Journey to the Future Me

Breakfast Quest

2012-01-29T19:59:00.000-05:00

I love breakfast food. This is a massive departure from me growing up who ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for breakfast 5 days a week for at least 15 years of my life and would only touch scrambled eggs on Girl Scout camp outs if there was copious amounts of ketchup available. But in the last 5 or so years I've found a new found appreciate for breakfast. I'm not very good at cooking it and I can't do anything much more complicated then french toast, pancakes or scrambled eggs therefor I do most of my breakfast eating out. I've been on the quest for the best place for breakfast in the Tacoma area and I thought I'd start updating the blog with some of the places I've eaten over the last couple of months. I'll lump them all together in this post and then give them their own from here on out. That way if you're ever stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord or visiting the Tacoma area you'll know where to go! I'm going to rate them on a 1 to 5 egg scale with 5 eggs being the best.

The Bair Bistro- This place gets points for ambiance that's for sure. The walls are lined with relics and photos from the early 1900's and they can still serve you a soda from an original 1908 soda fountain. I ordered their Challah French Toast. It got points for great syrup and good bread but the French Toast itself was pretty meh. It was Orange scented which I didn't like because well I hate oranges but I thought it'd be more subtle then it was. It was like eating french toast cooked in orange juice. 2 out of 5 eggs

Galloping Gerties- This place wouldn't get points for ambiance if it tried. Located right outside the Madigan Gate for JBLM in Tillacum which is a town only accessible by the highway and mostly home to pawn shops, hair places, fast food and uniform sewing shops. However the food makes up for the lack of ambiance and location. I've eaten here a couple of times got the french toast once and the pancakes another time. I also got their hashbrowns during one of these adventures. It was pretty good. Nothing special, mostly greasy diner food but the service was good and the food good. 3.5 out of 5 eggs

Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe- This is by far my favorite place I've tried. Its TINY and you have to be prepared to wait but the portions are massive and the food is delish. I've gone twice, once got the french toast and another time the breakfast sandwich. The first time I went I ordered a hot chocolate. The woman asked me if I wanted whipped creme. Because it was a Sunday and I tend to only eat 1 big meal on Sundays I figured SURE. She, no kidding, put a 6-8 inch pile of whipped creme on it and then a pile of rainbow sprinkles. It was a little embarrassing. About halfway through breakfast the couple next to me at the counter also order hot chocolate with whipped creme and I waited for her to bring it out to them. The look on their faces was awesome! 5 out of 5 eggs

Pine Cone Cafe- This was part of my quest for the best french toast. I really enjoy their french toast in that they covered it in cinnamon sugar so it had a great crunch but they basically just used white bread so to pay 7 bucks for something where I'm not even sure the loaf costs that much was a little annoying. This place gets pretty crowded for the after church crowd and I can't say that it was that great or that memorable over all. I went with a friend who got the eggs Benedict and found it pretty good. I used to love a good eggs benny but now I can't eat the holandaise due to my broken stomach. 2 out of 5 eggs

Old Milwaukee Cafe- This is the most recent place I've tried. I went out during Tacoma's BIG SNOW (lets ignore that there were like 4 inches of snow on the ground) because I wanted a rich hearty breakfast (and one of my roommates was cooking for his girlfriend and foiled my plans of cooking breakfast for myself). This place is SMALL. I think there are only 10 tables total. I waited about 30 mins for a table, I'm not sure why I waited other than I didn't really feel like finding somewhere else and dealing with Tacoma drivers. Once I got seated it took at least another hour to get my food. The food was okay, the scone with raspberry jam was GREAT (I don't even generally like raspberry) but I don't know that I'd be back due to the wait. I did like that the waitress (one of the owners) seemed to know everyone and really enjoy the regulars. But as a newcomer I wasn't super impressed by the food or the wait. 2 out of 5 eggs

Okay that wraps up my current quest for breakfast. Stay tuned for the next update!

Home Sweet Home

2012-01-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

Where I spend 40 hours a week!

Considering I am going to be moving into a new place (of my very own!) in about a month I figure I should let you see where I'm living right now. I am currently renting a room in one of Tacoma's um...more transitional neighborhoods. I honestly haven't really had any trouble living here and my block is really quiet if you ignore the yappy dogs in the alley. I did make the mistake at looking at the sex offender registry the other day and figure out that there are like 6 in my immediate area. But I guess that happens a lot of places! Anyway, I have 3 roommates,all male--D a nurse at a local hospital, H a podiatrist and S an accountant. They're pretty cool dudes and for the most part I don't really see them. I think I've only see D 5 or 6 times in the 2 months I've lived here. I see H (and whomever his flavor of the week is) and S the most. I have my own bedroom and bathroom which is great (and the only way I could probably live with guys or really people). I thought it might be a disaster (I'm not great with living with people...only child syndrome) but honestly I have no major complaints other than H's current flavor of the week is very noisy (and young) so when they're in the living room you can hear her in the tristate area. The house is old and creeky so when people move around in the hallway you can hear them but that's unavoidable. But without further ado, here are some photos of my living space (bedroom and bathroom). Oh and the bonus one of my cube above.

