A good rule of thumb is to dress one step more formally than the people you're interviewing with. If the office is business casual, you should probably wear a suit, but you can wear pants rather than a skirt, and a bright colored blouse. If they are even less dressy - khakis, sweaters, etc. - try pants or a skirt with a sweater set or cardi over blouse.

For accessories, go conservative or contemporary, no goth/anime/cutesy stuff. Bring a handbag or nice messenger bag, no backpacks.

I'm on the spicy soup bandwagon when I'm cold-and-fluey. Thai soups like Tom Kha or Tom Yum are best, and I go all the way to Ballard (Thaiku, formerly the Noodlehouse) for it.

I think the answer is yes, and maybe no. Because University of Washington has one of the best MSW programs in the country, there are a lot of very well-educated social workers in this town. So I think there is a great deal of competition for jobs, and a built-in UW MSW network that may be hard for you to break into. On the other hand, if you have an MSW from a well-regarded program at another school, that can help you to stand out from the pack of UW MSWs. Hope that helps!

Thai Curry Simple is getting raves. It's in what used to be the drive-up coffee place on Union and 12th.

Also, Cafe Presse on 12th by SU. Or Tacos Gyamus (sp?) by QFC.

John, First, I'm so sorry to hear about your mother.

To the business at hand, do you have a copy of the document that gave your mother power of attorney for your grandmother? Usually these will designate and alternate, in case the first cannot serve. If this designates a person other than you, then that person may act for your grandmother. You may be able to challenge that, as her next-of-kin, but you'll need to speak to an attorney likely to get the full picture.

Speaking of attorneys, you likely need to talk to one about settling your mother's estate. Even if she had no real property, you'll need help to get the bank accounts or car title transferred to you (assuming your mom didn't have a will and wasn't married, you're her sole heir.)

A great first step may be to talk to a low-cost or free attorney at one of the Neighborhood Legal Clinics. Because your issue involves the care of an elder, you may wish to attend the Elder Law clinic. There are also general law clinics held in various parts of King County. Check it out here:

http://www.kcba.org/legalhelp/nlc/clients.aspx

If you live outside of King County, check with your county's bar association to see if they offer low-cost legal help. Simply search "(your county) bar association" to find the general number and give them a call.

Another thing you can do is to talk to the ombudsman at your grandmother's care home. It may be that, as her only living relative, you can make all of the decisions necessary on her behalf without a power of attorney.

Good luck and, again, sorry for your loss.

WNYC RadioLab is awesome, and has most of its past catalog available on iTunes - both one-hour radio shows and the shorter 15 min. podcasts. You will learn about science and your mind will be blown.

This method requires fancy equipment, but it works for the Luckier house. Leftover soup gets put in a tupperware container & into the freezer. Once frozen, I pop it out and put it in a Seal-a-Meal bag and seal it up. The resulting soup-block is airtight and stacks in the freezer, and I don't have to squeeze it out of a ziplock, like you do when it's frozen flat.

The Seal-a-Meal is awesome, btw. You can use it to marinate in the summer - just put your secret herbs and spices in, put the meat in and seal it up, then squish it around so the secret stuff gets everywhere. Next day, pop it out and put it on the grill.

That's very interesting, since Obama lived here briefly, as an infant, while his mother was in graduate school. My guess is that he bought it himself, but not as the 44th president, just as a regular guy. Or, his mom may have bought it for him, which is sweet and the sort of thing a mom would do.

The tiles were part of a fundraising effort to renovate the market - a donor could designate a name or other inscription for a tile for a donation of about $100. The tiles were installed in 1986 - it doesn't seem that it was an ongoing fundraising effort, so the Obama tile must have been bought then.

Here's what the Market Foundation's site says about locating a particular tile:

*How do I find my tile? Can I order a new tile?*
If you bought one of the 45,000 name tiles installed in 1986, your tile can be located either by its inscription or by the purchaser's name. If you know either of those pieces of information, you can either: 1) visit the Market's Information Booth at 1st & Pike; or 2) call the Market's main reception desk (206) 682-7453) to find your tile's location. Unfortunately, tiles are no longer available for purchase.

Here's a story about the tiles:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003742915_mymarkettiles11m.html

Now I have to go to the market and find that tile!

Francis Farmer Organ Karaoke at Vermillion

http://ffok.net/

You may have used your card at an ATM that had an ATM Skimmer placed on it. As I understand it, a skimmer copies the data from your card as well as your PIN (when you punch it in); the thieves running the scam can then duplicate your card and use your PIN to withdraw all of your cash.

I hope you filed a police report, and also provided your transaction records - if this is what happened to you then it has likely happened to a bunch of other people.

Read more about ATM Skimmers here:

http://consumerist.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20&search=skimmer