Bonafide City Girl

Hey, blogworld! This is my first blog post from my new home in Seattle, where I am still settling in after moving last weekend. It's been a busy week, with some uppety ups and some downy downs. On the plus side, I finally found an apartment! It only took until literally the day before I planned to move, but I finally got through the screening process and am now situated in a one-bedroom apartment in Interbay, which, for those who don't know the area well, is right between Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard. It's a pretty cool location, as I have access to the more upscale parts of town, as well as the more ruddy, alternative ones. My apartment overlooks 15th Avenue, which is a really busy thoroughfare that is almost always loud and crowded, but it's nice to be so close to everything I could want or need. The only downside to the location is that there is no straight shot to the freeway, which is significantly east of me. No matter which way I go, I have to take several busy surface streets, battling traffic and non-stop construction to get to I-5 or even Hwy 99. I guess when Seattleites say to avoid the freeway if you can, they're not just talking about traffic. Easy to avoid it when you can't even get to it!

Anyway, my dad and stepmom drove over from little ol' Casper, Wyoming to help me move to the big city, and it was really great to see them and have their support. The move itself went really smoothly, as I didn't have a ton of stuff (only furniture I had was a queen-sized bed and a small desk and office chair); plus, apparently Dad and Janet are pro movers at this point in their adult lives, having done it many more times than I have. Little brother, Braden, helped out, too, despite having just had his four wisdom teeth taken out. He looked like a blowfish, but he was a trooper and single-handedly organized my kitchen. I stayed the night with them at a fancy schmancy hotel in downtown Bellevue Saturday night, since I wanted to spend time with them before they left the next day. We ate at a restaurant called the Crab Pot, which is a West Coast chain that was featured on Man vs. Food, and it was delicioso! On Sunday, we all drove up to Bellingham so Braden could show Dad and Janet where he'll be going to college (Western Washington). They thought the campus was beautiful, which it is. I'm jealous! We wandered downtown for a bit and then ate at this yummy pizza place before heading back south. They then left me to my own devices and headed back down to Vancouver/Portland.

From Monday til today, I've basically been running non-stop errands to try and fill the empty space in my apartment and get all my necessities. Thanks to generous help from Dad and Janet (my measly part-time income from the 'Couve and past student loans wasn't gonna cut it), I was able to get: two dining chairs, a microwave, a 32" TV and TV cart, a full-length mirror, a nightstand, and a lamp, among other items. I still need to get a couch and a dresser, but those weren't things I could carry from my trunk to my apartment alone, so I'm waiting till my mom comes up tomorrow. I'm paying it forward and helping her move Braden into his dorm up at Western, and then she's staying the night at my place. I had an interview on Wednesday for a job at North Seattle Community College, and I felt pretty good about it, although I think I could've done better. I am one of four candidates chosen for the first round of interviews, and I discovered that day that there are, in fact, THREE rounds in total. The second is with the Vice President of the college and the third is with the President! To me, that seems a little overkill for an office assistant position, but I guess it's good that they are actually involved in lower-chain decision-making. I'm supposed to find out on Tuesday if I move on to the next round, and I'm pretty nervous either way. I've decided to continue applying to other jobs, to keep my options open, and I've moved outside of the higher ed. arena to general clerical and customer service jobs. I hate this whole process and hope that it will be as brief as possible! I need to start making an income again, and I also just need something to keep me busy during the day. Even a few days of relative isolation have made me borderline crazy, and I realize how much I value being employed!

Coming up next is orientation for my grad program on Sunday, which I am really ready for at this point, and then classes start for me next Thursday. I'm going to try to make it over to campus before then to get a parking permit and go to the LGBTQ Open House; that way I can familiarize myself with it a bit more before showtime. I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and forming deeper relationships with my acquaintances here. I'm excited to be part of an academic community again--I think it's really where I fit in the most. In the meantime, if you're reading this and you live in the Seattle area, hit me up and help me get out of my apartment for something other than groceries and furniture! If you're reading this and you live elsewhere in the greater Pacific Northwest, you better be planning to visit me soon! Miss ya'll and hope to see you when I come home sometime in October, if not sooner. For those of you who requested photos of my apartment, see below...

My living room, which is currently very bare, but I plan to get a couch this weekend. Plenty of space, which is nice!

The other side of my living room, which I have designated as my workspace--right next to my balcony, so I can get some natural light (and plenty of traffic noise).

My kitchen, which is bigger than this pic makes it look. Not featured: my cool red microwave, which goes with my whole "black, red, and white diner" theme.

View #1 from my balcony, which is right across from the Interbay Driving Range. Surprisingly, there is something comforting about having big stadium lights on all night.

View #2 from my balcony, 15th Avenue, which runs right up to Ballard.

View #3 from my balcony: my camera's best attempt at capturing some of the fancy homes on the hill in Magnolia, just west of me. 

My quaint little dining room, featuring my two-person dining set (thanks, Dad and Janet!)

My bathroom--also bigger than this photo would suggest.

My bedroom, which is quite spacious.

My stowaway bunny, Benjamin. Shhh!

Benjamin's riveting ivy view. 

My wonderfully large closet. It's no Carry Bradshaw closet, but it'll do, pig, it'll do.

Aaaaand, last but not least, my unfortunate IKEA nightstand. As you can see, I didn't notice that the front bottom panel was on backwards until I had already put 26 small nails into the back panel, solidifying everything. FML. Still trying to figure out how I'm going to fix this one, but before you judge, let it be known that I successfully constructed both dining room chairs, as well as the TV cart, which came with no instructions of any kind. Ok, so I'm not Bob the Builder, but this was just bad luck.