View of the bathroom, the shower is kind of a pain and leaks on the floor but its fancy

other view of the bathroom. That wood used to be a window. It has fallen through at least twice

Yeah sorry didn't make the bed. View of the room from bathroom

Another view of the room from the bathroom. Those speakers don't
work they make good tables

View 1 of the closet

View 2 of the closet

The love seat that mostly has become a dumping ground of my random stuff

12 in 2012

2011-12-30T01:45:00.002-05:00

So I'm well aware that I totally owe you a ton of updates on my first month living in WA, starting my new job and the new digs but I am a slacker and I'm thinking about 2012 already. I'll rewind this weekend but I have seen on a few other blogs (this post inspired mostly by The Young Retiree) people making "resolutions" of sorts or really goals to complete 12 tasks in 2012 and I want to articulate those before I forget and stop being ambitious. When I think back to my resolutions for last years which I stated them as being "In general I would like 2011 to be the year of doing and of starting my real life and career" with specific goals to:

1. ~~Graduate with latin honors (ie magna, summa, cum laude etc)~~ Completed...in theory because turns out graduate programs don't do this, but by ungraduate standards I would have graduated summa
2. ~~Secure Employment in Military Behavioral Health or Hospital Social Work~~ I secured employment in community mental health but I still consider this a win.
3. ~~Start~~ and Finish Couch to 5k- Not a win, I started but I didn't finish
4. ~~Grow~~ and cut hair to donate- Again not a win, I grew my hair but then realize I got kind of attached to it and I don't want to cut it right now! Selfish I know!

For my 12 in 2012 I'd like to accomplish:

1. Learn to ski. One of the mountains around here offers a $120 3 weekend learn to ski package including rentals. I think this is totally in my budget and something I'd like to at least try! I'd like to be able to go skiing with The Happy Wanderer once they PCS closer to the correct coast.

2. Start and Finish Couch to 5k- Finishing being the emphasis here. This leads into goal 3

3. Run weekend training runs with Run to Remember they currently do 3 mile training runs so once I get my couch to 5k skills I will feel confident to start going to the weekend runs and possible do some fundraising runs with them.

4. Begin my chemical dependency certification. I found a program that I can complete in 3 quarters and it would open up a lot of doors for me professionally and to get back into the military community doing work. I could do it all in 2012 but I think that I will probably not start until summer quarter at the earliest.

5. Read more. The past few years I've managed to read 29 books despite grad school. I'd like to get closer to 40 or 50 books

6. Be more crafty. This is alternatively titled spend more time on Pinterest. I have made this and these. My next project will be these once I figure out how to do the tiles without the fancy program.

7. Move into my own apartment and make it not look like a college apartment. Have a cohesive decorating theme, spend time and money making it mine.

8. Eat more veggies. I cut veggies out of my diet basically entirely when I first got sick due to their fiber content. I've pretty much only added back in olives, pickles/cucumbers, tomatoes, and potatoes (these only kinda count as a veggie). I need to work on getting in more fruits and veggies as my health tolerates.

9. Explore the Puget Sound. I'd like do kayaking, squid jigging, fishes etc. on the Puget sound. This area has so much to offer in terms of outdoor activities and I'd like to spend more time on the water where I know I feel very zen.

10. Explore the Pacific Northwest. Other than Seattle/Tacoma, Portland and Vancouver I haven't seen much of this area. I would love to go to Astoria (where Goonies was filmed), Eugene (home of the Oregon Ducks!), I'd even like to go Idaho or Montana and explore.

11. Travel some outside of visiting my family. I'd like to save enough vacation time (and cash) to take a good trip at least once this year. Possible the trip to the Slothpital if with The Happy Wanderer if her husband is deployed for Christmas 2012.

12. Be satisfied with what I have. Strive for more but don't long for things I can't control. This one is much more metaphysical but I think that I really have a lot going for me and I have to continue to remember that and not think about everything I long for rather then enjoy what I have.

New Job!

2011-11-29T18:11:00.001-05:00

After nearly 7 months of unemployment, more than 30 interviews and, to be fair, 11 job offers (I fully admit I was totally picky). I have accepted a position as a case manager/therapist at a community mental health agency about 10 miles from my new place in Washington. The county I live in privitized their social service agencies a few years ago so I'll be dealing with the client base that would normally visit a community mental health agency but instead working for a non profit funded by a private for profit company (follow that). Which means I'll have a stable job with good benefits but I'll be working with chronic and persistently mentally ill adults as well as hopefully running PTSD, Military and Trauma groups for the organization. The salary is fair for the area, it has great benefits and will provide me with all the hours towards supervision that I need to get my full license. Thank you for all your support, well wishes and good woo woo over the last few months. I'm very excited to start my social work career! By, January 2015 I will be hopefully a fully licensed social worker and on my way to commissioning with the US Army.

This is all simultaneously very exciting and VERY expensive. I have to get my car ready to ship (to the tune of more than 1k) and stuff the trunk with 100 pounds of my crap, I'm flying southwest back on Saturday so I get 2 suitcases for free plus my carry-ons but I still need to pack those, I just shipped 30 dollars worth of text books and cookbooks ($30 more dollars). I also have to figure out my estimated taxes because I worked as a contractor and I only have until Jan 15 to pay that, I cashed in some saving's bonds and I have to figure out the taxes on them as well. I have made really detailed to do lists for the rest of the week which will have mostly kept me from FREAKING OUT. I'm going to transpose them here because it makes me feel better. There are still a few things pending (a couple of lunches etc) but this is the jist of the rest of my week.

