holy crap, check it out!

So what, it's been six months, cry about it :P Ok, in all honesty I've been busy and I'm a procrastinator. Let's see now, shall we?

I still work at the biotech in downtown Seattle. It's still fabulous and I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary on January 25th. Pretty awesome. Regarding other things in my last post: my mother's second surgery went beautifully. She recovered much more quickly the second time around and is doing very well. It is weird to read my last post because I wrote that my grandfather was doing well and was going home soon. Less than one week after I wrote that he passed away. It was very sad and somewhat shocking, yet not exactly unexpected. His service was absolutely wonderful and he will be greatly missed.

And the career clusterf**k continues. A few months ago I decided to scrap the law school plan. After much research, speaking with different attorneys and those who didn't get all the way through law school, I decided against it. To me, the risk is much too big. I'd rather not complete one year, discover that I hate it and get stuck paying down a loan for 20 years (someone I spoke to did this). After making this decision I was convinced that I'd become a complete flake. I was convinced that I would never get out of the house I was living so I made a different type of goal. I decided that I wanted to buy a condo :) I am happy to report that on October 25th I moved into my very own condo! See pictures of my place below. I LOVE it!! It also feels good to have actually followed through with something. Let's hope this starts the ball rolling again on actually doing what I say I'm going to do!

Now that I'm all settled in to my cozy little (uh, very little) apartment, I'm going to start a program at UW. It's called the Editing Certificate Program. It's a one-year program all about how to become a copy editor. It's on Saturdays and online. I figured, I love reading, why not get paid to do it? Even if I don't pursue a direct position as an editor or even a proofreader, it will give me another skill to stick on the old resume and will help me in my work at the biotech. Good times.

a fun trip and a new goal.

This past weekend my dear friend Melissa and I took an overnight trip to Vancouver, BC. It was a lovely drive up in spite of getting ever-so-slightly lost for a short time. This trip was to be her last girls' night out before getting married in August. We had a great time. We went to a blues club which suggested by the taxi driver when we arrived Friday night (may have consumed a few too many) and played some pool until the bar closed. The next morning we dragged ourselves out of bed and drove a bit further north to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. What a spectacular sight it was. Absolutely breathtaking. We traversed the bridge which suspends across the river at quite a length and height (not for the faint of heart). Later we walked among the tree tops and along the cliffs on a plethora of wooden bridges (all more rigid than the former).

On top of it all, the weather was remarkably beautiful. We could not have asked for a better evening and day. The photos do not do it justice.

On anothere note, working at the Biotech has really been and continues to be beyond great. I learn an enormous amount each day and am able to live life in a style other than that of a student. I get to take days off and get paid for them, I get to read whatever books I want and I can drop everything if I want and fly places. I've worked there for just over 6 months, have paid off almost all of my debt, and not a day has gone by where I haven't thought about what my next move will be. I enjoy my position, however I don't intend on being an assistant for the long haul.

It finally dawned on me the other day, what I should do. At first I thought I had sniffed too much sharpie, then the idea has become less crazy as the days go by. I've decided that I would like apply to law school. I'm rather sure I'm writing about it prematurely, however I'm excited because this is the first time I've been ready to really get the show on the road. Every other thing I've thought about doing (besides nursing) has been simply a notion, not a reality. I plan to start an LSAT prep course in August and take the LSAT in October. I hope to do well on the exam (well, who doesn't) considering my less than phenomenal GPA.

An update: My mother is still doing very well. She had her first post-op CT scan last and everything looks great. They've decided to do her next surgery sooner than we thought (for no reason in particular). She will go in for the next on August 18th. I'm not sure what to think. She is glad she's able to get it over and done with sooner, as am I. Also, my grandfather bounced back a bit. He's still in the nursing home however, will be going home soon.

We'll see what happens. I've got a superb support system between work and home with regard to fun, school, and surgery. I'll keep you "posted".

when life gives you lemons...climb a rock.

Hello all. It's been far too long. March was lovely (I turned 24--my goodness), April was sweet (I visited my nephew in Phoenix after all), and May has been a test. First, the fun stuff.

