Saying goodbye

As I am metally (and otherwise) preparing to leave Seattle, I realize I am clinging to those things and people I love here. I am taking a minute to appreciate the little things I don't always see.
Since moving here, I have been on the road for two weeks out of every month on average (sometimes more, sometimes less). So when I was home, I just wanted to be home. In my space. On my couch. Eating homemade things. That work travel prompted my inner- hermit to make a huge showing. Don't get me wrong, I have gone out and been social. I have met new people and experienced new things.
As I am embarking on the preparation for this new chaper, I realize there were things I have missed because I was enjoying the luxuries of being home. I didn't venture to the market every weekend. I didn't even walk down the hill and check out the Sunday market every week. Easy peasy walk. But I am doing all those things now. Absorbing everything I can before I go. I have taken my camera out each day and documented one thing I enjoy and/or something I will miss. I have made sure to go my favorite restaurants and treat places. I need to fill up on cake from Simply Desserts, burgers from Norm's, clams at Chinooks, the taco salad from Taco del Mar, Pad woon sen from Tawon Thai and of course, good coffee! I know there will be new favorite places. But I just feel like I need to fill up the tank before I go...just in case.
My pals around here have been nothing short of fantastic. They have welcome my Julie McCoy cruise director-ness and been totally on board fror all kinds of random plans and fun. We've done all kinds of fun things that I likely wouldn't have been so moved to do. The weather has been nice, which helps. Field trips to parks, boat rides, random tours, trips to the top of the Space needle, random happy hours, lunches, concerts, and nights on the town. And while we're having fun, I am absorbing them, so I can take a piece of them with me. To carry in my heart.
e.e. cummings has a poem --

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

 

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings ~

(Complete Poems, 1904-1962)

 

I love this poem. I love it because so many of my loves life far away from me, but as I've grown I have realized that they are with me always. They are in my thoughts as I do something new or scary or incredible. They are there becasue I carry them in my heart.

So, while I might be leaving Seattle, the people and places will be carried with me. The friends will remain friends and the places will always be thought of fondly. I will look forward to couch-surfing at those friends houses when it's time to indulge my need for the PNW (or to escape the nasty humidity of DC in summer). And I will look forward to sharing my new city and new loves with the old.

So, it's not really goodbye. It will all be with me. And that is comforting.

 

 

Schoolyard hijinks!

Big meanie.
That is what I am calling Seattle weather these days. A big fat meanie. I am sure I could think of lots of other things, but that seems most appropriate.
It has been literally gorgeous outside for 3 weekends in a row (and most days in between). Honestly, I am starting to think it might be Seattle's way of saying, "nah, nah, nah, nah!".
It's not making me question my decision to move, but it's definitely not helping my cause. Saying goodbye to the scenery and mountains is going to be TOUGH.
And this nice weather is NOT helping. At all!
According to the local weather station, we (Seattle) have not had three weekends of weather this nice since the 1940s. Are you kidding me???
Honestly I really do love it.
I have enjoyed every minute of it that I can, but come on!
This loveliness just makes it that much harder to depart. 

Yesterday, I had some work commitments north of the city and had a spectacular view of Mt Rainier. Seriously, breath-taking. I was driving along (taking the scenic route, like a true Schulte) and there it was. In all its glory---Mt. Rainier. Large, beautiful and perfect.
Big meanie!

The Big move.