Wednesday
-pack my car
-figuring out my taxes
-call about getting insurance switched over
-remove my ez-pass from car and clean it
-pack trunk
-deal with my eyebrow situation

Thursday
-Change Address with
-post office
-Credit Card companies
-Pack Suitcases
-Work on Budget with Dad

Friday
-check in for flight (don't want to be in last boarding group on Southwest)
-Teach my parents how to skype (hold me)
-Gastro Appointment
-Get greek food for dinner
-Watch Oregon and find out if I'm going home for christmas or to LA for new years.

Wish me luck getting through this week!

30 Days of Thankful: Part 4

2011-11-25T19:36:00.001-05:00

November 19

For the internet. This day I both found an excellent place for breakfast thanks to yelp and also was able to watch a live football game despite my hosts not having cable or even a TV at all. Oh an for helping me find the amazing lactose and soy free ice cream place near my house. SO GOOD.

November 20

For the TV show the West Wing. I don't think that there is anything on currently or in the past that is as good as it or really anything that will ever be. Its smart, witty, thought provoking and epically relevant. I am now finding things happening and being like THIS IS JUST LIKE AN EPISODE OF WEST WING.

November 21

For airplanes. After 6 weeks away I traveled home. 2 Airplanes, 30 children under 3, one dude in handcuffs, one middle aged man who couldn't stop kicking my seat, and about 8 hours of travel I made it home. Showered (in a clean bathroom) ate some home cooking and went to bed in my own bed. Glorious

November 22

For Acupuncture. I can honestly say that acupuncture saved my life when I was so sick. I went in for a tune up today and I forgot how good it makes me feel. I need to make an effort to find a good practitioner out in Washington.

November 23

For Job offers. I got an offer from my top choice out in Washington today. Pending the official offer and information about benefits I won't be unemployed forever it seems! This came at a perfect time as I found out that the Army job I have interviewed for a million years ago (back in July) has started notifying applicants of acceptance and I didn't get a call. I am still hopeful that I'll get a call before I accept the WA job. But I'm going to have income again! Just in time to start paying rent.

November 24

Last year on Thanskgiving morning I went to visit a recently wounded Marine (a triple amputee) for work. He had arrived a day or two before from Afghanistan and was pretty out of it when I visited. I visited a handful of times over the next few weeks (we purchased a new wedding band for the couple as his left arm along with his ring had been left behind in Afghanistan). This year I am most thankful that that Marine is walking and fishing and thriving and succeeding beyond wildest expectations.

November 25

For family. I love Thanksgiving with my Aunt and my Great Uncle. We don't tend to do the Black Friday thing but my Aunt and Mom and I go to a craft fair every year up in Frederick. It gets smaller and smaller and more and more expensive every year but its tradition. This year my Uncle and my Dad went and bought him an iPad. I know that I don't have tons and tons more years with my great uncle (hes 85 and the only surviving of his 4 siblings) so I'm very grateful to have this time with him.

Recent Travels Part 4: Portland

2011-11-25T01:28:00.000-05:00

This series of post is about 5 weeks over due. I really had hoped to live blog my travels out to the west coast but hanging out with friends and family and the time differences made that untenable. And then life started up again but no more excuses. You'll get one of these a day this week and if you click on the headings to each city it will take you to my Picasa albums for the rest of the photos from that local.

Portland

My trip to Portland was the last stop in my voyage westward. I spent 3 nights and 2 days staying with a former coworker from DC out of our Portland field office. I also had a great dinner with a friend from college I hadn't seen in years. I loved Portland and the vibe of the city although the cold and damp weather certainly was an adjustment. I found the public transportation while it took me everywhere I needed to go a bit unwieldy since I had trouble orientating myself with all the rivers.

I could have spent DAYS in Powell's books. As it was I spent more than 4 hours there.

I found the Food Cart pods. Including one that sold Vegan Grilled Cheese. It was AMAZING.

Visited the Oregon Historical society. Not sure it was worth my admission but it was interesting all the same.

Found occupy portland.

Visited the Duck Store and spent WAY too much money on gear for myself and my Dad (an alum)

Visited the International Rose Test Garden and took a lot of flower pictures

Visited the Japanese Garden and spent a long as I could before I froze to death taking pictures of the gorgeous grounds.

Recent Travels Part 3: San Francisco

2011-11-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

San Francisco

This section of the trip was entirely dedicated to family. I stayed with my Dad's younger sister and husband, my Aunt Laura and Uncle Jay. However, my visit coincidentally coincided with my Dad's older Sister and husband (who travel the country in their RV) visiting for a few weeks and staying in an RV park about 500 feet from my Aunt and Uncle's home. This combined with the fact that my grandparents (Dad's Dad and stepmom) live about 30 minutes away led to A LOT of family togetherness over 4 days. But thankfully I only have to do that much of my Dad's side about once every 10 years so it was do able and we did a lot of fun things!

Enjoyed this view every morning while enjoying a hot chocolate from the shop just behind this view and steps from my Aunt and Uncles home

Enjoyed this view every night from my Aunt and Uncles home

Visited Half Moon Bay and wandered around enjoying the small shops and quaint town.

Found a stingray in the water. Unfortunately it was dead or as we told the young boy near by "resting"

Wandered out to the point where they host the Mavrick surfing competition each year and is the winter destination for many big wave surfers. There are underwater rock formations that cause the waves to break unpredictably and has killed 2 surfers in past years.

Wandered the Labyrinth. That's my Aunt Laura taking a meditative stroll.

Visited a street fair in Kerouac's Alley in downtown San Fran.

