waarrkkkk says the seal

I really need to get back into the habit of blogging.

So! Tonight is my first night at Pulali all by myself. But that is getting a few days ahead of myself.

Friday:

Went into town with dad and did some shopping and accompanied him when he got some new glasses. Earlier in the day, I helped Ma and Pa make many quarts of apple juice. I fell right into the rhythm of putting the slices into the cuisinart and pulping them, and then putting the pulp into the press. It seemed to go faster, though we did spend many hours making the good stuff. Many manys make light work I suppose.

At 7ish I departed for Tacoma to see Meghan for her birthday! I arrived early when she and her boyfriend had gone to grab some stuff for the party. She didn't anticipate people arriving on time (only three other people were on time like I was). Met a good amount of people whose names I've forgotten, but they were all really nice and easy to talk to. My trip now gives me so many frames of reference for places people are from and various things. I.e. "what exactly is Wall Drug?"

I saw a bit of the northern lights. It was just a few tendrils of green. Not totally epic, but not too shabby.

I got very congested by the smoke of the fire. It really made my eyes water and my nose run something awful. Meghan has loaned me a nice hankie, which I will hold as ransom till she comes and visits me at Pulali.

Saturday & Sunday:

I packed up my clothes, my technology, my girly soap, and all my other things. Mom and Dad drove off first in their Prius, and a little bit later I drove off in mine. I put some gas in the tank. Nice to not be filling up every day. My first unpacking wave will be the Santa Cruz stuff. That is a nicely paired down assortment of my stuff. Fewer clothes, fewer books, though a jumble of organization. Once I get that sorted, then I can work on the stuff that didn't make the Santa Cruz cut. More books, more clothes, more this and that.

Celia made a spicy lamb stew for dinner. It was good, though very hot to eat. I'm better with spicy though not that much better.

Linda and her friend Barbara joined us (and Celia of course) for breakfast. French toast, bacon, many juices, fruit, cheese. Lots of good stuff and conversation about Cape Verde, where Barbara was a Peace Corps leader.

In the afternoon, Ma and I got in kayakas, Celia in a row boat and Dad went trawling for fish. He didn't catch any, just puttered back and forth. Dinner was early and was several salads and meat discs (disc of meat? what was my quip again?) and Ma and I made a food run to stock my pantry for the near future. Then we three chilled out with books till it was time to go to bed.

Monday:

Ma and Pa departed early and I slept in a bit more. Then I got up, made a to do list, had a muffin and some tea, and got to to-doing it! Organized more clothes, set out the printer and scanner, folded laundry, organized towels, unpacked this and that, more unpacking, put my old work hoodies in a plastic bin, had pasta for a late lunch, hung a few pieces of art work...it's coming along. I have my Tetris shelves up, in a high vertical arrangement. I commandeered a little bit of a mostly unoccupied shelf for the initial books I've pulled out of storage.

Just gotta keep working on it, and keep an eye on my phone while I wait to hear about getting an interview. I think I'll write a new to do list with things undone from today on it, and some new things, and keep working at crossing off those things!

I need to make up a chart of regular house & estate chores. Like watering the garden every few days, doing this thing every day, this thing every week. It's a lot of responsibility!

out of Cali to Pulali

And once again I am several days behind because I've gotten lazy!

Job status:

Still unemployed, but I called to say "hey?" and they said they are still interviewing and they'll get back to me early next week.

Packing:

Dad and I got breakfast at 9ish in the hotel. I had the quick pancakes, tea, a cinnamon bun, an egg, and bacon. It was good we got a full rest in before the day and night and days efforts that would occur. We checked out, went to the Uhaul and got the 5x8, and got out of Target with snacks and string at 11:15ish. At the storage unit, the mattress was hauled into the trailer at 11:26am and five more trips up and down later, it was all in the van and trailer! There was room to spare, but it couldn't get too heavy and stuff was packed juuuust right. And at 1:15pmish we headed north to Pulali!

