Category Archives: Seattle

moving, Seattle

Going Back

Tuesday morning was a lot like many other Tuesday mornings. Hopped on the 667 headed for downtown. Looked forward to one of my favorite scones for breakfast and a noon appointment with my favorite hair gal, Nina. Thought about which of my frequent skyway lunch spots or food trucks I’d visit. But those other Tuesday mornings were more than a year and a half ago and this was just a temporary walk down memory lane.

It was kind of neat to see some familiar faces on my old bus and in the skyways as I walked around. I got all caught up with Nina and made plans for another visit next time I’m in town. Visited the new brick and mortar shop of one of my food trucks and was happily greeted and questioned about my new life.

This was after Sunday at a hip-hop festival with a bestie, then a beautiful Memorial Day spent with my college roommates and sister, like it had only been days since I’d seen them last. And those were followed by a Twins game, again with my best friends, in a place I loved so much I bought season tickets to watch a dreadful team I never really followed, where I ran into another friend and was just as excited to be there as I had ever been.

And then dinner with my best friend from high school at one of our most visited dinner spots. I took the long way home and drove the parkway where I learned to drive, then continued on past Brownie & Cedar Lakes where I often enjoyed spending my time.

Thursday brought lunch with my dad in the neighborhood I grew up in. Then happy hour with old coworkers, people who brought me so much joy every day even the most dreadful work days were somehow ok. Saturday I returned to the cabin I once loved so much I lived there for six summers. Celebrated my dad’s birthday with my best friends and fam and sang with the classic country band I sing with whenever they’re around. And, to really top it all off.. my old bowling crush showed up at my step brothers’ bar! One hundred miles from the place I knew him from. This week was like a highlight reel of life before my move.

I felt… almost at home.

Going back couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. As I’m in a particularly frustrating phase right now, some might wonder if perhaps I regret my move and some of the choices I’ve made. Though I was incredibly happy to be back in my old routine for two days with a schedule packed full of time with my family and friends, I didn’t once feel like I was home.

It feels somewhat bad expressing that, as I mean no offense to those here I love. I miss them and always look forward to seeing them again. But there’s just something I’m missing when I’m here. A friend in Seattle, also from Minnesota and now moving back, expressed to me recently that when she was visiting MN a few weeks back, she just felt content. And that is how I feel in Seattle, at least for now. I still don’t imagine myself ever moving back to the midwest, but can picture myself in many other coastal or mountainous lands.

It was tough saying goodbyes again today and yesterday but this morning I flew back to Seattle and I’m happy to be home.

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Seattle

Sunshine

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Just between those two center cranes, I was walking with Murphy when I heard someone belting out “You Are My Sunshine.” I looked up and saw the singer, a construction worker, about 5 stories up. I stopped to enjoy the rest of his performance and yelled “that was nice” when he was done. He laughed and I continued on, my morning made.

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moving, Seattle, Transit, Uncategorized

You might not wanna go in there…

Some updates since I last posted…

I am truly happy to be here.

Every day there is something that makes me smile and I know I made the right decision. Don’t get me wrong, I have times when I miss hanging out with my sister, fam, friends and the crazy group of pals I worked with, but I know they’re just a quick flight away. And it’s fun compiling a long list of all the places I’ll take them when they come to visit. If you know of a must see place in Seattle, I’d love to add it to my list.

Today was day 5 of my new job. It’s not too bad being back at work and so far the office seems pretty cool. I have views of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains. There were so many days when I was contemplating my move that I’d stare out of my office tower at the flat lands surrounding it and feel so empty.

I’m trying to figure out the best way to get to work and not leave Murph locked up too long so I’ve experimented with different buses, driving to buses and Car2Go. The bus keeps me away far too long but I love being able to check out all the boats in Fisherman’s Terminal rather than giving them a fleeting glance. I’ll likely end up driving a lot when I replace the van. Yes, the sunroof still leaks. I have yet to completely surround it with duct tape.

There are plenty of good places to eat near the office and my coworkers love to get out. That was one thing I always enjoyed about being Downtown Minneapolis so I’m glad to have that again though I’m already making a point to bring my lunch now and then. Tough to do when all I want to do is try every single food place right now!