Went to Club Fugazi for a showing of Beach Blanket Babylon, America's longest running musical review. Performers wear disproportionately large hats/wigs and gaudy costumes while performing satirical renditions of popular songs. It was pretty silly/stupid but I enjoyed it.

My uncles relieved their aging hippy ways and serenaded us ladies in song.

I snuggled with my Aunt's adorable 6 month old kitten Simba.

we visited the California academy of science where I took too many pictures of animals including this adorable octopus.

Recent Travels Part 2: Austin

2011-11-23T00:45:00.000-05:00

Austin
Austin seems to be where a lot of my friends from undergrad ended up. My friend Josh for his phD and other friends for just the vibe of the city. I stayed 1 night with Josh and 2 nights with a former coworker from my time in DC with an agency that had a field office in Austin. I had also supported her boyfriend while he was deployed as a doctor last year by sending him DVDs of his 49ers playing so it was good to meet him in person. I wanted to like Austin but I just don't think that I'm the kind of person attracted to Austin. It was nice to visit but 3 days was plenty! Here's what I saw:

The Atrium was really impressive. All those red boxes hold presidential papers

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center where I took a lot of pictures of butterflies because Texas doesn't have much in the way of wild flowers in October


The 307-foot tall UT Austin Tower is best known for the 1966 sniping rampage by Charles Whitman which killed 16 and wounded 31. Prior to 2007's Virginia Tech shooting it was the deadliest school shooting.

I really wanted to buy cowboy boots when I was in Austin. Do you know how freaking expensive those things are?!

Recent Travels Part 1: San Antonio

2011-11-22T00:35:00.000-05:00

San Antonio

I flew into Austin and rented a car for the day to drive down to San Antonio. The purpose of this trip was 2 fold--one because I've always wanted to see the Alamo and two, my former boss and her husband retired to San Antonio about a year ago and I was looking forward to seeing her, touring Brooke Army Medical Center (like her husband said only I would visit a hospital on vacation) and seeing the new home they're having built from the ground up. I really enjoyed San Antonio but I also lucked out at getting AMAZING weather. I think that I would love it a lot less when it was 167 degrees out.

Visited the Alamo, its a lot smaller then Texans would lead you to believe based on the battle

Learned that I missed a very basic lesson on taking self portraits I either look confused or constipated (or both!)

Visited the Riverwalk. Which if we're being honest is just a very pretty gutter. But it was a gorgeous day and because it was 3 pm on a Tuesday was pretty much deserted

Visited the Mission de San Jose. It was GORGEOUS and I took an excessive amount of pictures as evidenced from the rest in this post

30 Days of Thankful: Part 3

2011-11-19T12:12:00.001-05:00

This is a day late because due to persistent unemployment I have no idea what day it is at any given time and totally forgot yesterday was Friday. :)

November 12

For friends who are judgy in the good way. KatjaMichelle and I went out for a night on the town. I'm glad that I have friends who won't let me out of the house like some of the ladies at the bar. LBD with vans? White Body condom? Jersey cover up as an outfit...in Nov...in the pacific northwest...

November 13

For modern technology, one of my good friends here is training out in the Eastern part of the state (its still strange to me that the inside of a state on the west coast is the east haha) so we'd been texting a lot (hes bored and I like his company) we managed to go through 500 texts in a little over 2 weeks. Thankfully verizon was running a deal and we could switch to unlimited texts on all the phones on our plan for 8 bucks more. But now my mother can text, this might be dangerous!

November 14

For leaps of faith. I bought a 1 way plane ticket back here after thanksgiving banking on the biggest risks sometimes create the biggest rewards.

November 15

For emails from an online dating prospect that do not include things like "nice tits" or "wanna hook up" or tYpInG lIkE ThIs. This guy seems like the real deal and I look forward to meeting him when we both return from thanskgiving travels (me back to DC him to Denmark...he totally wins cool points)

November 16

For the power of modern medicine. A bloggy love was just diagnosed with Endometrial cancer at a very young age after a very scary emergency surgery. I am grateful that shes in good medical hands and on the mend with a plan. Hopefully this will be a very scary blip on the radar of an otherwise amazing life. I'm grateful she has good doctors and is in a good place to get good care (and has good insurance!)

November 17

For the gift of service. I met with the VA to get the process started with volunteering. Volunteering in general is something that fulfills me greatly and I'm thankful for the opportunity to give back when I've been given so much.

November 18

For job interviews. I had 3 job interviews this day all for jobs I could really see myself doing. They also pay more than enough to allow me to live out here comfortably. One of them should pan out! Though I did also learn 3 interviews in one day is my limit!

Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-11-14T11:56:00.001-05:00

Well we're coming up on my last week in Tacoma. I head back on Monday morning for Thanksgiving. But the big news is that I will be coming back to Tacoma for more job hunting on Dec 3rd! I found a fully furnished room in a great house (in a okay neighborhood) with 3 male roommates (a doctor, a nurse and a CPA) to rent. The room is massive and has its own bathroom so I wont have to worry about sharing a bathroom with a boy (for a few more years :) I still haven't nailed down a car for that time. One of my good friends out here is deploying in mid Jan and will need to do something with his car so we've talked about me using it while hes gone so I would just need a car for 6 weeks or so. I am pretty sure I'm just going to rent at the very least until I figure out what I'm doing job wise. If I get a real job then I'll sell my car at home and buy something out here. But I'm not comfortable making a car payment without a salary.