By now, mostly everyone knows the news of late in my world.
I am moving to Washington, DC.
It's not earth-shattering, but to some it was quite surprising. If you are an avid reader of this blog (when I actually keep up with it...) many, many, many of my posts over the last two years have touted the wonderousness of my beloved Seattle.
It's true. I love it here.
The Pacific Nowthwest has such an awesome vibe. Recently it was named as one of America's coolest cities with the hipster crowd. I agree. But I am not a hipster. Though I can appreciate their quirk.
But more than being filled with the "coolest" people in America (because let's be honest, I really only know a handful of people here...really.) The Pacific Northwest (PNW for those in the know) is filled with some of the most beautiful scenary I have ever seen in my life. Between the mountains, the greenery and the water, you cannot ask for much else. I will forever be in awe of the mountains. My midwest heart still finds them wonderous. And again, how a 14,000 ft mountain can just appear as if out of nowhere will forever baffle and delight me. The proximity to so much water does bring my inner-fishy significant joy and comfort. Add in the fishing boats and the character that seems to ooze out of every neighborhood and you have a rather lovable place. At least for a wanna-be cool kid like me. ;) But as a wise person once said, You can love a place with your whole being and still be totally fine living someplace else. I agree! Seattle and the rest of the PNW (Junea, AK included) will forever take up space in my heart as part of the great loves of my life. It will always be a part of me and will remain one of the best decisions of my life to live here.

But it's time for a new opportunity. This great change came about somewhat surprisingly (even to me), but it makes sense. It feels right. And I am excited.
Yes, I will absolutely miss the friends, the sceneray, the temperate weather, and the comforts of a not-so-challenging job. Absolutely. And if I said I wouldn't miss that stuff, you might as well call me Pinoccio. But what lies ahead is great.
Being in the nation's capitol. Cool. Free museums. History. And on and on.
Add in the closeness of favorites.
And then the proximity to my family.
Plus, the challenges of a new-ish job.
It's good. Really good.
The next few weeks will be crazy. For real crazy. Packing. Spending time in my favorite places, absorbing as much of the PNW as I can before I move away. Packing. Busy with friends, soaking up as much of them as I can before I am on the whole opposite coast. Moving. Putting the pieces in place for the folks who are taking on my current work projects so they have an easy job ahead of them. Completing my program at the UW. Finding a place to live. Learning a new city. Determining which neighborhood will suit me best and easily compare to my beloved Fremont. (Though where else in the world do you have a Troll for a neighbor?!)
It's the quirk that makes Seattle special. It's te quirk that makes it cool.
It's the quirk that I will miss the most.
But I suspect that the Nation's Capitol will have it's own quirkiness to love.
And I am 100% sure that I will fall in love with it there, too.
One never knows when roots will plant firmly into the ground, but for a few years (at least) I think this is a great adevnture!
So, cheers to the old. And cheers to the new.
Here's to happiness all around!

I'm making a comeback...

And hello. .

For those of you who know who LL Cool J is-- say the blog title with his song (titled the same) in your head. Just makes me laugh.

Anyway, I know it's been months. There's been some stuff happening that I wasn't ready to write about and honestly, I just needed a time-out from the computer. Some days I feel like I am chained to a desk all day and the very last thing I want to do at the end of the day is to sit back down and write a blog, or check my email, etc. And I've had homework.

I know, excuses....excuses...but I'm ready to be back.

I even made notes about random things over the course of the last few months with the intention of writing, but just never got around to it. Things to look forward to.

Mostly, I just wanted to let you know that I am in fact alive (as some of you have questioned that fact due to the quiet). And that I am also going to start posting again.

Hopefully, if you still follow, you'll be back.

Love.

Today is February 14.

It is Valentine's Day.

The day for lovers.

But mostly the day for love.

So, in honor of that day, I am going to share my loves (in no particular order).

I love being able to see a vase of fresh cut flowers

I love being able to smell and taste a good cup of coffee

I love being able to touch my favorite cozy blanket

I love having friends and family to hug and love

I love being able to write so I can a note telling someone to have a good day (or I miss them or am thinking of them....)

I love being able to walk to my favorite corner market.

I love being able to sing off-tune in my car (alone, for the sake of others)

I love being able to hear my friends good news

I love being able to afford not only the essentials, but some fun things in life as well.

I love my ability to see the bright side of things- no matter what.

I love that I work with amazing people.

I love that the work I do is for the good of the world.

I love that I have the ability to learn.

I love that I have the availability to further my eduation.

I love a good book (or an "eh" book, really any book).

I love that technology allows me to be close to those I love that live far away.

I love all these things and so many today, and every other day.

Silver and Gold

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other Gold."