I've taken up climbing again, the activity I put aside once I moved to Bellingham. Spencer and I climb in the climbing gym a couple times a week and I went with he and some friends on my first outdoor trip on Memorial Day weekend to Vantage, WA. That was the most fun I've had in a very long time (and probably ever on a camping trip). We climbed for 3 days straight. It was a great way to test the limits of my body--I found that I've got much more stamina than I thought!

The not-so-fun stuff has been pretty terrible. I'm glad I've got climbing to keep me distracted. Many months ago we found out that my mom had a brain aneurysm. She had a procedure to help prevent the aneurysm from causing a stroke (it's called embolization of a cerebral aneurysm--hers is on her ophthalmic carotid artery). The procedure went well and she has recovered. Although, when the did the procedure, they found that she has two additional aneurysms. She will be going in for the same procedure in 6 months to fix another (the third is too small to fix). The frosting on the cake, though, is that my grandfather (yes, my mother's father) isn't doing very well right now--failing more like. He must go into a nursing home, which is heartbreaking because this is the antithesis of the essence of him. He's the lone horseman with an art gallery in his barn.

I know that these things happen and life cannot be fantastic all the time. Everyone has to traipse through the mud at some point. Gratitude and a positive attitude are where it's at though. Keep going forward!!

passion or apathy?

I've been having a nagging thought lately. Are people happier or more satisfied having a passionate outlook on life or an apathetic one? This is almost certainly an unanswerable question, although no less intriguing to me.

As a teenager I worried about a plethora of things under many subheadings. Believe it or not, one of the things that I worried about most, aside from boys and brain tumors, was not being truly passionate about anything. I liked the idea of many things, however couldn't justify putting all of my energy into full-on devotion. I envied the hippies and the evangelicals. They had these sets of beliefs and as far as I could see, they stuck to them and did not waiver. I now see things a bit differently.

As an adult I've come to the conclusion that it really is ok to not be absolutely devoted to one set of beliefs. In my eyes I think it may actually be better to not. There is a smaller chance for one to become close-minded or short-sighted due to these beliefs that may become irrelevant or stale for one reason or another.

So, now that I've decided that I can live without being "devout" anything, I wonder if it'd be even better if I were simply apathetic to things. Would it be better to not worry about anything and leave the tough stuff, like politics and religion and disease, to people who care? Should I simply live my life and not worry about anything or anyone but myself and do only what makes me happy? I've given considerable thought to this. After all, being passionate about things can be quite exhausting. I then thought about how unsatisfying life would be if I just sat back and didn't care about anything. Yuck.

I suppose when all is said and analyzed, I would consider myself to be on some sort of middle ground. I am passionate about some things. However I will never, EVER try and jam my belief down anyone's throat, or any other open space on or in the body. I also think apathy has it's place for the things I know nothing about - and don't think will really matter in the long run.

All-in-all, I think completely one way (apathetic about everything or wacko passionate) is not beneficial. I think to be well-rounded with equal amounts of passion and apathy is the most satisfying - and effective for that matter! Don't be afraid to change our mind - I promise it doesn't mean you were lying before - you may have just gotten some new facts and reassessed the situation...

time to write again

There's never a shortage of things to write about however, for some reason I seem to take hiatuses -or are they hiati? I cannot say I've been too busy to write, only unmotivated.

I was offered the position as Executive Assistant to the VP of Research and the VP of Pharmaceutical Operations at the Biotech. After 9 days of working as a temporary employee, they decided to give me the option. It's a good position, with great benefits and a hell of a view. It's not a job that I'd like to do forever, but it is one that allows for invaluable connections.

Lately I've been catching up with some friends from the past. On Thursday night I spent time with a friend from middle school. I hadn't had any contact with her for 10 years [see picture below]. Online social networking is unquestionably an extraordinary tool for finding people from one's past. I don't know why I'm often so negative about it. As long as you don't let it control your life, I think it's a great tool.

Ok, maybe "control your life" is too dramatic a phrase. However, I know that many more people carry around cameras than before. The cause is undoubtedly questionable: is it because cameras are cheaper and more people have them? Or is it because people want to capture more of their lives so they can upload it onto myspace or facebook? Hmmm. Weird question. I suppose it really doesn't matter either way. Get down wit' cha pictchas if ya please!