Not too much to report on the job front a couple of promising nibbles that will hopefully turn into interviews here shortly. I've also put in about 15 retail applications so hopefully something will click sooner rather than later!

I realize that its pretty delayed but I hopefully will get a short cross country travel recap up in the next day or so.

Thanks for bearing with me when my life is not so exciting!

30 Days of Thankful Part 2

2011-11-12T01:23:00.001-05:00

Nov 5

I'm thankful for the friend from college and her husband who are putting me up for these 3 weeks. Its incredibly generous of them to open their home to me.

Nov 6

To meetings with old friends. I had brunch with a grad school friend also stationed out here. The meeting didn't go as well as I'd hope (to be honest he was kind of a dick to me) but because he challenged my dreams I found myself more dedicated to making them come true.

Nov 7

For living by the water. After a couple of frustrating days looking for jobs I a few moments at the park in my town by the Puget sound. I felt immediately relaxed and able to better face the days ahead.

Nov 8

For the Democratic process. A friend from high school was elected to the school board in my town back home, Mississippi managed to not make a one night stand a person and Ohio beat back an anti union law. I'm grateful to live in a country with the democratic process.

Nov 9

For living in a military community. I watched a fighter jet fly across the face of Mt. Rainier while I was thrifting. That was 15 seconds of pure beauty of both the natural and mechanical kind.

Nov 10

For fresh food. I made dinner for my hosts this night and was able to buy salmon from a fish market that had been swimming days earlier in the waters not that far away. It wasnt cheap but it was amazing!

Nov 11

For the veterans in my life, both for their service and sacrifice and also for the privilege I have been afforded in working with, for and on behalf of them. I am so grateful to have been called for this work. And hope to be back doing it soon!

30 Days of Thankful

2011-11-05T02:55:00.000-04:00

I've been seeing things going around the twittersphere and blogosphere about doing 1 thing you're thankful for each day. Since I'm not organized enough to blog about it every day (I still need to get through my weeks worth of posts about my trip out here). I figured every Friday I'd post the things I'm thankful for in the week prior.

Nov 1

I am thankful that my parents taught me to think on my feet. I had a very challenging interview on Tuesday and I was able to answer the questions well and ended up getting an offer from the job (turns out that they organization could not offer even basic benefits).

Nov 2

I am thankful for the gift of relaxation. Before I left my temp job my boss gave me a gift card which I used in part to pay for a massage. After 2 weeks of sleeping on futons, couches and uncomfortable beds. I sorely (buh dum hum) needed it.

Nov 3

I am thankful for incredible parents who support me turning down jobs that aren't right for me and help support me financially (through my cell phone and health insurance) during this transition.

Nov 4

I am thankful for new friends forged through social media. I met up with KatjaMichelle today and had a wonderful conversation with her about social work, life etc. I'm grateful for a new friend in a new town! Thanks Racheal for the intro!

The difference of a year

2011-11-02T12:26:00.001-04:00

One year ago today my stomach broke and within a month I was diagnosed with gastroparesis. When I think about all I've accomplished this year despite being so ill I know I can do anything. While I would never have asked for this to happen to me and I wish that things were different. I really have done a lot in a year. So if you'll indulge me (it is my blog after all) a short list of things I've accomplished since diagnosis. Some things are clearly bigger then others but really when I think of who and where I was a year ago. I never ever would have imagined myself here.

Graduated with my masters
Worked a full time job, a part time internship and grad school at the same time
watched 5 of my friends get married (including 2 out of state)
Traveled back to my favorite place on earth for reunion
Had my Gallbladder removed
Moved cross country on a whim, a wing and a prayer
Turned 26
Lost 30 pounds
was selected for an interview for my dream job (regardless of the fact they've not made a decision yet more than 3 months later)
gotten a fish pedicure
completely revamped my diet to cut added fat, dairy, red meat, soda, caffeine, alcohol etc
Passed my Masters exam
Became a licensed LGSW in the state of Maryland
Visited 2 places I've never been before

Hopefully I be able to add employed and apartmented here soon. But really looking over the last year I am so grateful for a year of life even if its a different life then I imagined.

Throwing off the Bowlines

2011-10-15T11:43:00.002-04:00

Source: google.com via erika on Pinterest

Well the suitcase, save for a handful of things that I still need to use until Tuesday and my electronics and medications, is completely packed and has been since Wednesday (hello Type-A). This packing is courtesy of 2 space bags and my mother. Also I was smoking absolute CRACK (the good stuff) to think that I was going to get 6 weeks worth of clothing for 4 different states (and 2 VERY distinct climates) into a carry on. I barely got it into a large suitcase and to be honest I'm going to be cutting it pretty close to the weight limit so I hope that I don't have to play rearrange at 5 in the morning at the airport. I packed enough clothing so that I don't have to do laundry until I get to Katie's because I don't want to waste precious touristy time and time with friends and family on laundry. My mom is out of town for 4 days but I think Monday night when she gets back we're going to go through it one last time and see if I can cull anything out. Since at the moment I cannot buy a single souvenir along the way and I REALLY want to buy a pair of cowboy boots in Austin.

The getting ready to move process is complicated by my broken stomach as I've had to run around hunting prescriptions and transferring the one I can only get a 30 day supply at a time for to a Walgreens since there are no CVS on the west coast. I also remember I was going to be gone for election day so I had to send away for my absentee ballot. I also parent proofed my room (hiding all um...adult things) and cleaned it for while I'm gone. There isn't a whole lot left to do except for finally go through all the tour books and start planning my tourist activities.

