I want to thank all of you for keeping up with me this year, especially because I feel like I’ve had a hard time keeping in contact with everybody as much as I would like to. It’s tough; I have a constant To-Call list running in my head. Know that, even if you only get a call from me every so often (or never), I am thinking of you and hoping you are well. I look forward to reuniting with some of you in the VERY near future as my time here winds down. The days are flying by! My flight to Milwaukee is officially booked for August 2nd, so Molly and I are [somewhat frantically] looking for an east side apartment, I am already reading up on the programs I’ll be coordinating at Casa, and my yearning for a fish fry, some custard, and a nice afternoon at Alterra are overpowering at this point! Still, it is a bittersweet thing, this march toward the finish.
But there is much to enjoy and continue enjoying! My community is doing alright, though we’ve had a little bit of drama recently that we’re working through. It’s a bummer that we’re in the 11th hour and hitting a few speed bumps, but we’ll be alright. I am so thankful because, on the whole, we’ve been a really solid cohort. Granted, there have been some unmet expectations (e.g., my house really didn’t do the spirituality thing and it became a challenging and individual quest of mine), but there have also been myriad surprises and I have become so much more aware of who I am and how my energy affects others. In that respect, this has been one of the most helpful and fulfilling years of my life. I see growth in myself when it comes to dealing not only with these seven people but with everybody, and I hope that the things I have learned in community will permeate the rest of the relationships in my life from here on out. In our final weeks together, I am trying not to take for granted this amazing opportunity to live and grow with seven other enthusiastic, intelligent, and incredible people!
The Space Needle in Seattle
I’m trying to balance my time between being with my housemates, hanging out with Lizzie (who I will also miss sooo much!), and—of course—spending time with José. He and I went to Seattle over 4th of July weekend, and we had such a wonderful time. On Saturday, we had dinner at the famous Space Needle, which was so awesome. The restaurant rotated around, giving us a breathtaking view of the city and Mt.Rainier—clear as a bell—at sunset. Amazing. Plus, the food was so wonderful. I had salmon with this amazing rhubarb sauce, but everything from the yummy hazelnut oil, bread and butter (two kinds—lavender and sea salt!) to the nice white wine was perfect. It was a splurge, but it was worth it. We hit up a place called Molly Moon’s for homemade ice cream afterwards, thanks to a recommendation from Seattle U alum, Erin Brynn. My basil strawberry and brown sugar buttermilk were both quite tasty, and José’s two scoops (of coffee and salted caramel) were also pretty fantastic.
Delicious dinner, rotating restaurant, Mt. Rainier out the window!
But I swear we did more than just eat! On Sunday, we were able to hit up the SeattleArt Museum, the library, and Theo Chocolate Factory. The museum was alright, but the library was really cool and extremely high-tech. Check out my Picasa site for some photos of the Hogwarts-esque book chute and the view from the 10th floor. The ramped, spiral bookcase and the monitors displaying everything checked out by patrons of the library in the past hour were just a few of the awesome features of this facility. Quite impressive. Of course, you knew that the chocolate factory was my favorite, right? Theo is the only organic, fair-trade certified, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the States, a fact that they flaunt (and rightly so) on their tour, where guests are also treated to a multitude of samples of their delicious, DARK chocolates. So yummy. Mom, you would have LOVED this place. We were definitely in a happy place when we left. That night, we had a more casual dinner and then had some wine and more chocolate and took it easy. Among José’s many noteworthy traits, he’s just as fond of dark chocolate, red wine, and various other culinary delights as I am…. which may or may not be a good thing!
The Central Library. See my Picasa site for interior pics.
On Monday, we walked through Pike Place Market, which was my third time but his first. Mt.Rainier was once again visible and towering above the city, and it was a beautiful day. We got so lucky with the weather! “Summer” here has been on-and-off with some days hitting the upper-80’s and others hanging around the low 70’s, but it was a lovely weekend and we were certainly grateful. Since Monday was the 4th and JV’s always know how to party, we made an appearance at the fiesta to catch up with my housemates before going to fireworks downtown. Originally, we had planned to go to fireworks in Vancouver, WA (rumored to be the biggest show west of the Mississippi, at least at one point) but we weren’t exactly up for another drive into Washington and a late evening on a work night, sooo we went to the display on the river instead, which turned out to be very good, albeit only a half hour long. All in all, it was a memorable 4th of July weekend, although I definitely missed sparklers with Kelly and Bridget!
I bought the hat at a great market in the Fremont district.
My weekends are numbered now. This one will probably be pretty relaxed as the only major plans I have are a Plunge reunion and dinner with José at Karen’s house, both on Sunday. It’s nice to have a more low-key weekend, though. I’ve been quite busy! I want to make the most of the rest of my time, but I also want to spend some time processing this experience. There’s so much to reflect upon. Work lately has been incredibly hectic, which I wasn’t quite expecting. I’m coordinating my last Legal Aid clinic at the moment, which I’m pretty happy about because it’s a bit stressful. Still, there’s an element of sadness in knowing that this is my last one. We’re also going to be doing three different visits to some farms, where we’ll hand out bags of food to migrant workers and their families. This is an after-work event, but I’m really excited for it. Otherwise, things continue as normal. This week, I made several resumes, helped a lady find her husband in jail, got a man’s medical bills reduced 50% because he has no income, wrote and notarized several letters for folks, and planned a skit that our Emergency Services/Anti-Poverty team performed at today’s staff picnic-meeting. Busy, busy, busy!
Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA
I hope that life is treating you well this summer and that you are enjoying some sunshine. I’d love to hear from you about what’s going on in your world, and please have patience with me as I try to navigate the ending of this chapter and the beginning of the next one. As I straddle these two phases of my journey, I’m doing my best to touch base with a number of you, but I’ll always fall short. I love you all!
Take good care.
Just in case you need further proof of Mt. Rainier's beauty!
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