I've had some awe-inspiring thoughts lately (unlike the one just shared). I just can't think of them right now.

ok, a little much

I started today at Omeros. This going to be a great job. I feel like it's the perfect fit for me at this point. A bit more responsibility, a bit more money, and I get to use some things I learned in college!

However ... I dropped my class :(

I think I got a tiny bit ahead of myself with that one. I think once I am comfortable in this new position, I will then be able to start taking classes. Until then though, I'm going to give everything I've got to this new job. It'll be worth it for the references at the very least ;)

a short update and change of plan

Starting tomorrow I will be training for the position of Executive Assistant to the Vice Presidents of Research for a Biotech company in Seattle. Wahoo! I also started taking an Anatomy class last Thursday at North Seattle Community College. It's very interesting, but WOW, I've got alot to learn. I've also decided not to partake in the Master's Entry Program in Nursing at UW. I went to an information session last week and learned that it would not really be to my benefit. It's incredibly expensive and incredibly intense. I'm not in that big of a rush to start nursing, so I've decided to apply for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at UW instead. It'll still be tough, but not insane like the MEPN.

My life in a nutshell at this point :)

I should start meditating...or smoking...one of those. :P

movie sweetness

I love going to movies when it's cold outside. Actually I love going to movies whatever the weather is. This week/weekend has been movie theater mania. I've gone to see three movies...so far...muahahaha.

A brief review perhaps?

26 December 2007

JUNO

I went to this movie thinking it would be a nice light-hearted and witty comedy about a pregnant teen. I was correct, however did not give it near the credit I now know it deserves. Juno was hilarious as well as surprisingly poignant. Movies don't often make me feel a certain way. This one did. Can't explain it. It just did. Please go see it.

28 December 2007

I AM LEGEND

Um. Interesting. I went into this movie expecting a big flashy action movie. I was for the most part right again, however, I was surprised. It was definitely not your run-of-the-mill Will Smith action movie. It did have the humor and the action but...I Am Legend was a seriously scary movie. I mean, cover your ears and eyes scary at parts. I'd say this movie was pretty good. I'd also say that if you had any desire to see it in the first place, I would recommend seeing it in the theater. The CG is pretty cool--coming from a non-expert of course--and Will Smith got in really good shape for this movie ;)

29 December 2007

ATONEMENT

I had no idea what to expect going into this movie. I hadn't read anything about the actual movie; I'd only read that it was very good. I'd have to agree. It was good. It was a tiny bit weird at parts-my mom and I decided that they probably tried to stick too closely to the book, probably having left out information that would have been helpful to the flow of the story. I LOVED the cinematography of Atonement better than any other component of the movie. The story was interesting, with a good twist, however the look and sound of it was incredible. Fabulous. I recommend it.

Overall rating for these three movies:

1. Juno

2. Atonement

3. I Am Legend

matrimonial theory

Maybe it's my age, or maybe it's the relationship baggage from my past, or some combination of the two. Whatever it is, I've got a problem with marriage. I suppose the broader framework would, even more importantly, encompass the stigma of divorce.

What is it with our society and marriage? Why is there such pressure to tie the knot? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a nice, long-term, committed relationship. I think we crave it somehow as humans. Something about the intimacy. However, I definitely think making a promise to be with someone for a lifetime is overly optimistic. Why not make it like a lease of some type? "I'll give ya 10 years; then we'll assess the situation". If it's working...renew. If it's not working...don't. If I ever marry someday, I'll say something along the lines of "I promise to be with you for a longer than average amount of time".

How can two people predict what they will be like in 10 years? (SHIT! I can't predict what I'm going to be like tomorrow!!) You might mesh well at first, but later on you might not. Those marriages that do last, are those in which the people got really lucky. They grew and changed in such ways that they were still compatible--or at least they don't want to kill each other.

I would say the concept that causes me the most confusion about the institution of marriage is: stigmatization of divorce. Why is divorce such a terrible thing? I understand that separation and divorce result in many levels of pain. Guess what...staying in a bad marriage will fuck you up!! And if you're "staying together for the kids", you might as well put them in therapy before they show signs of how much that fucked them up.