Any former Girl Scout will remember the sing-songy tune from a sing along around a campfire. (Maybe while making packet potatoes and s'mores!) I am quite sure, if my memory is correct, the one (and only) camp out I participated in as a Girl Scout was in the midst of a horrendous thunderstorm (maybe even a tornado...my mom will refresh my memory). I was five or six. After first grade, my mom and Jenny K's mo(remember when people were referred to as their name and first initial...whatever happened to that? Unless of course you are on the Bachelor....). Anyway, our moms decided that we could spend our time in a different activity. Apparently, the group leader was a little bitchy, so we didn't go back.

As I started to say before prompty distracting myself (yikes...), friends.

I learned as a kid that friends can be made anywhere, at anytime. Some friends stay in our lives forever, some friends are there for a fleeting moment but somehow stick with us in our hearts or minds. As I've grown older, I have realized there are different kinds of friends. Friends near and far. Location is decidely not such a factor, as when in grade schoool. Your BFF can live 3000 miles away. As a kid when you got moved to a new class it was crushing to not be in the same class with your BFF, but then you quickly had a new BFF. Now, with technology helping, you can be super close in heart, but far in distance. Then there are the pals who you don't talk with everyday (or even monthly), but you know when push comes to shove, they would be there for you (and you for them). Those are the friends that you can go months (or years) without actually talking to and the next time you're together it feels as though no time has passed at all. You just pick up where you left off.

No matter how much you may try to keep every friend for life, it just doesn't happen. Life moves on and the friendship changes. You stop talking all the time and then time goes by and you recognize it's been years. No one fought, no one cut anyone out of their life. The friendship just faded. I have had relationships like this in my life. People I loved and have just slipped away. We grew up, we changed. It does not affect my warm feelings when I think of them. I still think fondly of my BFF from 9th grade (Lisa Fab) anytime I come across my complete works of Emily Dickinson book. I think of Nate and Lainey when I see 4 kids playing and hugging and being kids. I think of my college pals anytime I see a group of cute college-age girls being silly. And the list goes on and on...Though these people are no longer part of my life full-time, they have impacted me. They have helped shape my life in some way. There will remain a warm fondness when I think about the times we shared. And I do beleive if I were to run into any one of those people, I would be genuinely excited to see them in their current phase of life. Catch up on where they've been and what they're up to. In fact, I would love it!

With the advent of Facebook and other social networking sites, this changes things up a bit....you can "keep in touch" without actually ever talking. (weird, but cool).

This whole random thought process began last night as I was leaving class. I was walking out with a group of people whom I think are starting to become more than just classmates, we're becoming friends. I realized that when we all stayed after class (for 45 minutes) just to talk and laugh and share. It made me so happy. And I knew that I wanted to begin a friendship when I genuinely wanted to know more about them and am looking forward to the next time we chat and engage.

I made a similar realization with some work friends at Happy hour on Monday. I don't think we even talked about work at all. Yes, we met through work but we are friends.

These new people are becoming the silver friends....the new ones, the modern ones. These new friendship will not replace the old ones- rather they will just make sure that my heart starts to expand and make more room for the new. The Gold friends will always be there- either right up front (still) or in a warm memory.

I am so lucky to have every one of these friends-types in my life. And I hope every person has at least one of these- currently or at some point in their life. We all deserve someone.

Thank you to all of my friends out there- near or far, old or new.

My life wouldn't be the same without you.

Hell! I wouldn't be the same without you.

Thank you for your friendship. I love you!

Happy heart

Today is February 1.

The first of the month, you pay your bills, including rent. And while I wrote out the rent check (the only actual check I ever have to write), I realized this is the 24th month I have written a rent check out to my landlord.

I have lived here for two years. Officially.

It's awesome and crazy.

It's still exciting and just lovely.

And home.

**Photo taken at Kerry Park on 1/1/12.
This was my "missing view". The songbird took me here when I first came to visit her 7 years ago and I have never found it. 1- I didn't know the name and 2- I couldn't have told you the neighborhood. So excited to have found it again!