back in the swing.

Alright, it's definitely time to start blogging again. First, a bit of catch-up from the last time I wrote: I landed in Phoenix after my 2.5 months in Europe and de-jet lagged during Aiden's (my nephew) 1st birthday. It was really great to be able to see everyone again and talk to them about my new experiences and views of the world. After a week of the hellish 100+ degree weather in Phoenix my dad and I trekked back to Washington in my little car. It was a really fun trip; a perfect ending to my time of living the life of leisure. I think my dad enjoyed himself as well.

After arriving in Washington I stayed with my parents at their tiny (yet posh) condo in Mill Creek for a couple of weeks. These weeks were spent writing my resume and cover letter so I could begin my job search. Apparently writing a resume can be absurdly overwhelming when one doesn't know exactly what she is looking for. I discovered that college is actually much easier in a way. The work of planning which classes to take, which assignments to do and what deadlines to meet are done for you. "Real life" feels much less structured at first when you don't have your plan right out of college. I decided to live life without a plan for a while, which was the best decision I could have ever made, until it came time to make a plan.

Things are going much, much better nowadays. I live with friends of my aunt and uncle, in their beautiful home. They happen to have an extra bedroom and a high school aged son who needs help with his math and english homework. Can we say meant to be? After 2 months of sitting on my tail, feeling overwhelmed and clueless about what to do, I decided to go to a staffing agency. I could kick myself for not doing that right away! The advice was given to me before I even left for Europe so I had long forgotten this valuable information.

I now work for a Public Relations firm called Porter Novelli in downtown Seattle. I drive to the park and ride everyday, then ride the bus into the city while listening to NPR podcasts and reading books along the way. I am now always well-informed about the issues! The work at PN is interesting. I knew nothing about PR when I first started working at PN a month ago. Now things are making a bit more sense. One thing that is great about the job is that it is downtown. I absolutely adore working downtown! Everything is so authentic and interesting everywhere you turn. There are dozens of fabulous local restaurants to get takeout from during lunch, and everything you need is within walking distance. After my travels I learned to truly appreciate my surroundings. Seattle is breathtaking. A goal of mine is to move there within 6 months.

So, as for the future, a five year plan of sorts. For the next year I will be looking everywhere for opportunities that will help me gain experience in the medical field. After this year I will be applying for entry into the University of Washington's MEPN (masters entry program in nursing). It's an accelerated nursing program designed for students such as myself who already have a bachelor's degree, not necessarily in a medical area of study. I really excited about it. I will undoubtedly have to work extremely hard to get into the program, considering that I have to apply to the UW graduate school, plus the nursing school, PLUS I just read that UW has the NUMBER 1 school of nursing in the entire country, beating all of the ivy league schools *nervous shutter*.

My mom has been involved with the Huntington's Disease Society of America for the past three years. I've tagged along to a few things, however wasn't overly serious about becoming involved myself. Things are a bit different now. My mom suggested I start an HD support group that takes place further north (there are several already, however they are held in Seattle and Renton). I am absolutely going to do it. A friend of mine actually has HD which is why my mom got involved in the first place. This will be good for her, as well as me mentally. Also, it couldn't hurt to have something like implementation of a support group on my application ;) The next step is to get a job in the field. I may leave this up to my staffing agency at first and if they can't find any positions, I'll then venture out on my own. This new job search will occur of coures after returning from my brother's 30th birthday celebration in Mexico in mid-December.

For whoever makes it to the end of this entry, my subsequent entries will most likely be substantially different. I hope to do short daily thoughts and updates on my progress. Thanks for reading!