All I can say at this point is: for the love of all that is reality, only get married if you find someone who you WANT to be legally bound to. Don't go out and search for someone to marry just because you want to get married! That is a recipe for...a lot of unneccessary bullshit. Ladies and gentlemen; be not afraid of singledom. It is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Next rant topic: weddings and children.

happy christmas

At the moment I'm acting as a concierge at the Seaboard Building downtown (I kiss asses and open the door). What a lovely way to spend the eve of such a lovely holiday. Instead of regretting the silly decision of accepting a temporary position on Xmas Eve I've decided to look at it as a gift--of a big chunk of virtually uninterrupted time to do whatever I want with my brain, a book, and the internet.

In between hiding from some of the crazies who reside downtown (thank goodness for the locked door!) and schmoozing the richies (the condos in this building are at least a million a piece) I've come across some interesting and entertaining things:

Theoretically Mary could very well have been a virgin mother ! The chances are slim-to-none, however how much more likely could it be that it was a divine conception? Who the hell knows.

If you've ever heard or used the phrase "that's sadder than a whore on Christmas", The Whore on Christmas is a good read. Very informative article about how one woman in the sex industry has spent a few of her Xmas days. Not a half bad way to spend part of the magical day... makin' some extra cash ... if you're into the whole "selling your body" thing of course!

Since this is "a victory for advocates of empirically established scientific fact", it is a victory for me as well! Finally, Mr. Bush acknowledges the existence of a molecule! Who knows if he knew with the fuck he was talking about -- but hey! Whatever. I hope our next president finds some use for these banks of empirical data.

Ok, that's all for now. Super duper happy thoughts on your Holidays!

do-gooder.

I listened to a story on the radio this morning. It was about a factory owner who brought more than 50 men over from India and used them for cheap labor in his factory. Of course he promised them long-term work and green cards. The men were treated terribly; very little food, verbal abuse, unfit living quarters, deportation, etc. After a bit of time some of these men escaped (yes, they were told they could not leave the factory) and were helped by a nice man they met at a church which they snuck to every so often.

This guy who rescued them from their situation said he persisted in helping them even though it wasn't "easy". He said that other church members stopped helping because it took several tries, which of course meant that it wasn't "God's will". Wow. Such sincere helpers.

I suppose a good deed is a good deed is a good deed. No matter the reason - a good deed was done (geez!). I wonder though, if it there would be any differece in number or frequency if the deeds were done for different reasons. I'm not neccessarily saying I am in the right, I am just pondering the thought. If these othere church people didn't rely only on God's will for a reason for the deed, the other church guy might have had alot more help - well, that's what I think.

I do things for other people because I like to and because at times I get something out of it for me. I don't do it for karma, or to go to heaven, or because someone told me to. I do it simply because it's nice, I might get something out of it, and because it makes me feel good. Some of us do things out of altruism, but that's a rather difficult thing to judge.

On that note; why not take the credit for doing something good? Why do you have to say you are doing it because God told you to? I don't see anything wrong with doing something and saying you did it to feel good. After all, the good thing got done!!

All-in-all I'm glad this church guy helped out these men from India. They were able to escape the maltreatment of Mr. Freak Man. Good work Mr. Church!!

is there a pattern to the madness?

Last week some A-hole crazy person held hostages at Hilary Clinton's campaign office in New Hampshire. What a terrible news headline. Luckily it turned out to be some nutjob with a fake bomb taped to his chest who wanted treatment for his mental illness (uuh, sounds like a good idea).

This got me thinking...is there a correlation between presidential assassinations and party affiliation? My informal research is focused on successful assassination of sitting presidents.


Let's see shall we? Please mind the source: Wikipedia and Me

Successfully Assassinated Presidents:

Abraham Lincoln
James A. Garfield
William McKinley
John F. Kennedy

Ok, Abe was liberal. He may have been called a Republican, however we are all aware of the party shift. Garfield was also liberal. William McKinley was liberal, as was JFK.

Golly. That's interesting. Who knows what to make of the evident trend. I dont' want to jump to any conclusions based on such lacking information...but it's still interesting dontcha think?

ah the sugar quandary.

The idea: Sugar is bad; it will kill you. Artificial sweetener is bad; it will kill you. Now, when faced with such a predicament, what the hell is one supposed to eat?! Do we all need to eat boring unsweetened food for the rest of our lives? I'd rather not have a bitter existance myself. I personally use artificial sweetener because I car more about caloric content rather than this so-called artifical sweetener death sentence that may or may not exist.

