1. Seattle and Maui
2. Spokane Beginnings!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
the end of the road (in a good way)
I really do plan on keeping my blog up. I’ve been thinking almost daily about writing in it and haven’t had the chance.
Had a wonderful time in Portland/Seattle/Maui. Spent a short flurry of time with family and friends, got to see Martha in her new apartment overlooking (kind of) Puget Sound, met her awesome boyfriend Austin. Caught up with a lot of people in Hawaii, all my old coworkers and friends from church. Went on hikes and swims and snorkels. I’m kind of amazed at the crazy vine-swinging rock-jumping water-plunging stuff I did while I lived on Maui, and was much more hesitant to do it again. The wedding prep took up quite a bit of time. We helped the family wash dishes for catering and ended up putting together all the music for the ceremony, reception, and dance (I had the honor of working the ipod at the wedding). It was all a lot of fun, and great to spend more time with Isaac’s family (not to mention finally getting to see Isaac again and knowing we don’t have to part ways this time!).
I forgot how beautiful Maui is. I must have said “it’s so beautiful” a hundred times when I first moved there, and it hit me fresh. I’m glad to not be living there anymore, but it still felt like a special place and there were plenty of nostalgia waves.
And then Isaac and I flew back to Seattle for a couple more nights to hang out with Martha and Austin, and then drove my car back to Spokane—what a feeling of homecoming! Here we are in a brand new city neither of us has ever lived in, and it feels like we can finally put down roots and establish a sense of normalcy individually and together. We stayed at Wescombe’s for a few nights, but I moved into my new apartment pretty quickly, and very shortly thereafter, God provided the perfect apartment for Isaac, and he moved in two days after we first looked at it. We both found total gems…. My apartment gets amazing light, has fantastic kitchen and bath
room floors, and has a fold-down bed, table, and ironing board; his has a balcony and beautiful hardwood floors and a gas stove (which he really wanted for cooking). Both are in our price ranges and have very few problems.
The last week has been kind of insane, what with moving, registering my car, getting my WA drivers license, figuring out new driving/biking/walking routes, going to a million thrift stores, buying groceries and other necessities, meeting with people about various school-related things, buying textbooks, setting up electric and internet, getting renters’ insurance, changing our addresses with a bunch of companies, and working out problems with mail delivery. But good. I’m having kind of extreme nesting anxieties because I’m missing major pieces of furniture—a futon (my Murphy bed is not very comfortable) and a desk—so I’m still sleeping on the floor and my stuff is still in boxes lined against the wall. I’m so antsy to put things away and decorate, but it feels like I’m (still) living out of a suitcase.
I met with the director of a program called Get Lit! through Eastern Washington U, and I think I’m going to go that route for my required internship credits. They have this huge literary festival every year that brings well-known authors to Spokane to do readings and workshops, and they also hold poetry slams and kids/teens writing programs. My position would be writing/editing assistant, and I’d put together little articles and author bios and write press releases, mostly. It sounds like it could be great experience working for a non-profit that focuses on something I love. As the time gets closer, I’m getting anxious for how hectic my school schedule is going to be, but I’m also so excited to read poetry and write again. One week to go!
Oh, and exciting news—this summer I finally got my act together and submitted poems to a couple journals. One turned me down, but the other—called Rock & Sling—is going to publish one of them! Yay!
Had a wonderful time in Portland/Seattle/Maui. Spent a short flurry of time with family and friends, got to see Martha in her new apartment overlooking (kind of) Puget Sound, met her awesome boyfriend Austin. Caught up with a lot of people in Hawaii, all my old coworkers and friends from church. Went on hikes and swims and snorkels. I’m kind of amazed at the crazy vine-swinging rock-jumping water-plunging stuff I did while I lived on Maui, and was much more hesitant to do it again. The wedding prep took up quite a bit of time. We helped the family wash dishes for catering and ended up putting together all the music for the ceremony, reception, and dance (I had the honor of working the ipod at the wedding). It was all a lot of fun, and great to spend more time with Isaac’s family (not to mention finally getting to see Isaac again and knowing we don’t have to part ways this time!).
I forgot how beautiful Maui is. I must have said “it’s so beautiful” a hundred times when I first moved there, and it hit me fresh. I’m glad to not be living there anymore, but it still felt like a special place and there were plenty of nostalgia waves.
And then Isaac and I flew back to Seattle for a couple more nights to hang out with Martha and Austin, and then drove my car back to Spokane—what a feeling of homecoming! Here we are in a brand new city neither of us has ever lived in, and it feels like we can finally put down roots and establish a sense of normalcy individually and together. We stayed at Wescombe’s for a few nights, but I moved into my new apartment pretty quickly, and very shortly thereafter, God provided the perfect apartment for Isaac, and he moved in two days after we first looked at it. We both found total gems…. My apartment gets amazing light, has fantastic kitchen and bath
room floors, and has a fold-down bed, table, and ironing board; his has a balcony and beautiful hardwood floors and a gas stove (which he really wanted for cooking). Both are in our price ranges and have very few problems.
The last week has been kind of insane, what with moving, registering my car, getting my WA drivers license, figuring out new driving/biking/walking routes, going to a million thrift stores, buying groceries and other necessities, meeting with people about various school-related things, buying textbooks, setting up electric and internet, getting renters’ insurance, changing our addresses with a bunch of companies, and working out problems with mail delivery. But good. I’m having kind of extreme nesting anxieties because I’m missing major pieces of furniture—a futon (my Murphy bed is not very comfortable) and a desk—so I’m still sleeping on the floor and my stuff is still in boxes lined against the wall. I’m so antsy to put things away and decorate, but it feels like I’m (still) living out of a suitcase.
I met with the director of a program called Get Lit! through Eastern Washington U, and I think I’m going to go that route for my required internship credits. They have this huge literary festival every year that brings well-known authors to Spokane to do readings and workshops, and they also hold poetry slams and kids/teens writing programs. My position would be writing/editing assistant, and I’d put together little articles and author bios and write press releases, mostly. It sounds like it could be great experience working for a non-profit that focuses on something I love. As the time gets closer, I’m getting anxious for how hectic my school schedule is going to be, but I’m also so excited to read poetry and write again. One week to go!
Oh, and exciting news—this summer I finally got my act together and submitted poems to a couple journals. One turned me down, but the other—called Rock & Sling—is going to publish one of them! Yay!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Military Jets Trigger Sonic Boom in Western Washington
I thought we were being bombed...a little startling:
Military Jets Trigger Sonic Boom in Western Washington
Military Jets Trigger Sonic Boom in Western Washington
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
A Green Victorian House Next to a Park
I got an apartment!!! I mean, I still have to decide exactly which unit I want, sign the paperwork, and put down a deposit, but I got official confirmation over the phone today. It was a bit of a nerve-racking day. I'd like to say I gave my anxiety over to God and trusted that it would all work out, but really I was tied in knots all day. For a while I didn't think my application would go through--apparently I look pretty bad on paper because 1. I have no job, technically, nor have I since 2009; 2. I have no renting history (oh, except for the year I lived off under-the-table work-trade in a hippie town on Maui, ha); 3. I haven't lived in one place longer than a year since I was 17. I squeezed all the responsibleness I could into my conversation with the property manager when Natalie and I checked out the apartment on Monday, and they're going to let me have it :) with a few conditions--a co-signer, and 2 or 3 months of rent up front.
The apartment is really wonderful, in a well-maintained green Victorian house in "Historic Browne's Addition", right across the street from a huge park...good neighbors, a murphy bed, grocery and coffee shop and pub and bus stop and downtown and the river within walking distance. Slightly higher rent than I had hoped for, but after visiting several places under $400 a month, I quickly realized that I would probably be anxious and disturbed if I lived in any of them...think haunted houses and/or cigarette smoke and incense.
I have a home!
The apartment is really wonderful, in a well-maintained green Victorian house in "Historic Browne's Addition", right across the street from a huge park...good neighbors, a murphy bed, grocery and coffee shop and pub and bus stop and downtown and the river within walking distance. Slightly higher rent than I had hoped for, but after visiting several places under $400 a month, I quickly realized that I would probably be anxious and disturbed if I lived in any of them...think haunted houses and/or cigarette smoke and incense.
I have a home!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Furaha and Baraka: 1400 miles later
OK, it may sound a little cheesy, but I named the Focus--after officially signing the title!--Baraka, blessing in Swahili. I figured it was good luck for him to have a name before we went on our long drive together. And no, his name has nothing to do with our president. It might actually have more to do with a Ken I named Baraka a long, long time ago. Maybe.
And we made it to Spokane! It took three days of driving--7 hours, 9 hours, and 5 hours--and was actually quite enjoyable. This is everything I fit in the car:
-well...basically everything I own, besides several boxes in my parents' attic and a couple full bookshelves. It fit with lots of room to spare.
-tent, camping stove, lots of snacks
-mixes my friends made, Where Men Win Glory on CD, and a short story that Isaac read out loud and recorded onto a CD (I KNOW, isn't he sweet?)
-my bike attached to the back of the car (which unfortunately really cut down on my MPG)
First two days were extremely uninteresting, totally flat and straight. North Dakota is the flattest, hugest, most boring chunk of land probably in the whole world. Eastern Montana is not much better. The third day was better; I had to be on my toes more driving through the mountains (and I'm such a Midwestern girl--I was going under the speed limit a lot of the time because hills scare me).
I got to town early afternoon yesterday. Cathie and I took Grandma to Didier's for frozen yogurt and then she drove me all over Spokane to get a feel for the neighborhoods. It's a very manageable city and has some fantastically beautiful parts, especially along the river. I fell in love with Browne's Addition, a neighborhood west of downtown where a lot of EWU students live (though the campus I'll be attending is on the east side). It's the oldest part of the city and has a lot of amazing victorian houses mixed in with apartment complexes and condos. Today I'm looking at a place a couple blocks from the river and right next to a huge park. I am SO excited to live here!!