I've been keeping a notebook of all the things I will need for the trip, lists, packing, meds, tourist sites etc. Hopefully I will also use this notebook to track some of my feelings etc surrounding this journey so that I can come back and share them with you. Like the amazing Mark Twain in the quote above I know that I would have been more disappointed if I didn't do this and at least try to make a life somewhere else then I would be if I try this and it doesn't work but throwing off the bowlines is always a nerve wrecking process. So as everything gets closer I'm feeling a bout of anticipatory nervousness. Once everything gets going I hope to enjoy the ride as much as possible knowing that it won't always be sunshine but it certainly will be better then it is now!

I've had a couple of interviews and a couple more planned so hopefully getting employed will come in short order. The only downside being a lot of the job openings I'm attracted to are contract positions without benefits so I may have get a second job at a coffee shop or something in order to have insurance. But I will make it work.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to post until I get going on the trip but I will talk to you from the road!

Catching Up

2011-10-10T22:19:00.002-04:00

So its been a week since my last post. I wish I could say I haven't been posting because I've been doing widely important things leading up to my trip (in 8 days!) But really in the last week I have accomplished a lot of really mundane things like a trip to the dentist (no cavities!), a trip to the gynecologist, a final happy hour with friends, going to services for Yom Kippur, my last 3 days of work, fighting the insurance company because they sent my Colitis medicine the SLOWEST way possible (they estimate 5-7 days and it took 16 all said and done to get the meds), going to the DMV to get my driving record which every job in Washington seems to want, changing my checking account to the one with free withdrawls etc etc.

I've also been soaking up a lot of time with my parents since time is short with them. I've spent the last 2.5 years living with them and while that has been A LOT of togetherness at times they're my best friends and my biggest supporters so I'm going to miss them and struggle with being so far away from them. My mom and I went yardsailing on Saturday and had a really successful trip. I bought a giant calphalon frying pan for 5 dollars (retails for over 50) and a set of really nice knives for 10 bucks (retails for 60). Plus some trashy chick lit for the bathtub (don't trust myself with the kindle in the tub!) for 50 cents. I love thrifting/yard sailing/estate shopping! I'm really happy that Katie who I'm staying with in Washington also love them. We can be old ladies together at them!

In other news, I had my first interview for a job in Washington. It sounds fantastic up until the point where they told me that its an overnight job. Like 12am to 8:30am. I still want to be considered for it but I'm such an old lady that I don't know that I could do an overnight job successfully. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It feels good to get at least one interview considering I've only applied to like 10 or so jobs out there so far and I've still got a little over 2 weeks before I even land in Washington.

As for things upcoming, I'm going out dancing one last time with some friends on Wednesday, have a couple of minor procedures I need to get out of the way Thurs/Friday morn, I need to finalize the packing nonsense with my mother (she'll be out of town for a few days leading up to the trip) and decide if i'm shipping things or just biting the bullet and checking luggage (to the tune of 90 bucks for all 4 flights!), go to the jewelry store and get some rings re-sized, and need to figure out if there is a CVS in the state of Washington so I can pick up a prescription or if I need to transfer it to rite-aid or walmart.

At some point things will slow down enough that I'll be able to full feel the nervous breakdown that it is building about picking up and moving my life 3000 miles away from my family. But right now I'm just trying to stay busy. And breathe. Breathing is good.

Ten for Tuesday

2011-10-04T19:32:00.001-04:00

First things first, thanks for all the good woo woo. I passed my LMSW exam today with flying colors (137 correct out of 150 and i only needed 99 to pass!). Also thanks for all the page views! When i logged in to post this new blog hop that I found on The Young Retiree's blog I'm at 666 page views. Because that's not ominous at all!

Anyway, here is the first blog hop I've ever joined! This is from Roots and Rings

1. How do you take your coffee?
Unfortunately with Gastroparesis I can't have any caffeine as its killer on your stomach. But before my stomach crapped out I enjoyed it generally in some sort of frozen frappachino type concoction or from guatemala with TONS of creme and sugar.

2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies?

Soft and Chewy all the way! I accidentally left out 3/4 of the flour the last time I made cookies so they were basically just sugar and butter and awesomely chewy. I might do that more often!

3. Do you wear a belt everyday?

Everyday no. though I probably should I've been loosing lots of weight and I am constantly loosing my drawers but I also still have pudge and belts cut into it!

4. What is your favorite color combination?
Hrm. I had never really thought of this. I like blue and yellow because those were my college colors. Or Red and Orange and yellow for sort of a fall-ish color combo

5. Do you like sour candy?
Kinda? I love me some sour patch kids or some sour punch straws but they also make my mouth hurt after awhile so they're a moderation thing

6. How often do you do laundry?
I'm ashamed to admit that my mom does my laundry when i'm living at home but generally I do laundry every 2-3 weeks.

7. Did you ever wear braces?
Twice in fact. I had crazy snaggle teeth in middle school that I got made fun of for so my parents fixed them cosmetically and then I had braces in late high school to fix an overcrowding issue.

8. Are you good at Roman Numerals?
Only if we keep it to the little numbers none of these Ms and X and C and whatnot

9. What is your favorite form of social media?

I dont know. I love to hate facebook but enjoy Twitter because I keep it to a very small group. I'm actually way more exclusive on Twitter then I am anywhere else and I'm probably the most me there as well.

