The big drive.

Last night I got back to Seattle. It’s very surreal. The last two weeks have been so filled with "busy"ness that I have let myself forget that I am leaving a place that I love. I have been SO excited about what lies ahead that I have let go of what lies in my not-so-distant past (and present). Since I am moved out of my house, I will be staying at Em’s house. Tomorrow, I will attend my last class and receive my “certificate” in non-profit management. I have plans for a night out with classmates to celebrate what we have accomplished and what lies ahead. Wednesday, I have meal plans with pals to say goodbye (for now) and then pick up my travel buddy from the airport. We’ll head back to Em’s hideaway and rest before heading out on Thursday morning for the final departure from Seattle. (Even typing that my eyes get misty.)

Thursday morning (likely well before the sun comes up) Papa and I will leave my beloved Seattle with my suitcases packed, the bike hitched to the car, maps stowed in place, Dave on the iPod and plenty of hot tamales.  We’ll head east through the Cascades into Eastern Washington (where I have yet to be) and then through Idaho (we may need to grab a potato or two) and into Montana where will stay with the dudette’s BFF and her hubby.

Friday, we plan to check out Yellowstone Park and see what there is to see and check out what we can before dark.

Saturday, we’ll head toward South Dakota to visit the Presidents at Mt. Rushmore.

Sunday, we’ll wake before the sun so we can drive through the badlands at sunrise since it is touted to be so amazing.

Monday, we’ll drive on through Chicago (and stop to grab a new car and meet a new baby). Papa will take his new car on home and I’ll follow (in what is likely to be a stinky roadtrip car by then!).

I’ll plant my feet for a few days in Detroit, then head to my beach for an extended beach (I’d like to say vacation), but it’s really work time with family.

I am 100% sure there will be random journeys and adventures along this path. And I am sure I will get sad along the way to leave behind a place and people I love so much. But I am excited for what lies ahead in my new home. And I think my Papa and I will have a GREAT adventure getting there.

We’ll see check some states off the list and make the bucket list almost complete.

I am sure we will talk and laugh and try to solve the world’s troubles.  

And see things we’ve never seen.

Starting this new chapter in this way is fitting I think.

Big adventures for the big life adventure that lies before me.

I am excited to see what transpires. Stay tuned for tales from the road…

Hell Yeah!

Hell Yeah!

Hell yeah is a phrase that is part of my company culture.  We give them out for a job well done. Though we do serious work and work hard, we definitely have fun doing that work with people we like and respect. For me, I feel lucky enough to share  my work world with some of my best friends in the world. We might get crabby but in the next moment we will be laughing harder than ever at something so stupid that no one else will ever think it’s funny.

This past weekend, I worked on the Global Race for the Cure. We’ve handled it for 4 or 5 years, but this was the first time it made sense to have me be there (I need to learn all about it afterall…). Anyway, the first day was HOT! Like, walk out the door and need to change your underpants kind of hot. (Molls- you would have combusted right on contact!). Then on Friday, it was MUGGY. (Dang I had forgotten all about that kind of mugginess….gross). By mid-afternoon, the rain started. It was no ordinary light showers, but rather buckets from heaven for hours at a time. We were hanging signs, posting tents, trying not to make a mess on the National Mall lawn (yep, at the base of the Washington monument) or on the Capitol lawn (where I was). We were standing in puddles calf-deep trying to rescue spomspr schwag from being drown. And we got a little crabby. And then we laughed. And laughed. And laughed a little more. And kept working because we knew the job needed to get done in rain or shine. We might have complained a tiny bit when we touched a sign for the 7^th time, but just a tiny bit. In the end we called it a day at 7pm when the third torrential downpout happened. We made the call to return to the sites at 3am the next day to finish our work before the big race.

We got back to the hotel, forgot about dinner so we could get more sleep and tucked I for the nap we needed. (with a side of a hot shower, of course!).

Some choice words came out of my mouth when the alarm sounded so early. I got up, got dressed in my snappy event wear, and met the team to head over.

We got to the site and thankfully it was dry.

We worked our booty’s off and the event happened. 30, 000 people walked and ran for a cure. They enjoyed amazing weather and lots of treats.

And before we could blink, it was over and we were cleaning up the stuff that we had placed less than 24 hours before. By 6pm on Saturday, we were done.

And we celebrated. We shared a meal and cheers’ed over drinks. We broke rules about how many people can fit into a pass van (22!) and potentially broke some rules about co-workers sitting too close…(no one was offended!)

We pretended we hadn’t been up since 3am and played until 1:30am or later.

And again, we laughed. We told stories. We “fired” people for bringing up work. And we had a great night.

The hard work is hard. The people are fantastic. And the work do helps people make a difference.

Hell Yeah! Is suitable to describe the weekend I had.

Hell Yeah to loving my job.

Hell Yeah to loving the people I do it with.

I really couldn’t ask for anything more.