Ordering food for an entire community with this idea in mind is quite a challenge. I've got people on the sugar side: is there any natural form of this food/drink? I've got people on the sweetener side: is there any diet form of this food/drink?

Answer: Probably! But I might just tell you otherwise. How about we worry about the things that really are going to kill us - like melting ice caps or super bug diseases (*nudge nudge). Science is advanced enough that we can live well into a regressed state of diaper-wearing as it is. Why would one want to live any longer than that anyway?!

The answer really is quite simple to me. Neither sugar nor artificial sweetener is going to kill you. Guaranteed - something else definitely will!! Think practically people.

Happy Day!

P.S. You cannot by any stretch of the imagination get MRSA from soda!

and I didn't sleep because why?

No comment my friends, no comment. Don't think sultry, think nerdy.

Everyone knows the feeling. The incoherent, stumbly fog. I'm all about it today. I didn't dare close my eyes on the bus this morning. There is not a doubt in my mind that I would have drooled all over and missed my stop. Instead I listened to the new Radihead really loud and fought through the goopy, sandpapery, eyes- on-fire-ness. S'all good now. Work was slow. I got everything essential done and simply sat and perused something called the "internet". It's this amazing thing which harbors gobs and gobs of useful facts. Pretty incredible. I wish I had thought of it.

This evening I spent an hour and a half doing 9th grade homework. Wait, no, I "helped". It's pretty amazing how relieved one feels after completing a high school assignment. It's a kind of relief that says "shit, I'm glad I can still remember how to do that!". Kid best get an A! No, I should really give more credit the Mr. High School, he pitched in.

The most exciting event of the day was getting my newest Threadless t-shirt in the mail. Threadless is good times, plus I love getting stuff in the mail. It's a win-win situation for me and myself. Take that.

That's all for today. Tomorrow should be much the same, however cut short. Yay for the Turkey Day holiday starting early!!

this'll be interesting.

I've taken the first step toward making myself look appealing to UW nursing school admissions. Last night at 11 I enrolled in North Seattle Community College. I'm going to take a night anatomy and physiology class. I think I might be out of my goddam skull!! However weird it might sound, I'm excited to go back to school even though I've only be out for just under a year. So, that's that update.

Here is a bit about something I experience on a daily basis; thoughts of an odd microcosm."Bus Culture" is what I've dubbed it in my own mind. Riding the bus can be tear-jerkingly boring if the "metabusrider" comes out in you. This is a big fat duh, but the average bear should not think about riding the bus while riding the bus our she will jump out the window, especially if the bus is inching along in delightfully sluggish traffic. I, on the other hand, don't mind. The other day I actually got to watch a guy finish reading Moby Dick. Now, it could have been his 2oth time reading it, but I will never know because I don't want to breech one of the contracts of "bus culture". This contract is: don't talk to the perfectly intelligent and capable communicators around you, our you will be punished. Although none of us really know the punishment, we all have a pretty good idea, which is enough to detour our chatty urges. I do wish that I had commented to the Moby Dick guy when he closed the cover to that giant classic, however part of me is just fine with my swallowed words. All in the matter of moments I thought to myself, "wow that's really cool, he read moby dick, i wonder how it was, i should ask him...wait, no, that might build some kind of fellow-rider report-a responsibility that I'm not sure I want-a commitment to obligated forced chatter every morning."

I know everyone thinks this way, but not everyone is wiling to admit it. We all like to think that we are that friendly exception. Wrong. I thoroughly enjoy listening to my NPR podcasts and music in the morning on my ride to work. I would not want to jeopardize this privilege that I have created-making fellow riders believe that I am anti-social and don't enjoy conversing-which is entirely untrue. It's a delicate dance really.

Now, the comedy portion. I LOVE watching people sleep on the bus. All are different in their style and seeming technique. One must be careful however. You never want to be caught by the sleeper or the sleep watchers around you. The various styles are as follows. The Arm Swinger. This is a person whose loses the ability to keep his arm or arms on his lap. It's a pretty funny one. The arm tension slowly slacks and eventually the arm falls with a grand swing. It may or may not hit something on the way down. I can tell how much sleep the person got the night before based on how many times his arm is quickly jerked back to his lap before starting the process over. After probably a dozen times of pulling his arm back to his lap he finally gives way to the relaxation of bus napping. Unfortunately for this poor sleeper, the arm isn't usually the only thing that ends up dangling. Just last night I thought I was going to have to catch a man as half his body was dangling over the side of the bench. Thank goodness for his wife; the active-ish dreamer. She is one who makes hand-motions as she sleeps. Common among vivid bus dreamers.