And I'm not too stressed (right now). The move to Hawaii really helped me have confidence to know that everything will get done and that I am a fairly capable person :)
I'm starting another facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050399&id=110900370&l=75130d0118
And we made it to Spokane! It took three days of driving--7 hours, 9 hours, and 5 hours--and was actually quite enjoyable. This is everything I fit in the car:
-well...basically everything I own, besides several boxes in my parents' attic and a couple full bookshelves. It fit with lots of room to spare.
-tent, camping stove, lots of snacks
-mixes my friends made, Where Men Win Glory on CD, and a short story that Isaac read out loud and recorded onto a CD (I KNOW, isn't he sweet?)
-my bike attached to the back of the car (which unfortunately really cut down on my MPG)
First two days were extremely uninteresting, totally flat and straight. North Dakota is the flattest, hugest, most boring chunk of land probably in the whole world. Eastern Montana is not much better. The third day was better; I had to be on my toes more driving through the mountains (and I'm such a Midwestern girl--I was going under the speed limit a lot of the time because hills scare me).
I got to town early afternoon yesterday. Cathie and I took Grandma to Didier's for frozen yogurt and then she drove me all over Spokane to get a feel for the neighborhoods. It's a very manageable city and has some fantastically beautiful parts, especially along the river. I fell in love with Browne's Addition, a neighborhood west of downtown where a lot of EWU students live (though the campus I'll be attending is on the east side). It's the oldest part of the city and has a lot of amazing victorian houses mixed in with apartment complexes and condos. Today I'm looking at a place a couple blocks from the river and right next to a huge park. I am SO excited to live here!!
And I'm not too stressed (right now). The move to Hawaii really helped me have confidence to know that everything will get done and that I am a fairly capable person :)
I'm starting another facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050399&id=110900370&l=75130d0118
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Big Move Looms
Less than two weeks until I leave for Spokane! I am ready. It's been busy and fantastic enjoying all that the Twin Cities has to offer--friends, bike trails, ethnic restaurants, pretty drives, Flugtag, art fairs, amusement parks, lakes, vintage stores, coffee shops, barbecues, ice cream parlors, two great downtowns, art galleries--but, as usual, I'm itching to move on to the next thing. And I guess my life has kind of been heading this direction for the last four years.... I finished college, got a few adventures/travels out of the way, and here I am on the last stretch before GRAD SCHOOL.
I'm especially excited for the next step because Isaac will be there with me. After a lot of thought, we both decided we wanted him to move to Spokane too, and we'll be starting up new lives together there at the beginning of September. At times it bothers me how it might look to other people--my boyfriend following me around--but it's what we both want, and I really think it will be the best thing for us. Finally, after a year of dating (yesterday, officially!), we will live in the same place. We've actually been together less than 5 months, and it's been spread out thinly throughout the 12. Long-distance SUCKS. No more looking on the bright side about it--it's over! Anyway, he will be doing his second year of school at Spokane Community College and then plans to transfer to Gonzaga.
And who knew it was so easy to get to Spokane from here? I take one highway the whole way there. Wow.
I'm especially excited for the next step because Isaac will be there with me. After a lot of thought, we both decided we wanted him to move to Spokane too, and we'll be starting up new lives together there at the beginning of September. At times it bothers me how it might look to other people--my boyfriend following me around--but it's what we both want, and I really think it will be the best thing for us. Finally, after a year of dating (yesterday, officially!), we will live in the same place. We've actually been together less than 5 months, and it's been spread out thinly throughout the 12. Long-distance SUCKS. No more looking on the bright side about it--it's over! Anyway, he will be doing his second year of school at Spokane Community College and then plans to transfer to Gonzaga.
And who knew it was so easy to get to Spokane from here? I take one highway the whole way there. Wow.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
There's something about this time of life...
What is it about the early post-college years? So many crazy ups and downs, uncertainty and excitement and joy and terror....
Right now I'm in an excitement phase. I'm planning out details for stuff like car registration (lots of money, yuck) and I'm about to register for classes! I got a packet from EWU with a course list, info about Spokane, and a list of my new classmates. It's real--there are 9 other real people with real names starting a two-year poetry adventure with me. (One of them is another Kristina, haha. Great.)
And Isaac and I are tentatively moving forward. We still have things to work through, but I have this weird sense of peace feeling like for whatever reason, God purposely has us in this time of uncertainty. It's not a bad thing, even though it's miserable at times, and it doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with our relationship. If nothing else, I'm learning what it truly means to focus on God and release all my anxieties to him.
Right now I'm in an excitement phase. I'm planning out details for stuff like car registration (lots of money, yuck) and I'm about to register for classes! I got a packet from EWU with a course list, info about Spokane, and a list of my new classmates. It's real--there are 9 other real people with real names starting a two-year poetry adventure with me. (One of them is another Kristina, haha. Great.)
And Isaac and I are tentatively moving forward. We still have things to work through, but I have this weird sense of peace feeling like for whatever reason, God purposely has us in this time of uncertainty. It's not a bad thing, even though it's miserable at times, and it doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with our relationship. If nothing else, I'm learning what it truly means to focus on God and release all my anxieties to him.
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