Driving:

Dad did all the driving up, as I'm not currently equipped to drive a towed thing. But I did my best to stay awake and keep him company and rotate out music and podcasts and conversation. I treated him to some snickers and In-N-Out, as it was his birthday! And he was spending it with me! And he even got to fix something when the bolt was rattled off the front passenger's side brake caliper. Just across the border it started humming and thankfully we were close to a rest stop, and the car was driveable and we didn't have to stop on the highway. Dad took the other bolt and moved it to the top, so that we couldn't properly brake in reverse but we could get to a place where we could get a replacement bolt. So good to have a mister fix it for a father, because that could have been damn bad! 9:20pm and a messed up brake? Miles from anywhere (well Ashland was the next city, still).

We drove on into the night and at 1am I made Dad pull into a rest stop for a nap. I used my alpaca as a pillow, like the good old days when I had a stuffed cat plush for a pillow.

I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT CAT.

And we drove on into the sunrise and scooted around Portland and got McDonald's in Olympia and a new bolt for the caliper and got to Pulali in under 24 hours since leaving Santa Cruz. I unloaded my stuff into the garage, pulled a few shirts and jackets for Seabeck use, put some mugs into the main house, and made tea for Dad and I. All locked up, we went to Silverdale and dropped off the Uhaul then Poulsbo to check out some marine stuff and candy. Then back to Seabeck to see mom and get some tasty chicken soup!

And then an early to bed night for us weary travelers.

Wednesday:

Called to see about job status. Slept in. Took it easy. Mom and Dad ran some errands. What else happened? Uhhmmmn. Did I help with something? I feel like I helped with a chore or task or... I dunno.

Thursday:

Helped Dad check the brakes on my car. Took off the wheels, did the measurements, all was well. I torqued the nuts on the wheels myself getting them back on. Felt pretty good about my skills at that skill. It's good to know how to take off your cars tire. Lunch was sandwiches. I felt really tired in the middle of the day. Almost took a nap, but didn't. Picked up delicious Seabeck Pizza for dinner. Mom made smoothies in the fancy smoothie thingy that Nathan got them for Christmas.

I took the Meyrs-Briggs test, and I came up as an ESFP. I'm pretty happy with that analysis. So I'm an ESFP, Ravenclaw, Aquarius...and some other stuff.

the road down and the place is how it was

Sorry Mom! Haven't updated when I totally have been in the position to do so. All those months of irregularity have given me a bad blogging habit.

Job Application:

I drove to Chimacum and dropped off my job application. Chatted with the manager just a little bit and I should hear from them on Monday. If I get called in for an interview, that will put the Olympic Penninsula on par with the Bay Area in terms of "calling Trillian in for interviews".

Getting a going:

Dad & I packed up the van and departed NoonThirty on Friday. And all in all, it was a largely uneventful day of driving. No crashes, no near misses, nothing too bad. We hit traffic around Portland, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. We got dinner in Eugene at the Oregon Electric Company, or some place. I had gnocchi and tea.

Taking over:

After Eugene, at the first rest stop, I took over for driving for about 4 hours. We got across the border. Dad dozed and snored. I listened to Bob Brozman and Beatles and all sorts. I play podcasts. Dad educates me on the classics. It's a long drive, but it's not long enough to get too repetitive with content. We caught some shut eye at a rest stop.

Mountain View:

San Francisco rose in the distance not as a skyline but as a wall of fog. We got to Mountain View at 9am. Nate, in his jammies just as I was, let us in. Showers we had. Snacks were consumed. Wifi was connected to. And damn I am so allergic to the kittens Nate & Helen are fostering! Cute kitties but I was oozing snot almost immediately. I took a claritin, and the kitties were dropped off to be fostered, and I eventually cleared up. We scoped out this winery as a potential place for a thing. It was a nice day, but everything in California just feels so dry.

After that, we got some food. We four went to this nice burger place where you select a patty and toppings and cheese and theres so many options! I went for beef, mozarella, grilled onions, carrots, tomatoes, with horseradish aioli spread. SO GOOD! And I finished it all. My appetite has changed to where I find myself finishing larger portions. I would think I would be eating less, what with my jaw issues (while hauling wood something popped in my jaw and the troubles I've been having since the Adirondacks have almost all gone away, it still feels a bit odd but I can eat again). Also having been on the road and random portion availability, it seems like I would be unable to eat large plates. Whatever the reason, I probably shouldn't eat as much as I can because I've gone all soft after four months of being on my butt. Hopefully Pulali provides me a workout! Dessert was deluxe smoothies. Mine was bright pink and very tasty! It had "pitaya" in it. After smoothie time, Nate dropped me off at Garth's. I didn't feel like sleeping on the floor, so I asked if I could crash at his. Plus it'll be nice for Nate and Dad to have some father son time. I met Garth's friend Adam, and we hung out watching stuff and playing video games and drinking beer. In the morning, Garth dropped me off at Nate's. They live about 15 minutes apart, so it's very convenient.

Santa Cruz:

I snacked at Nate's and then we packed up the van with Helen's floral arrangements for this auction, and we set off to deliver them. After dropping them off, we parted ways with Nate and Helen and drove to Santa Cruz. We cashed in points at the Holiday Inn Express that is just off Ocean Street. Katrina, the manager, was very nice. After scoping the room, we set off to get lunch. Zoccoli's of course. We got sandwiches and a prickly pear soda to split and Dad bought a Zoccoli's tee. Ten bucks is the right price for a Gildan single color left chest, single color back printed shirt.

From there we got a trailer and put it on hold, then Dad drove me over to Ryan's and dropped me off and I hung out for a few hours. We watched Bojack Horseman and I drank some iced coffee and just chatted and caught up and it was lovely. He took care of my Jade plants in my absence, and they both are alive and well! The big one is so vertical now. It was really leaning over. Dad picked me up again at 8. He said we went to the harbor and drove around and got some food. It was a good day to hang out in Santa Cruz, though he didn't go stand up paddling! But he saw people that did. I borrowed the car and drove over to the Newport house and saw Tara & Jeff. Mostly Tara, but Jeff for a little bit too. I had to reclaim my alpaca plushie. Caught up, talked, I told a few tales of the road. It was a nice mini visit. Not a big one because Tara works hard for the money and was getting tired and we have a long day ahead of us, so off I went back to the hotel.

So! Tomorrow we will get up, get food, go get the Uhaul, pack it up, and head on out and up and north once again! The uhaul is scheduled for a 10am pick up. Let's do this!

Oh also the moon was very beautiful tonight. The water was all sparkly in reflection.

last sunset in Santa Cruz

Got up bright and early and Justin helped me haul my mattress off! With that out of the way, I spent the day sorting and getting stuff out of my room so that I could clean it. Sorting, packing, put things into proper boxes, just putting things in boxes. Moved it into the living room so that it would be the next stage packing area. I patched up the tack holes, I painted over some marks on the wall. It was also ridiculously hot.

But I got a good amount done.

At 6:40ish I walked down to The Pocket to meet Jeff for a few brewskis. And Ryan was there! And Chris showed up! It was another going away party, but totally a surprise. And Kara came too. We played pool (horribly on my part) and they all bought me drinks and I had too many drinks. I got home fine (Jeff gave me a lift), but I went right to sleep instead of packing.

And then I woke up hungover and it took hours to get going and down to business. And damn did business take a while! I sorted art supplies, I packed things, I reduced the amount of clothes I was packing, I went through toiletries. Packing for what is supposed to be a months long journey is hard. It feels like a lot of stuff, and I'm not sure if I'll use it all, but I also don't want to buy things that I would have been able to pack.

But right now I am looking at a pile of my stuff. I made a run to the storage unit. Hopefully my last run. I'm bringing bedding as well as the sleeping bag, because I feel like some nights it would be fine to just wrap up with a blanket. But anyway. Maybe I'll put a blanket into storage when I look at my car situation. I need to get a cooler. My first stop will be Wal Mart. They should have a cooler. Then I'll fill up my tank and head South on Highway 1 for LA and great adventure! Not planning on getting to LA tonight. Just maybe put a few hours of Santa Cruz behind me.

