Life in the City

Contemporary World Culture

As a software engineer living in Seattle, Washington in 2006, life is comfortable. My family consists of my wife and our two children. My ancestors moved to the United States in the early 1900’s when many moved from Western Europe. As an Irish family, my ancestors struggled to gain any ground on their adjustment to the “land of opportunity.” As true with many immigrants, to my ancestors “Ellis Island was seen as a symbol of hope and opportunity for millions of immigrants” (DeWan). My family moved from the east coast to Seattle just after World War II in search of more opportunities.

An ordinary day involves my wife and I getting up each morning and preparing to go to work. Our children get ready for school, eat their breakfast, and catch the bus for school. My wife and I leave at the same time and head to work. Since I work as a software engineer, I spend most of my time using mental energy rather than physical energy. After work I head to the gym then head home. We have dinner as a family and then relax with a movie or television show before bed.

Generally speaking, we eat local foods daily. Asian food and fish, such as salmon, are common to our area. Japanese barbeque is also very popular in our area and is a family favorite (Food Notes). Seattle is not only a melting pot of different cultures from across the world, but also a melting pot of different styles of food. Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, Moldovan, and Mexican foods are just some of the popular restaurants in the area (Food Notes).

In order to provide products for our daily needs, we get in our family vehicle and drive to the local Fred Meyer or Costco. Here we can purchase any item such as food, cleaning supplies, electronics, etc. that we may need or want. Fred Meyer is very available in our area, as it is part of “one of the largest multi-regional supermarket retailers with $15 billion in sales” (Boley).

For entertainment my family often watches movies either at home or in the movie theater. We also attend concerts and sporting games, especially when the Seahawks are playing. Our forms of entertainment are very local. Not only do we watch many home games in Seattle, but we also watch mainstream movies that are common within the United States and western culture. College football is also very popular in our area, with the University of Washington Huskies often pitted against the Washington State University Cougars (Leonard). Another form of local entertainment is what our Pacific Science Center has to offer. There are often galactical presentations which are educational and interesting, as well as laser shows to modern and older styles of music. And for those who enjoy outside activities, there is always hiking, skiing, or snowboarding in the mountains, depending on the time of year (Leonard). They don’t call it the Evergreen State for nothing.

My greatest worry is finding myself unemployed. My two children are getting older and are in need of braces, school supplies, and eventually college tuition. Even though we have accumulated a modest savings, the economy is still in a rut and layoffs are always possible. In 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.2% and rising (Kearsley). Many politicians desire to increase taxes to fund programming, but many families are already stretched thin. The state of our economy is also concerning. Hopefully my job is secure enough for the time being.

References:

Boley, Rob.  (7  November). Fred Meyer, Quality Food Centers, and Ralphs Grocery

Company combine to create one of the largest multi-regional supermarket retailers with $15 billion in sales. PR Newswire,1.  Retrieved October 24, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.

DeWan, George. STAFF WRITER. (1999, January 26). Looking Back / The Century

1900 to 1910 / A Nation on the Go / In planes. In cars. And on steamships headed for Ellis Island. Series: Looking Back. The Century 1900 to 1910. As the 20th Century fades into history, here is the first of an occasional series that looks back, decade by decade, at the events and personalities of the 1900s :[ALL EDITIONS]. Newsday (Combined Editions), p. B06. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from Newsday.

FOOD NOTES :[FINAL Edition]. (1993, January 20). Seattle Post - Intelligencer,p. c3.

Retrieved October 23, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.

FOOD NOTES :[FINAL Edition]. (1993, November 17). Seattle Post –

Intelligencer,p. C4.  Retrieved October 24, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.

Johnson, June. Global Issues, Local Arguments: Readings for Writing. New York:

Custom Publishing, 2007.

Kearsley, Kelly. (2009, February 25). State jobless numbers still climbing. The News

Tribune,A.1. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.

Leonard, Tara. (18 March). This Week's Arts and Entertainment Guide / Coming Up.

McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand.