Things NW people have said

I spent a few years in the Pacific Northwest working in IT. Loved the job, hated living there.

Here are some things I overheard or were told to me, in all earnestness/unironically (irony was rare there):

• A guy I literally just met and said “Nice to meet you” to, apropos of nothing: “I’m about as technical of a project manager as you can get.”
• In a meeting, after I had asked something and got a response, another colleague piped up. He opened with, “And perhaps the most important question of all…” before he asked his own question.
• A colleague saying to someone else, “You must have a concealed carry license; you have daughters.”
• A friend, when I made a comment about the summer weather: “Just buy an air conditioner in Costco, then return it when the summer is over. They’ll give you a full refund.”
• A former colleague, when we discussed a school shooting in the news: “This is why I bought my daughter a bullet-proof backpack on Amazon.”
• Another colleague, in a conversation with me about BLM, after the first wave of protests: “I forgot you weren’t white.”
• Not said, but reacted: I went to a gig with my gig buddy. The band released a bunch of bunting flags in the air. It was momentary joy. I picked one up and passed it on to her. She cringed like I just handed her a pile of turd, her head shaking and her hands up in front of her like I was carrying something dangerous.