Well. I'm going to go pack it away. You'll be hearing from me next place I get wifi.

days remain

All that remains is my mattress, desk, and chair. All my shelves are out. Well actually no, one shelf remains. But I haven't put stuff into it yet. 9am tomorrow I am moving my mattress in, which means I can start packing stuff around it and to the back, instead of having to leave a corridor in my storage unit.

I went to Big 5 and got a tarp for my tent and some tent spikes. I couldn't locate a cooler in a good size. I'll probably get the cooler last, maybe on the road or something. Just swing into a Wal Mart on the way and grab one. I also got a backpack at Ross. A good sized one for day trips. Enough room for a jacket, a snack, and art making supplies.

And I made a post office run. I'm all set on stamps! Had a few things to mail out, so those are on their way. Ma & Pa, keep an eye on your mailbox!

So yeah, packed stuff away. Got yet another tub. This one is a "totally going on the trip" tub, so that I can put things in it while I sort other things. It's all getting whittled down, bit by bit! One big push tomorrow and that should be it. I want to be able to leave early on Thursday.

Day after tomorrow. Damn.

Oh, Tara and I axed apart my bed frame. It was fun. It'll be firewood!

I met Ryan for one final 99 Bottles pint night. It was New Belgium night. The sour beer was really good. Ryan won a pint glass. He, Anita, and Dan will be taking care of my plants. Here's to their survival! We had a good hug goodbye.

Hugs goodbye. :(

One more full day. Gotta get cracking!  But I'm so close to being there.

wow what a gross movie, I love it

I'm watching Dead Alive/Braindead right now and omg. It's a 1992 Peter Jackson movie and it's so weird and gorey and gross and just. Omg. And Jed Brophy, who played Nori, is in it! And it's so weird and gross and absolutely just... strange.

Saturday Garth and I got Thai food for lunch/breakfast. I finally found a place that makes larb in the proper way! Not the weird way like with that place in Portland with the drag queens. Then I headed back and worked on packing. Didn't have to make a lunch food item run! Didn't have to go to bed early! Though I still did. Had to get on with the major packing, after all!

I made three runs to my storage unit today (Monday). And I reorganized it to make more room. Not sure how to assess what I have now. Like, what is the best way to organize some of this stuff. I guess I should focus on getting all the furniture out, and then sort the tidbits.

I'm just going to trash my bed frame, because 1) it was cheap to being with 2) the bolts are stripped so I can't take it apart anyway. It's not really worth saving and the effort to give it away on Craigslist is just. Well it's effort.

So I packed and ate pasta and packed and stowed stuff away. I have some errands to run, so I'll work on that tomorrow. Gotta change my address and mail some stuff. And check out the cooler selection at Big 5. I want to meet up with the pals at 99 Bottles, so I have to get stuff done earlier in the day.

Damn Dead Alive is so weird holy crap.

my final day of work

My final day of work played out in many ways like any day. I counted out a large order of sweatpants (which was my final task). I burned a bunch of screens. I taped up those screens.

But the nice thing was Boss made a little food party happen. Kara brought some pizza and hotdogs and carrot cake back from Costco, so Boss, Ryan, Jeff, JP, Kara, Stu, and I all hung around eating food and chatting and eating some more. I had two slices of pizza and a hot dog, and then half a hot dog later. ALSO Boss got me another giant bag of candy as a going away present! I just finished the last bag last night. This one is an assortment of chocolates. Like Milky Way and Snickers. Mini ones. So spoiled. It was hard no to tear up during the little lunch. Despite the occasional stressful day, it's been a really nice work environment. I was given challenging tasks, my skills were honed, I was treated with respect and never disregarded due to my gender which is huge because it's a blue collar manual labor based job (on top of needing an eye for detail). It's been a good place to work for, and I'm glad I'm leaving on a good note. I ended up closing up the shop, as everyone else went home one by one. So I did have a little cry in the exposure room. I don't know what emotion specifically I was expressing in that moment, just that it all got to me. My final day! And that I'll be missed. Jeff said that he was glad that he worked there while I was working there.

