LIFE AS I KNOW IT

Things are coming together around here and my home is actually beginning to look like a true home. After about two weeks of going without some key items, in the last few days I have finally succeeded in acquiring a bed and a couch (thank goodness for craigslist!) and now my next task is to find a dining set. Classes are in full swing and it caught me by surprise that I'm actually enjoying all that it brings with it. And when I say that, I mean that in the sense that I wasn't quite sure if I was over being burnt out by school, but apparently I am, for now. For one of my classes this semester, each week we're to do a video-recorded counseling session with another student infiltrating the techniques we've learned in class. So, after all of one day of being in that class I went into one of those traditional counseling type of rooms (think of one you might see on Dateline or 20/20 or something, complete with a video-camera up in one corner of the room and kid-related items off to the side) and conducted a 20 min. counseling session. It was a little nerve-wracking, not really knowing what I was doing or what to expect but I'm thinking I didn't mess up too bad (and hopefully didn't mess up the 'counselee' either). In other news, in an effort to get involved in stuff around the area I looked into activities through the various cities' parks and recreations and as a result. . . I am now a card-carrying kickball player. Yep, that's right, I've joined an adult, co-ed kickball league and we have a scrimmage game this upcoming Sunday evening. Sadly, I had missed the registration date for the beach flag-football league and kickball was my only other option, but hey, I like the game. . .even if I'm used to playing it either as a kid or with kids, so I'm hoping that these people aren't die-hard kickballers. We'll see. Other than that, I'm just enjoying getting a feel for the area and trying to master the directionally-challenged streets around here, but don't worry I'm on my way to being victorious.

WHEW

There are many instances in life where a deep sigh is necessary, whether it is a sigh of relief, of weariness, or even one to provide a second of respite before tackling yet another task. At the moment, I would classify my sigh as one embodying all of the aforementioned types. A sigh of relief that the long yet spectacular adventure of driving across the country ('visiting' 14 states. . .including Michigan for about 10 minutes by accident) has concluded. A sigh of weariness of being constantly on the go for the last two-plus weeks and adjusting to the various time zone changes along the way. And a sigh providing a brief interlude before getting back to the grindstone to get myself situated here. It's a lot of stuff all at once, exciting and fun, yet also requiring that moment to let myself slow down and take a deep breath and say 'whew.' Once my brain catches up to me again I'll give more detailed descriptions about my going-ons but as for now I'll leave you all with some highlights from these last couple of weeks:

~ my good friend's gorgeous wedding that I got to be a part of

~ being able to see some interesting/landmark sights amidst the wide-open nothing-ness of Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota (not to mention, getting a lovely spattering of bugs across my windshield and entire front portion of my car . . .yuck)


~ seeing Amish people (or so Jane and I think)

~ seeing the Mississippi River for the first time

~ meeting up with my mom, my aunt, and my grandma for dinner in La Crosse, WI (they were there visiting the area where my ancestors came from)

~ sight-seeing in Chicago, by foot and by being a typical tourist and riding a red double-decker tour bus
~ changing time zones in Indiana and not realizing it until we were checking in at our hotel at 9:40 pm. . .but really 10:40 pm, and then trying to find a place that was still serving food so that we could have dinner

~ visiting the campus of the University of Notre Dame . . .and then getting lost trying to get back on the freeway from there, thus leading to our brief stint in Michigan that caught us by surprise

~ driving from Indiana, into Michigan for a couple minutes, through Ohio, through Pennsylvania, and into Maryland all in one day and luckily enough be staying in our nicest hotel of the whole trip:

Wall, South Dakota

v.s.

Hagerstown, Maryland

~ playing the license plate game across the country and seeing all but 3 of the states

~ checking out my new digs. . .it's a great location with nice amenities, I think it'll be perfect

~ sight-seeing in and around Virginia Beach including: hanging out on the beach, strolling on the boardwalk and then riding in a four-person bike with Jane, my mom, my aunt, and my grandma (who were now visiting this area by that time. . .imagine that), visiting Cape Henry (where the first landing of the settlers who established Jamestown took place and where the first U.S. lighthouse was erected, and still stands), driving across the 17.6 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Virginia's Eastern Shore and then proceeding to have dinner overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, catching the tail-end of the first day of the East Coast Surfing Championships and later attending an event put on for the surfers at a local bar and grill

~ attending my orientation for grad. school . . .and meeting a girl starting law school here who grew up in the Tri-Cities and graduated from UW, small world!

And. . . that's it for now, whew! I start classes on Thursday and in the meantime am going to attempt to set-up camp around here and also try and drink in this stage of my life that's going on in the midst of this whirlwind. I'll let you know how both of those go. ; )

GO EAST YOUNG WOMAN

I still have a few days yet, but I thought that I'd get around to doing this now before it gets even more hectic with all of the prepping (both physically and mentally) I'll be doing in the days to come. Regardless of it not being the actual day that I'm leaving, the fact of the matter is that after months of anticipation, the time has come for me to pack up my things, bid my loved ones farewell, and make my trek across the country to start yet another chapter of my life. It's bittersweet really. So, after a summer of driving this sweet ride around day in and day out:
I'm trading in those wheels to drive this beauty 3,000 miles across the country starting Friday: I've got quite the journey ahead of me, both literally and figuratively. And while I know that I'm going to miss having my friends and family in close proximity, and vice versa (right?), I also consider myself very blessed to have such a great support network which encourages me to chase down my dreams, even if it takes me away from them. Thank you to everyone for being a part of this journey with me! That's it from me here in Gig Harbor, stay tuned for another installment from some other location. . .