My favorite kind of bus napper is the one who tries with such effort to not be one of the dangling sleepers. She is the one who can sleep with her neck tense and head level. However graceful she sleeps though, she cannot prevent the inevitable belonging drop. I watch the bag under her hand slowly lose traction on the seat. And with smooth slide it hits the ground. Bam! It's actually not very loud, but I know the sleeper (who instantly wakes) thinks it may have sounded like a boulder thrown from a cliff. They look around and make sure that no one saw--although, we non-sleepers all know that every one of us watched the same event happen. We quickly look away as to not embarrass them. This usually only happens to a person once a ride. It's especially annoying for the sleeper when he drops his book and loses his place. It's interesting to watch how long it takes for him to find his place again.

Ok, that's about enough Bus Culture banter. I know it's hard to believe, but this is a tiny sliver of what unspoken things go on, on the bus...

the board of NORML..

I really do love Seattle. I fee fortunate that I get to go there everyday. Today after work I took a bus over to Ballard for a Huntington's support group meeting. There is such an energy around the city that cannot be replicated in the suburbs. My typical Monday evening after work was not so typical due to the excited Seahawks fans roaming about and the long concert line outside a club on Pike and 1st Avenue and the nutty drunk guy who didn't mean to get on the express bus and simply had to get off the bus. Aww it makes everything so much more interesting.

Speaking of interesting, I wanted to take a moment to recognize how fantastic a guy Rick Steves is. I always thought of him as a tiny bit of a goober with his tone of voice and goofy shorts. I have a great found respect for him now (although he does wear goofy shorts). After reading about him in the Seattle Metropolitan, I genuinely appreciate him. Not only is he incredibly intelligent, he is the most broad-minded person around. He invested his 1 million dollar retirement in an apartment building run by theYWCA. For 15 years the building will be used by the organization so that 24 women and their children are able to have a place to live. Who does that?! Then, on NPR this evening I was listening to part of his lecture that he gave in Seattle. I agree completely with his views of drug policy. He explained the out-of-the-box, progressive thinking of Europeans when it comes to drugs. There, people aren't arrested for using drugs. Somewhere in western Europe (I can't remember where) there is a program for Heroin addicts that actually allows them to use, and if I heard accurately, the drug is actually accessible to them through legal sources. These users end up quitting the abuse much sooner than those here and aren't involved in crime considering they don't have to wonder where their next fix is coming from. Now that...is food for thought. Steves later goes on to point out the US's F-ed up views of drug policy; you're either hard on drugs or soft on drugs. In the words of Steves, "I'm on the board of NORML". It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think? I'm sure there are a zillion RS followers who have known these things about him for years. I'm glad I'm learning about him now.

I can only hope to have the opportunity to be as giving as he. As well as be as pioneering and thoughtful with applying my life experiences to something beneficial to at least one and hopefully many.

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!

Festival Weekend, Water Tower, and Finnish Dinner

This weekend was incredible. There was enough activity to fill a week! Sooo, on Friday Ika and I went into Karis for a BBQ at her friend's place after visiting a celebration of the town of Karis; a street festival type gathering. I went with Ika's sister Frida from the BBQ (Ika had to work the night shift so I stayed with Frida for the weekend) to Ekenäs. We went to the European Peoples Festival there. This was a week-long festival where people from, I think, about 17 nations around Europe gathered to represent their countries. The picture above is of the outside stage where groups from different countries performed various things. In the daytime, the inside portion of the festival had booths for all the countries with information and special things to buy. However, at night it turned into a big party. That...was a blast. Partying is definitely a universal concept! The picture above is of me and a super nice guy from Scotland.

On Saturday Frida and I started our day (well, the day began at about 2pm) at Faces, another multicultural festival. It was a really great festival, in spite of the crumby weather. I felt almost as if I'd gone back to Bellingham for a day. It was a giant hippyfest. I ate some great food, listened to some interesting music and met some awesome friends of Frida. Later after Faces, we went back to the EPF and hung out with the Scotish lads again.

