Seattle's new minimum wage law takes effect this week, hiking hourly wages for most employees to $11. But for Dylan Paul, a transgender woman who was fired from Pagliacci after complaining about customer harassment last year, $15-per-hour wages can't come soon enough.

Now she's working at Honey Hole,* she writes in Seattle Met, making a starting wage of $13 an hour—significantly higher than the minimum required by law, at this stage, for any business. (I've reached out to Honey Hole to hear more about their wage policy, but haven't heard back yet.)

Paul says her basic living expenses—rent, student loans, medical care, and public transportation—are all a struggle to keep up with:

I’m currently pursuing an AAS at South Seattle College, and I pay close to $300 a month towards student loans. I pay close to $100 per month in medical costs, which has been a little cheaper because I’ve been able to order generic medication overseas. It’s the only way I’ve been able to fund my transition. After bills and expenses, I’ve got about $200 of fun money left.

It was harder when I was on minimum wage. There was a period of time where it was too expensive for me to use public transportation, and I felt like I was stuck in a box. I could only walk or bike anywhere, so I’d walk from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill to work every day, or bike across the bridge to Redmond for school. After a while my bike gave way and the replacement I found wasn’t reliable enough for commutes.

Go read the rest here.

*According to Seattle Met, Paul was not, in fact, working at Honey Hole at the time of her interview with the magazine. An editor's note on the magazine's web site now says: "We regret the error."