which economic development experts say is partly due to a lack of good-paying local jobs.

Nearly 30 percent more people now commute to jobs outside the county than work for state government in Thurston County, and the number of outbound commuters is increasing steadily.

State government jobs have long stabilized the county's economy, cushioning it from economic downturns. But growth in state jobs has been relatively flat for several years.

I've heard commuting described as "committing suicide one day at a time."