On Sunday we went to Faces again. Then Frida took me to what she called a "secret place". It ended up being the water tower in Karis. She got the key to it and we climbed the 104 stairs to the top and peered out over the town. It was great to see everything from above; it gave me some perspective (the picture is of she and I at the top, albeit a bit greasy). She drove us, on her motorcycle, to Mona's for some food. Then drove me to the summer house to meet Ika and Sebbe. That evening we ate dinner with Sebbe's family at their house (picture above).

So much fun. Tomorrow: Helsinki!

Hanko, Finland

Today was such a fantastic day. Ika, Mona, and I went to the southern-most tip of Finland: a little coastal town called Hanko (or Hangö in Swedish). The weather ended up being absolutely perfect in spite of the not-so-perfect forcast. First we walked about the shopping streets and paid a visit to the public library (where they have blue lights in the bathroom so druggies can't see their veins...yep, it's a habor town). Then we went into a small bookstore where I bought the final book of my beloved Harry Potter series (I'm only taking a break from reading right now). Then ate at a nice little restaurant next to the guest dock in the harbor. The meal at this restaurant was substantially better than any of the previous meals out. After lunch Mona went and visited her cousin while Ika and I strolled around the guest dock. We climbed up a cliff and took a nap on a rock :) Then we went further and looked at the old cannons and other war remains. Then we looked at the Villas (I've decided that I will live in one someday) as well as the casino, which isn't actually a casino. We later reunited with Mona and ate cake and coffee at the House of Four Winds (pic of us at the table). It was gorgeous...duh. Then we left. The end.

Boat Trip, Forest Skills, and Turku, Finland

It's definitely been good times here in Southern Finland. I'll start from where I left off last :) Soooooo, we didn't actually make it to the Åland Islands. Our petrol consumption estimate was drastically off. It would have ended up costing about €500 in gas alone. Way over budget, plus one can easily take a ferry for about €20. Woops! In spite of the, uuuh, minor glitch, we made the most of the trip. We had made it only one fifth of the way to Åland. We ended up stopping off at Daniela's (one of the people with us) family's summer house, as well as Sebbe's family's summer house. Both of these places were accessible only by boat. It's pretty cool to wonder around places that are virtually untouched much of the time. After cruising in the boat all day (we also drove through this really really cool canal) we went back to our (well, Ika's) summer house and played some games and drank some beer (surprise, surprise!). All in all, it was great fun.

I've been acquiring some very useful skills in case I want to become a mountain person or what have you. Ika has taught me how to dig for worms and use them as bait for fishing. I was rather traumatized by the whole experience (all the sticking and killing, etc)! I've also learned how to chop wood. It was great, I got a workout and firewood out of the deal! However, it's not exactly my exercise of choice ;)

Yesterday was also fun. I went with Ika and Mona (her mom) to Turku, Finland. Interesting fact: if the city/town is of Swedish speaking majority, the Swedish name is listed before the Finnish name on signs. Turku is the Finnish name of the city and Åbo is the Swedish name of the city. So, yeah, anyway. The three of us went to the Handicrafts Museum which is a collection of old houses from the turn of the 19th Century in which actors are making things like pottery and baskets (pic above of Ika and Me). Then we had dinner on the river in a big boat (rather unimpressive meal actually, booo). After that we went to Ika's big brother's apartment in Turku. We had SUCH a fun time there. We played Nintendo Wii for a while. That was my first time playing with one. What a blast!

Last night on our way home from Turku, Ika and I saw an elk. I am so glad that I finally got to see one. Finland is known for the number of elk they have roaming around. Ika saw 6 while driving home one evening. I tried to take a picture of it but it was a little bit dark. I posted it anyway becasue you can see it if you look closely.

This weekend should be a blast. There is a 3-day-long festival called Faces that happens every year (it is actually directed by Ika's dad). It's a multicultural celebration with music, food, and dancing. Then on Monday I will go to Helsinki for a night, and on the 5th I will be going to Stockholm, Sweden (again) before I fly back to the States. I've got less than 2 weeks left so I've got to make the most of it!!