It's been... it's been a thing. I don't know how to really digest it.

It was raining and cold today. Really actual full raining. Almost cleansing rain, if I were feeling more poetic.

A cold, quiet day. With warm plentiful food. Mmm.

Dropped off a few more things at the storage unit. My art folder, my table, some bins. It's filling up. Just gotta leave room for the mattress.

I had a little breather at home, and then I cruised downtown to the Boardwalk to meet up with Ryan, Anita, and Dan for some bowling! Dan also had his last day at work, so it was double celebration. Dan is what is known as being a "good bowler". He has his own ball! The rest of us get gutter balls. Though I did manage a strike! One strike...between two games. Oh well. I like to play, I'm just not very good. But I think that's how I am at a lot of things. I'll do, I'll try and if I don't win. Oh well.

Ryan and I walked around a bit, before I dropped him off at Dan & Anita's. I've got a busy weekend ahead of me! I'm going up to The City to see Robin and to see the Mary Blair exhibit. So it's off to bed with me! Up and at them!

It's a new day, and I'm nearing the end of the Santa Cruz chapter of my life.

smartiepants

I got up early and called Straight Talk and gave them the info to switch my phone over from Verizon. They said it may take a few hours, but up to 36. So I went to work eagerly anticipating the activation of my ZTE Savvy. Savvy, like a pirate. Hee. Yay.

Anyway, work was all right. Started cold but it warmed up. I peeled the numbers off this vinyl banner and applied new ones. And burned and taped. And did the tertiary stuff. Jeff has been teaching Ryan press & catching stuff. The day went by though, slowly but surely. I burned and double coated some stuff right at the end. Full 8 hours. And now tomorrow is Friday. And then it will be the weekend. And then my last week of work.

I spent the night playing and fiddling about with my phone. I got several apps running. Customized the ring tones. My text message alert is the bing bong from Cabin Pressure and my ring tone is Allam as Richardson singing Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. I got phones on the wallpaper and photos on the lock screen, and my own lock screen unlock! Anyway, I'm stoked on all the features and I'm pleased thus far. The layout will take some getting used to. Still figuring out where things go and how to turn this and that off. But yay, I am now a smart phone haver!

Santa Cruzian

Saturday

Slept in. Needed a good sleep in. Still, I got up at around 10. Odd how that seems late, when just a few months ago that would be early. Funny how things like that change.

A lot changed this weekend.

Anyway. Had a big egg and meat sandwich for a late breakfast. Relaxed. Finished watching Thor. Relaxed some more. I helped make dinner. Cut up the strawberries and tomatoes for the salsa, and made the marinade for the salmon. We played some yahtzee while the salmon marinated. Phil came over with nice beers, and we ate grilled salmon with tasty salsa and drank beers and chatted. It was lovely! A great last night in San Francisco.

Sunday

Slept in, though I should have tried harder to get an earlier start on the day. Did laundry. Packed up my things. Put my things in my car. Cleaned the floors, cleaned the sheets, did a little drawing for the new Odd Owl single (just a little owl in a spaceship for the CD, nothing too fancy). Everything got packed up and before I knew it, it was time to hug the amazing, kind, awesome Carmen & Josh goodbye.

They really are wonderful amazing people. Their kindness, and generosity, and all their everything! They gave me the time and living space, and because of that I was able to find a job in my field, and to get settled, and all this wonderful things. I wouldn't be here if not for them. Words can't express my gratitude.

I drove to Redwood City, which seemed a really quick drive now. Packed up the rest of my things into Nathan's car (I left some peripherals there). He loaded up my bike. And off we went to Santa Cruz! He arrived just a little bit before me. We quickly unloaded everything and then puttered off to Bed Bath and Beyond to try and find a bedding solution (unfortunately the Target won't be open till July 29th or around there, boo!). Got a fan, a mattress pad, some pillows, and a towel. Hurray! I'll get some curtains tomorrow, because I don't have curtains. I have some cloth draped, but it doesn't quite cover it all.