If you haven’t seen a Bubba Keg, you need to check them out. I’ve had one for years and found it the best way to get all the water you need. Mine is 52oz and I’ll often drink at least 2 of them a day. Where it becomes a problem for me now is that there are only 2 bathrooms for our office and the other offices in our area of the floor. Each is clearly marked for men or women but the men will use either if theirs is full. One lunch trip the guys were explaining that to me and how it is common courtesy to let a gal know she might not want to enter. I never want to be on the receiving end of that message but think I’d forever hate a coworker that didn’t warn me. So if you’d all hope for me to never be in the situation at all, I’d appreciate it. And a very sincere ‘you’re welcome’ to anyone who has read a previous post about bathroom related activities and was hoping I’d share more.

If you happened to read my post about the guy living in the park, he’s still there. He disappeared for a day or two so I assume he found his key but he is back and more comfortable than ever. Leaving empty food containers outside his car to prevent a stinky inside and his clothes out to dry on the roof. He’s had at least 3 parking tickets now but continues his stay.

At my favorite neighborhood bar they’ve started a $5 steak night! I’ve only been there the first night of it so far but it was great. And such a hit that they’re continuing it. Steak, potato, mushrooms & another veggie. You really can’t beat it! We went up there for St. Pat’s to have reubens. That and the weekend’s parade were the extent of my celebrating this year. I felt pretty lame but I’ve got lots of time for partying in my new home.

I think that’s about it for now. I’ll try to share some more about Costa Rica some time and Grand Cayman too, before I forget it all.

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Seattle

Lost key

While Murph and I were walking in the park he stopped near this car. I happened to glance at the car and noticed a shirtless guy staring at me from the backseat. He said hi and explained it was easy to lose a key in there, especially since it was just one key (there appeared to be a lot in there). I suggested he get a really big key chain, wished him luck and continued on.

When we walked by again today his car was still there. Guess he hasn’t found it yet.

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moving, road trip, Seattle

Glendive to Seattle

Let’s see… back to the road trip…

Picked up the van at about noon and rolled out of town shortly after. So excited to be back at it after being stuck for a little over 24 hours! But Katie was going to have to make an expensive flight change and we were going to have to find one more hotel.

We hop back on the highway and are flying along when we hit packed snow and ice. For 100 miles. Cars in ditches everywhere, tracks in ditches everywhere yet everyone is passing us. I’m still not sure how we made it up some of those hills. We trudged along between 25 – 45 mph. Hit the county line and like magic, the roads were clear. (thanks Treasure County!!) The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Hit Butte (“Butt”, Katie called it) around 10 something pm and asked the dude in sunglasses at the gas station how the roads were to Missoula. He had heard they were pretty bad. Because I heed no warnings, we continued on, making it to Missoula around midnight. (the roads weren’t bad at all)

Crashed for 5 hours or so and drove off around 7. Once again a pretty uneventful drive though Idaho was gorgeous! It was snowing and covered in snow and completely beautiful. Once we got near a city, Katie started searching for donuts. We took a much needed pit stop in Coeur d’Alene and munched em down.

Perhaps the best part of this leg of the trip was our stop in Ellensburg to unload my mattress. I have a massive full size mattress that Ben somehow squeezed into the van. To any passerby (and there were so many!), I imagine it looked like Katie and I were trying to pull an adult from a lady’s baby hole. That’s what it seemed like to me anyway. Haha. It had to have taken a good 20 minutes of pushing and pulling, but finally the mattress was out and we were once again en route to Seattle.

This was Superbowl Sunday and I was so excited to find a local bar and watch the game with the cheering crowd. However, Murphy had been a pretty good sport the entire drive and we thought it was best to get him some exercise before settling in anywhere. We found a nice dog park where he ran around a bit and we got an awesome view of Mt. Rainier. I really wanted it to be clear so my dear sis could see the mountains and why I need to be here, and it was!

We attempted to go together to a bar near the hotel to watch the game but Murphy had other plans for us. He started whining after we left the room so Katie chose to stay back and I went to a bar for halftime and most of the 2nd half. It was definitely a happy crowd and fun to experience. After the game we went to grab some food and that’s when the real celebration began – people cheering and yelling in the streets and shooting fireworks. I understand it’s exciting but really, it’s just football. I was happy for the revelers anyway.

Katie left around 4am for the airport and so it was just me and Murphy and our new adventure.

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Seattle

Leaky

After leaving my van overnight in the snow, followed by the melt and then some rain, I discovered that the sunroof doesn’t hold water too well. Luckily, Seattle has a natural solution! Though I learned yesterday it’s best not to allow room for someone to park behind me when I’m upward.

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