road trip planning

I have been working on figuring out my road trip back east. I will be driving from Seattle to Portland to San Francisco, through Death Valley area to the Grand Canyon. Then on to Mesa Verde and Colorado Springs. From there I'm not sure - what is there to look forward to in Kansas or Missouri...? Then Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and on to New Hampshire. I've booked a couple of campsites and am continuing to figure things out - it was pointed out to me that campsites fill up in National Parks and such areas during the summer, which was a good point, so I'm trying to get it all together... Getting pretty excited for it.

memorial day weekend

I had a fantastic weekend. It really helps when what was supposed to be a cloudy, rainy weekend turns into a sun-fest. The entire weekend was beautiful, warm, and sunny. I played kickball, went out, hung out at a lake, BBQed, played backyard games, went to folklife, went to goodwill, packed, took a friend to buy a bike, played apples to apples with the largest group of people ever, ate salad and boboli pizza, and pretty much had the best weekend ever. I'm going to have very high standards for future weekends after all that... Going back to work was a little tough.

rookie skit

The rookie party was fantastic. The rookie skit was pretty much amazing. In fact it was so amazing that we continue to sing the songs on a regular basis. It was basically a broadway musical it was so good. It was, in fact, a remake of the Sound of Music featuring such songs as "My Lesbian Things", "The Lonely Homo", and "Anal Vice". Words can't really do it justice. Suffice to say we were all very entertained. At the end of the skit they sang the goodbye song to those of us who are leaving. It made me kind of sad - I think that was the first time it really hit me what and who I'd be leaving behind. I've been thinking more and more about the idea of coming back here after grad school. I mean I know it wouldn't be the same, and I also know that there's no way I can make plans for two years from now, but I still keep thinking about it. I really like it out here in the lovely northwest...

Moving again and again and again

I have an apartment in Boston! As of Sunday afternoon I have a place to live when I move to Boston in August. I will be living in a three bedroom house with two other grad students. The room looks like it's about three times the size of my current room (keep in mind that my current room is basically a closet). The house has a garage for my car (my future roommates don't have cars). It has a porch with a large gas grill currently on it (woo BBQ!). It's super close to multiple T stops and it's on the shuttle route to school. Oh and the rent is super cheap for the area! Um yeah, pretty much amazing. My future roommate is into holistic stuff like yoga and meditation, organic food, and no TV, which would probably be good for me. I still will probably have a TV in my room, or maybe just my computer, but still. According to her there's a great produce market a few blocks from the house too! And a whole foods! I'm psyched. I should be getting the lease in the mail soon. Woo hoo!

My current roommate is moving at the end of the month and since I can't afford rent myself and I'm moving away in a couple of months, I'm moving out at the end of the month too. This means that I will be basically living out of suitcases while staying with two different friends for the next couple of months before I actually pack up my car and drive east. I'm not super excited to pack up my room. I have less than two weeks - 13 days and counting - until I have to be out... So much to do! I didn't really think I could have accumulated that much stuff in the two years I've been here, especially given how small my room is, but somehow I seem to have found a way. I've decided that the best method is going to be that if I haven't used it or worn it more than twice in the last two years then I don't need it. Time to sort through my clothes...

I <3 Craft:

I love doing crafts! This weekend is our rookie party for rugby. We give gifts to our rookies as part of the party and this year we decorated tote bags. We used spray paint with stencils, puff paint, ribbon... so much great crafting! I've decided that I want to get together with some friends and a bunch of craft supplies and make some commemorative items before I leave the area. Such a great idea.

I feel like I've gotten more creative as I've gotten older. I used to have a hard time coming up with ideas for arts and crafts activities, or anything creative really. Some of that was, I think, perfectionism and some was insecurity. I think that as I've gotten older I've gotten more confident in myself and have learned to care less about what other people think than I used to.

The moral of the story? I want to make more puff paint totes!