Paige Graffunder
Bio
Paige is a published author and a project professional in the Seattle area. They are focused on interpersonal interactions, poetry, and social commentary.
Find me on Medium.com
Find my books on Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble.
Stories (108)
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My Seattle Favorites Volume 3
For Volume 3, I have decided to compile a list of my favorite coffee shops in the city. As Seattle is literally THE city for coffee, this was a particularly hard list to compile. However, if you are in the city, whether for a visit, if you've just moved, or even if you have lived here all your life, you’d be remiss to not try at least one of these places, as they all offer amazing coffee, delightful ambience, and literal quirks that make them worthy of this list! If you haven't checked out Volume 1 and 2 yet, I suggest you do! As per usual, they are in no particular order.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Feast
My Seattle Favorites Volume 2
For Volume 2 of my little series, I thought I would talk about bars that I love that cater to the Queer Folk. As a queer person myself, it is super important to have some spaces, where we can go and be around our community. While literally NONE of these places are perfect they are my favorite. You will not find places like The Wild Rose or R Place here, as they have a pretty intense history of gate keeping against the Trans Community and ageist attitudes. This list is of places that I personally like to go to, but of course I am always willing to hear really about YOUR favorite places as well!
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Proof
My Seattle Favorites Volume 1
I have been living in Seattle for a good chunk of time now, and I have had so much fun exploring the city. I love it when people visit here and I get to show them and take them to all the cool things to see and do and eat and experience around the city. Even the super touristy stuff like the Space Needle and Pike Place Market have their charms when you live here. While I don’t think I will be going to the top of the Space Needle ever again in my life (I mean really, who wants to pay 30 dollars to ride an elevator?), that doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. I really do get a sense of joy when I see it on my morning commute.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Feast
A Certain Type of Code Switch
I have been in the workforce for a little over 15 years now, and while I realize that in the grand scheme of life that is a relatively short amount of time, it does mean that I have been at this long enough to have some perspective. Most of my adult life has been spent working in offices and studios of various types. After I got out of retail and food service, I have worked in just about every type of office imaginable as I spent some time contracting and temping, as well as a decent amount of freelancing. I have worked in every kind of environment from Tattoo and Art studios, to insurance offices, and start ups. I have been customer facing, and back end supporting. But because in general most of my jobs have been specialized in the tech industry, I will admit that for the most part, the most professional I have ever had to dress was business casual. Slacks, and blouses, or khakis. Until my most recent job, I have never had to dress in truly "business professional" attire.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Journal
Downsizing My Life
I am moving currently and downsizing my space significantly. I have been in the same space for about five years, and through a myriad of roommates and a relationship now ended, a lot of things were left in my house that don’t belong to me. But since I am the last one in the house, it is all my responsibility to clear out the place, get it cleaned, and haul away anything that is left. Because I am largely doing this process alone, I have been pretty ruthless in my purge. Anything that isn’t immediately useful, or deeply sentimental has gotten the boot. I have labeled somethings OFF LIMITS for the purge, like my records, or things that belonged to my father, or certain books that I would be loath to part with. But the rest of it is all fair game. I have purged all of my kitchen things that are not vital to my survival. Plates, glasses, pots, and pans, novelty items, and small appliances, nothing was spared. Things I have held on to for years, but rarely ever used, got the boot. Over ¾ of my wardrobe similarly went out the door. A lot of odds and ends, and art also went. I was surveying my new empty and boxed up world, and discovered three things. They were interesting enough to me that I thought I would share my observations, and some extrapolations that I have made since making them initially.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Lifehack
The Dissenter's Guide to Disrupting the Future
We all know the quintessential reading list, we see it a lot. It features 1984 and Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and the like. And while we all should probably read those books, the writing style isn't for everyone. I am a fairly avid reader, and I struggle with Orwell's language sometimes. So I wanted to make a short 10-book list that is more accessible, but just as important in illustrating this horrible path we seem to be on, so that we can be better equipped to rise up against it. I have tried to include some YA and adult fiction because I think it is important to keep things accessible. Some times someone who will only read YA fiction will find a novel written for the more advanced.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Geeks
A Love More Inclusive. Top Story - April 2019.
I would like to preface this, with the understanding that I am in no way trying to put down romantic love. Romantic love is magical, and wonderful, and when reciprocated in a healthy way, can be very fulfilling. In this piece, all I am meaning to convey is that there are also other types of magical, wonderful, healthy ways to love, that have nothing to do with romance. If you are interested in reading my takes on romantic love feel free to do so Here.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Humans
The Incredible Burden of Creativity
I have had a typewriter for as long as I could remember. It started as novelty born of poverty. I was a kid in the late 80s and early 90s and my family couldn't afford a home computer, so for things that needed to be typed, we had a typewriter. It wasn't fancy, but it wasn't an antique either. I wrote all my homework on that thing until I was well into high school, certainly after I had a computer of my own, and a printer, and could have done it the same way as everyone else. I liked the way the keys felt. I liked that it felt like I was constructing each letter in a way that typing on a computer has never really afforded me. You have to really push down on a typewriter, you see, you can't just lazily glaze over the keys, knowing that spell check and auto correct will come in behind you and clean up your messes. With a typewriter, I have to be certain of how things are spelled, and I have to be absolutely sure when I type. I certainly don't manage to type my normal 120 words per minute on a typewriter. I slow down to probably 50 or 60. So why do I continue to use one? Well, because it matters to me. The medium matters to me. Depending on what I am writing, I need to have something so concrete that all my mistakes stand out to me.
By Paige Graffunder7 years ago in Journal
