Well we arrived in Washington State about 2 months ago at this point. Gene and I decided that after living in St. Louis for two years, we wanted to live in a much more liberal and vibrant part of the country. After much deliberation, we decided on the Seattle area. It was one of very few places that really intrigued and excited us both. It truly was Gene's pick, however, since I technically moved us out to St. Louis. I surprisingly don't mind the rain as much as I though I would. I keep telling people that it's still a novelty, being part of the whole "Pacific Northwest thing" but I'm also starting to believe that if you choose not to dwell on the weather, or can focus on something else at the very least, then it doesn't get to you quite as much. Some of the other cities that we were thinking of moving to were: Raleigh, NC-Boston, MA or San Francisco, CA. In the end, neither Gene or I could deny the intrigue of Seattle. It's funny, b/c I always pictured myself moving out here even before I met Gene. I always pictured myself moving out here to do an AmeriCorps Vista position, huh:)
I have been on a pretty brutal job hunt since about May '09. I have applied to close to 90 places, have had a hand full of interviews, and eventually got a job at Starbucks, where I will be making $8.75 an hour. I am also volunteering at Solid Ground, for a program called Apple Corps. The program talks to kids about the importance of eating healthy foods. I'm really excited to have a job and some volunteering to do now. I thought I would go crazy just searching for jobs day in and day out. Basically my definition of success is to get a job, so every day that goes by where I don't get hired, well...you get the point. I have also joined a Meet Up group. Meet Up is a large on-line forum for groups of people with different interests to connect and hang out. I joined a group of beaders and jewelry makers. I've only been to one meet-up, but it was fun:) Nice to get outta the house, and glean some inspiration from other crafters.
Tomorrow Gene and I go back to Denver for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it, but it's also stressful b/c Gene is stressed about going back to Denver (after having just left in the end of September). He really misses his family, and it's hard for him to see mine when he probably feels like he should be going back to England. Hopefully it will be fun, and we can relax and enjoy ourselves a bit.