10. How do you feel about chin dimples?

I never really thought about it!

Excitement

2011-10-02T21:21:00.001-04:00

Forget getting a job when I get out to Washington. I'm just excited to discover my new town (well if we're getting technical the next one over) has a yogurt shop where 90% of the flavors are lactose and fat free! Which means for the first time since being diagnosed with Gastroparesis I will be able to go out on dates (with myself or others) to get ice cream! We will ignore that the high this week in Steliacoom is only 60 and its supposed to rain all week and the high for the month I'll be out there is 55 but dude! ice cream! out of the house! I think this pacific northwest kind of lifestyle is going to grow on me!

I promise I'll be back blogging with more regularity after Tuesday after I take my LMSW exam (which I'm not confident I can pass so please send good thoughts). I have a pile of tour books I'm really excited to start going through but I said I'm not allowed to look at them until I take the exam. Thanks for being patient!

Project Switch Coasts

2011-09-26T18:04:00.002-04:00

This just got for serious ya'll. I just booked my ticket for my westward expansion. There is no going back now (unless the Army calls at which my followers from coast to coast will hear my scream). I leave on October 18th to spend a few days in Austin with a former coworker and some college friends and a day trip to San Antonio to visit Brooke Army Medical Center, the Alamo, The Riverwalk and an old boss. I then head to San Francisco for 4 days with Aunt and Uncle out there. This works out well as my other aunt and uncle on that side will also be in San Fran so I will get to see them. My Grandparents live in the Bay area as well and while I'm much less excited to see them (because it will spur the when am I going to get married to a nice Jewish boy conversation) it will be nice to do my familial duty and stay in the will. My Aunt's are fun and I really enjoy their company so it'll be nice. After San Fran, I head to Portland to visit with more old coworkers, friends from college and friends from graduate school. I'm still nailing down a place to stay there but I'm really excited to explore Portland. I finally land at a good college friend's house on October 28th and will crash with her until Nov 21st looking for a job and getting the lay of the land in the Pacific Northwest. At that point I'll fly back to DC for thanksgiving and hopefully have a job by then.

I still need to book a rental car for my day trip to San Antonio, my rental car for the time I'm out in Washington and a train ticket from Portland to Tacoma. And figure out how to get from the train station in Tacoma to wherever I rent a car. I also need to update my GPS, figure out what the hell I'm packing for a 6 week trip and start hard core applying to jobs in Washington. I also have to do stuff like one last dental cleaning, making sure I have enough medication for a 6 weeks away from home, study for my LMSW exam which is a week from tomorrow (insert panic!), and do the goodbye happy hour type thing with the few friends I have around here.

And I would be lying if I wasn't nervous about making this move. But I know I have a safety net and once this all starts I know it will be amazing!

Now who has not to be missed places in Portland, Austin and San Fran?!

Inconceivable

2011-09-22T15:08:00.001-04:00

Whenever I think of the word inconceivable I always think of The Princess Bride. Especially the line at the end of this montage "You keep using this word I do not think it means what you think it means".

There have been a number of things in my life that I find inconceivable--finding a mate, finding a job that fulfills me, owning a home--but of these finding a mate is the biggest one. I have dated only sporadically in my 26 years and most of these relationships could be called casual at best, if we were being generous. They tended to be complicated with long distance or other assorted baggage which made them either short lived or long drawn out and dramariffic. Its a pattern I'm trying desperately to change but in the meantime it makes it hard for me to conceive of how a real relationship is supposed to work.

Today one of my favorite bloggers tweeted about the flowers that her husband had sent her a work. Which got me to thinking about how I cannot even conceive of a man who would send me flowers out of nowhere "just because" or really if I'm being brutally honest (a strange thing for a semipublic blog) a man who would send me flowers on days of commercial obligation (valentines day, birthday, anniversary etc). The only flowers I've gotten that haven't come from friends or family was the rose I got on Senior night in high school for being a Wrestling Manager and I'm pretty sure there was no romantic intention behind that.

I can conceive of a man who will call me at 2 am for a booty call, a man who will choose Iraq over me, a man who ask for my support while recovering from a serious injury but leave when he's healed, a man who will constantly disregard my interests and manipulate me into seeing his choice of movie or restaurant, etc etc. Just like some women cannot draw up an imagine in their mind of their future home or children or wedding dress. I cannot conjure up in my mind a future man who says "I'm thinking of you when we're not together and I want you to know that."

And honestly before you think this is some sort of gift grubbing post its not about the flowers (though I love gerber daisies future boyfriends take note!) My love language is actually acts of service. But its the fact that someone is thinking about you and cares about you enough to do something nice. The flowers could just as easily be a facebook message, text, tweet, phone call etc its the the thought more than the action.

But I have no conception of what this looks like or feels like. I can't conceive of a man puts his hand on mine as we drive to dinner or reaches up to tuck a stray hair into place. That kind of man feels like the same level of fantasy as Justin Timberlake walking into my office right now and inviting me to grab some lunch. Completely out of the realm of normal possibility. Reserved for those with something else.

I don't know how to cultivate a relationship where these things are common place or even to recognize in a man the qualities that would lead to this behavior. Is it supposed to be around from the start? Does it grow over time? Any wise words from my happily ensconced followers?