THIS IS WORK FOR ME?

Yes, of course I could use as much money as possible at the moment given all the expenses I'm about to incur in my adventure East and I'm not exactly making bank with my current job, but honestly, at the end of the day, to be getting paid to hang out with kids and participate in fun activities that I'd like to do anyways, I'm quite lucky. The days can in fact be long and exhausting but ultimately they are rewarding and that is often a rarity when it comes to work. Through this job I've been given the chance to enter the lives of these teenagers, serving as a friend and mentor (and often feeling like a parent as well -- I'm getting some good practice for later on in life, Lord willing) and sharing in their adventures, some experiencing things for the first time. This experience has reiterated my desire to be invested in people and their lives and excites me all the more to be able to go to school to learn how to do so even more effectively. And in the meantime, as I count down the days until my departure, I'm reveling in the fact that I'm getting paid to go bowling, ride horses on the beach, go hiking, play games, go to theme parks and fun centers, and go camping (for the first time!), among other things. Life is good, crazy in how it works, but good none-the-less.


(here I am slaving away at work on our recent two-night camping trip in the San Juan Islands)

CONFESSION TIME

If you know me (which I'm assuming that you do -- at least to some extent -- if you're reading this), you know that I'm a pretty frugal and simple person. I mainly do my grocery shopping based off of whatever is on sale at the moment at the grocery store (which then leads to my preoccupation with the "you saved $____ today" line on the receipt that makes me feel as though I just won a minor victory). I'm an adamant defender of the gas stations with "bad" gas because they coincidentally are the ones with the cheapest prices around and as such I also insist on filling up there . . .after all, good 'ol Vince is still running like a champ. And while I do like to look nice, I'm by no means a slave to fashion, the latest trends/designers, and the price-tag that comes with it all. However, I have come to realize that there's an area in my life where my frugality is weakened and my standards are high. It's true, I'm high maintenance when it comes to the place that I live. I'd like to think that it's only a new development that came about after having lived in a darkened basement where the only common area was the entry/kitchen/dining room/laundry room combination, but the first step in recovery is to admit your problem and I think that to be able to move forward I have to be painfully honest in saying that this trait has been long-standing. After all, even though it wouldn't fit my standards today, I did pick out some pretty amazing neon-green wallpaper with daisies on it for my bedroom when I was younger in an effort to have the 'perfect' girl room. As of late, I've seen this form of high maintenance rearing its head again in the midst of my squaring away living arrangements for Virginia. In all reality, should a two-toned cupboard circa the 1980s really be a deciding factor in where one lives? For any normal person, probably not, but for me, if I'm scrolling through possible places to live and I spot a picture of white, vinyl-covered cupboards with brown, wood edges that viable housing option is tossed out. And, call me crazy, but I also am not interested in a place where animals (namely dogs) are not allowed. Not that I have any animals that would be coming along with me, but wouldn't a dog just be lovely? I think so. And I don't want to wind up at a place where my dream of having a pooch wouldn't ever have a chance to become a reality. There's quite a few other deciding factors that some might classify as 'picky' (alright, even I know that they are picky) but you can't blame a girl for wanting the place that she lives to truly be her home. . .even if that means forgoing one's money-saving tendencies in order to secure a place that meets their expectations. If I'm going to be high maintenance in an area of my life, I suppose that this is as good as any, but perhaps I'll still try and tame the beast a bit. We'll see how that goes depending on where I wind up living. As for now, I think I'll go fill up at Arco. . .

FLASHBACK TO CHILDHOOD

Oh to be a kid again, to live in the world of sandboxes, legos, recess, barbies, and so on and so forth. I'm sure that at least one or two of us have wished to experience those joyful simplicities with such childlike fascination once again. . .lucky enough for me, I get to do so on a daily basis during the weekdays. It brings me so much happiness to see that wall-ball and two/four-square have not gone extinct since I was a wee-one myself. I love the fact that in spite of all of the changes in society and technology, at the core of things, children are still children and still find enjoyment in activities that have been around for ages. In addition to the way that they play, many of you who may not have the opportunity to be around children often will be pleased to know that kids do in fact still say the darndest things. Here's a recent sampling of what I've overheard and/or experienced as of late:

Kid: "If I keep digging, I think I'll end up in Brooklyn."

Me: "Did you wash your hands?"
Kid: "Yep."
Me: "Can I smell them then?"
Kid: ". . .", smiles mischeviously as they walk towards the bathroom to go wash their hands

Kid A: "If you go and get Johnny* for me I'll be your friend."
Kid B: (said with a face aglow of hope) "Best friend?!"

Kid: "I'm going to follow you around forever . . .well, until my mommy comes, then I'll follow her."

Kid: "Me and Susie's* parents created all the countries in the world and we speak every language."
Me: "That's so neat. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"
Kid: blank stare followed by a tilting of the head and a smirk, "We're not allowed to speak the languages around other people though."

Me: "Did you just get that out of the trash?"
Kid: "Yeah, I always eat stuff out of the garbage."

Kid: "Just write my name down as Kung Fu Master."

Oh, to be a kid again. = )

*names have been changed to protect the (mostly) innocent