It’s raining in Seattle. I hear it does that from time to time.

I’ve been in my new hometown for 3 days now. My dear friend Linda, the kits, and I arrived Thursday afternoon and have been enjoying the city ever since. The last week has felt a bit like a holiday. We took our time getting to Seattle from Denver. We enjoyed good meals, decent hotels, and had a visit from Linda’s delightful sister Dalene from Vancouver over the weekend. Having Linda here made the transition so much easier and far more fun than had I done the trip alone. I still find it so amazing to have been blessed yet again in life with such a dear sweet best friend. I have been granted a few “best” friends and continue to be so grateful for the gift of their friendship.

Corporate Housing is nice. It has everything we need though the kits and I are equally eager to be surrounded by our own things. Being near the water is lovely. I am after all, a water-baby at heart. I love being near the water in any form but knowing the ocean is nearby has a wonderfully calming effect. (I’m already planning trips in my head to sit somewhere cozy near the water and get some actual writing done.) It is so lovely to sit on the sofa and see a cruise ship, a ferry, or a sail boat go slowly by the window.

For those of you who are concerned, the kits are doing very well. My darling little travelers are comfortable in the corporate housing. As I said they know they are not home because none of our things are here. Noises make them nervous and Mal is hell-bent on scratching up a chair. But they are eating, sleeping, and safe. It is MUCH better for all of us than the 4 weeks we were without each other during my move to Denver. What a miserable time that was for the 3 of us. This, though stressful for them on some level, is nothing like being without each other for that long. As I type they are in the hallway wrestling…which will soon turn into a mad run all over the apartment. 🙂

I feel such relief to have found an amazing place to live within days of being here. I get keys Friday and this week will plan when I can actually do the move in. I’m so excited to get settled so quickly and be able to focus on the job.

As for the job…

I start tomorrow. I have the feeling of a kid on the night before their first day of kindergarten. I’m nervous and excited, eager and slightly afraid. All emotions which I think are appropriate and beneficial for what I’m about to walk in to. I imagine the first week will go quickly and I’ll do a lot of following and listening. I am grateful for the 3 day weekend coming up to try to get some things done and wander the city a bit more. There are many more vegan/vegetarian restaurants that need exploring! 🙂

More this week…xoxo to each of my readers.

Denver is in my rear view mirror. It was a very long 10+ months and I am glad to be onto a new adventure.

With that said I know that it hasn’t hit me how much I’m going to miss my Denver friends. I got an email today from Mr. Zen that reminded me that I am missed and that in return I miss he and others. I don’t give up my friends easily and that is why I have them all over the US and some parts of the world. I find it impossible to give up my interest in those dear to me. And while Denver has not been dear to me, some of her people have been.

And still…Denver is in my rear view mirror. 

My sweet friend Linda flew in from Albuquerque to be my road trip buddy on this journey. She is a well-traveled South African who came to the states by way of London. (For those of you who have heard me speak of it, her’s is the wedding I performed last October.) She and I are up front while Malcolm and Rose are “happily” situated in the back seat in their palatial dog crate together. Rose did the most talking…sometimes complaining…but mostly just joining in the conversation here and there. Mal was his usual loveable lug of a kitty and mostly just lounged while enjoying his sedative high. I continue to believe that Mal was a stoner in a past life as it so fits his profile. Rose on the other hand was probably a high-strung, slightly OCD, evangelical preacher’s daughter in a past life. 

Or wait…maybe that was me??

Anyhow…tonight we are at a clean and comfortable hotel in Sheridan, Wyoming. My plan is to do about 7 to 8 hours a day for 3 days and then on Thursday we’ll take our time on the last couple hour stretch to Seattle since I can’t get into the Corporate Housing until 3 PM. Tomorrow night is a stop in Missoula, MT. The thrill of tomorrow’s stop will be eating dinner at an ex-boyfriends restaurant. Not just ANY ex-boyfriend. THE ex-boyfriend.

Today we didn’t take any pictures…although we probably should have. It was more about just getting on the road, finding a groove, chatting, and keeping an eye on the kits.

More tomorrow…

PS–No, I am not nervous. No, I am not anxious. Yes, I am excited. Yes, I am looking forward to getting to Seattle. And YES…I know it rains a lot there. 😉

I’m moving to Seattle.  

This fact when stated aloud elicits reactions more so that any statement I’ve made in recent memory. I can summarize the reactions into three general categories:

1. Former Seattle-Dwellers–These folks have the most consistent reactions. 

“I loved living in Seattle…you will love it.” 
“Seattle is so quirky and fun…you are going to enjoy it.” 
“Everyone reads there…you’ll fit right in.”
“I’d move back in a heartbeat. Here let me make you a list of my favorite places.” 

2. Friends 

“I can’t believe you are moving farther away.” 
“I will definitely come visit you in Seattle!”
“You are so excited that it must be the right decision.”
“Here are the names & info of all the cool people I know in Seattle…”  

3. Captain Obvious and His Band of Fact Staters

“Ugh…It rains a lot there you know?”
“You will need to take extra Vitamin D you know.” 
“It’s very liberal up there.” (This one cracks me up…see the title of this blog…then move on)
“They have a Starbucks on every corner. Hope you like coffee.” 

4. Grumps & Haters

“You are going to HATE Seattle.”
“The weather is going to make you depressed.”
“Don’t get your hopes up that these sunny days during summer will last. The winters are miserable”  
“Have you ever LIVED in the Pacific Northwest? I give it less than a year.”

Category 1 makes me feel even more eager.
Category 2 gives me a warm feeling in my heart.
Category 3 makes me laugh and gives me an opportunity t o use my well-honed sarcasm skills.
BUT…
Category 4 makes me want to rip of the speakers arm just to have something to beat him/her with.

Listen Naysayers…
I don’t like or trust people who can’t stand other people’s happiness. My decision does not affect you in any significant way. You were going along nicely before I came along and you’ll be fine after I’m gone. Oh…and PS…I don’t like you. That also goes for those of you who have a negative opinion about my new company or new position. And it goes DOUBLE for those of you who think it is necessary to talk badly about my hair being frizzy. (Ok..that might belong in the Captain Obvious category but some people say it with great pleasure…and those people are jerks.) You are the same jerky people who found sick pleasure in the fact that I struggled to find work for a few months in 2010. Or the people who enjoy a good break up story. And the same folks who like to watch ANY personal or family drama unfold from the bleachers of my life with a bag of popcorn and soda, as though I am here for your personal amusement.
A few words of advice. Get a life. Shut the hell up. Find a way to fill the empty hole inside yourself that makes you mean.

 As for the rest of you…
Thank you for the support and encouragement.
If I’m moving far away from you…please know that breaks my heart too. I love my friends and I love setting my eyes on my friends.
If I am moving closer to you…please make a little room for the new girl in your life. I’ve done this move thing twice in less than a year in a new city and could use all the support and friendship I can  get.
If I’m leaving you behind at IP Commerce…oh those words hurt my heart just typing them…know that you are much loved and that I am phone call away if you need me. You all have been my family in Denver. Sometimes dysfunctional and on any given day you’ve run me through all 4 of the categories above…but still much loved.
My dear friends and family…please know that you are loved beyond measure and have a spot in my heart and a place to lay your head in Seattle any time!
But bring a raincoat…I hear it rains a lot there. 🙂

More to come as the days progress.
I’m going to love each of you (except maybe the 4s) Come Rain or Come Shine!!