Nothing is ever simple

2011-09-20T14:05:00.001-04:00

Now I recognize that the following rant is one of those things that really is a "first world" problem or really not even a problem but rather a good problem to have like having too much money or too much fun or too many friends. Not a bad thing in and of itself but has the potential to be frustrating. Though I don't know how too much money is ever frustrating. ANWAYS...

Last week after I mentioned that I was going to hit the road come Oct 6th. That date might have been a bit premature. When I sat down with my parents (with whom I currently live...and have for the last 2 years during school) to talk about this project switch coasts or switch washington's as the case may be. They brought me back down to reality. Namely the pulled out a calculator. We determined that it is significantly cheaper to fly to the couple of main places I want to visit (Austin, Denver/Boulder and Portland) and then rent a car in WA for a few weeks then it would be to drive my car cross country on an epic road trip.

Being home for Thanksgiving is very important to me (more so then Christmas or any other time). So I came up with a plan that I would spend about 10 days traveling by air and eventually landing at my friend K's place in Steliacoom by Nov 1. And then spend basically Nov 1-21 hunting for jobs out there, making sure I actually like out west and that I haven't just spent 2 years putting WA up on a pedestal and then find out its actually horrid and the people are just as bad as the East Coast DC. I'd rent a car for the 3 weeks I'd be out there and hopefully find a job that could start somewhat after Thanksgiving. If I do find a job and I do like it then I rent a pod, pack up my car and drive it cross country at that point. But at least I won't have to dejectedly drive back for Thanksgiving if things don't work out.

Now, that all being said, I decided all this on Wednesday and went to bed for the first time in MONTHS feeling pretty zen and less at loose ends then I have in awhile. So surprise to me, when the phone rings at work on Thursday and its "Giant Reputable Veterans Organization"calling me wondering if I could set up an interview for a manager position of one of their programs for combat stress. [A time out to say that I have been applying for umpteen jobs with this organization and never heard a peep from them. I had applied to this particular position 6 weeks prior to being called.] Why yes I would like this interview Miss HR rep.

So I had the interview for that job on Friday and made it to the second round which will be conducted this Friday by Skype. (Skype interviews are strange!) The job will either be in NYC or San Diego most likely. I have a clear preference for San Diego as the job seems awesome on paper (task, salary, benefits etc) but I will turn it down if its located in NYC because I know that I will be miserable there. San Diego has a lot of the things I really like about the West Coast

I will admit that there is a part of me that won't be disappointed if I am not offered this job because I am very excited about my plan to move to Washington and begin a new life there. This makes me feel bad though because in this economy I can't afford to keep turning down jobs (6 thus far) and need to accept an offer soon rather than later so that I can begin being a real adult and getting on this journey. But I have recognized over the last few months that happiness is my number one goal right now and that my location is a big part of that.

Like I said, I'm likely just whining for whining sake. And I am going to continue to rock interviews up until plane tickets are booked. But really is nothing ever simple?

10 Day You Challenge: 1 picture

2011-09-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

Last day! I will admit that I wrote the last 5 of these all at one time and scheduled them so this challenge didn't feel quite as challenging for the 2nd week. But I think it was a good way to get my blogging mojo back. I hope it sticks this time! I thought about posting a fun childhood photo but I can't get my scanner to work so I'll just post a recent photo with a cute child (a friend from college's daughter) and hope that she'll distract you from my lack of photogenic qualities!

10 Day You Challenge: 2 Songs

2011-09-16T22:59:00.000-04:00

I can only pick 2 songs? I guess I'll just go with 2 songs I'm really enjoying right now. Because I don't know if I could every pick 2 songs that sum me up or anything.

+Skinny Love by Bon Iver

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+Honey Bee by Blake Shelton

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lc7gmPx0tj8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

10 Day you challenge: 3 Films

2011-09-15T14:00:00.000-04:00

Picking 3 films is a toughie. But somebody's got to do it!

+Grease. I can watch this on mute and still say most of the dialogue. My childhood best friend and I used to watch this obsessively on repeat. I will admit that in high school I realized that they were talking about sex a lot more in this movie then I had realized at 8 or 9. Every time I watch it I find more things that totally flew over my head as a kid.

+A League of Their Own-I loved playing softball growing up and this movie served as inspiration and aspiration. A couple of summers ago we went to the Baseball Hall of Fame and I was so excited to see the AAGPBL exhibit that they show in the movie. Yeah...there is a tiny corner. It was really disappointing.

+Love Actually. This movie gives me total hope that despite all the odds Love will find a way. Its a must every Christmas season and generally whenever I'm getting sad at the state of my life.

10 Day You Challenge: 4 Books

2011-09-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

Oh god just picking 4 books will be nearly impossible. I think I'll narrow this one down and talk about the 4 series that helped develop me into a good reader as a child.

+Boxcar Children. This was probably the first series of books I got into as a kid and I own about the first 100 of them. I read them way longer then was appropriate and cannot wait to pass them on to a important child in my life. I love their independence and the mysteries they solved. I always wanted them to turn it into a movie (preferably starring me!)

+Sweet Valley Twins/High-These girls seemed SO cool and awesome and I wanted to be like them. Their life seemed so glamerous. Also during summer camp these books were often read out loud around campfires and overnights.

+Babysitters Club-Who didn't want to have babysitters like them? The TV series was also one of my favorites and on vacation in early high school I met the girl who played Kristy in the series. I loved babysitting as a tween and teen so I wanted to be like these girls!

+Goosebumps. These were always a little gross for me but I liked the scary murdery mystery part of them.