I sorted my stuff out a bit more. Hung some clothes. Nate & I got burgers for dinner. Yum yum! Then I said goodbye to Nathan, and settled into my room some more. Janet came home, and Joey the doggie came up to say hi (and smell my room). The leftover burger will be lunch tomorrow. I think I'll come in at 10? Set my alarm for 8...though that seems early. Ah, well, 8 is good! I like not being rushed in the morning. I need to figure out how long my commute will be. Or rather how short it will be. Yay! Short commute! And I have evenings once again!

My life has entered another stage. Graduated High School? Check! Got accepted to college? Check! Graduated from college? Check! Moved in with parents, got supplemental education, motorhomed around a bit? Check! Moved out of parents? Check! Found job? Check! Found place to live and moved into it? Check!

What comes next?

trill in SF

I am in San Francisco! Yay! And the job hunt continues with a fervor. It is also nice to have more people around, Josh & Carmen will be here far more than Nathan. And Carmen works from home, so I'll be able to pick her brain about things.

Nate when off to work and I bid him farewell at that time. I played some Skyrim, and then got to packing things up. I left a good amount behind. Well, not a good amount, but enough to not overwhelm my guest status. Clothes, art supplies, etc. Every move, I can take less with me. That is, until I find a job and an apartment. Then I have to start getting things again. But that is...well hopefully not too far away.

I left Redwood City at 6:20ish. Car drove just fine on the freeway. There was a bit of traffic, but I wasn't too held up. An hour between here and there.

I arrived and then we drove down to the Tenderloin District to eat at Farmer Brown; a southern food place. I had pulled pork and a pint. There was also gumbo and jambalaya and catfish. Though that is what they ate. It was an excellent meal. Back at the house, there was street parking for me. Yay! Josh helped me bring my stuff in, and it didn't seem like that much stuff. It all tucked away quite neatly. It helped that there was a chest of drawers and space under the bed to tuck things away.

Nathan just texted me saying it was lonely at the apartment. Awww.

Medford, OR to Redwood City, CA

I am in Redwood City! WHoo! Yeah! It is blue skies and all that wonderfulness from here on out!

But first I had to get out of Oregon. Breakfast was bagel and creme cheese, a banana, orange juice, and tea. I checked out of the Super 8, gassed up in Medford, and hit the road. Crossing the mountains was a bit slow going. The road was super gritty, and my car really shows the red mud (I need to give it a wash, make it pretty for Cali). I got passed by a truck towing a camper! I'm in a Prius with no snow tires going up hill on a very gravelly road. Of course I am going slow. Grrr.

The rest of the way was pretty easy. Really scenic views. Lots of fluffy clouds and orchards and hills and blue skies. I listened to Moon Over Morocco and enjoyed myself heartily. I pulled over into rest stops often. I snacked. Didn't get any full lunch on the road. I filled the tank up right before San Francisco, which was good because once I go to SF, the road expanded to five lanes and it was congested. I arrived right at rush hour. It never really fully came to a stand still, but dang I have never been on the road with so many cars. So not used to five lanes, and many different routes to pick. The GPS was very helpful. 101 went straight through, and I kept in all the right lanes. I paid my toll and went through San Francisco. It sure looked like a nice place, from my view from the freeway. I kept going forward, and eventually the Whipple exit appeared and BOOM I was in Redwood City. Just one exit, one right turn, then a left turn and I was at Nate's place! Really simple. I left Medford at 10am, and arrived just a little bit before 6pm.

Nate's place is pretty sweet. It is a lot larger than the photos initially indicated. The bed/divider section of the studio is only half the space. Lots of open space. Moving all my stuff in took no time at all. I think a lot of my things will be left in their boxes for the time being, they just will be stowed in more orderly fashion. Nate went back to work, and I unpacked and hooked up to the super fast internet. It is so fast!

I Googled "food" in regards to my location, and walked to the nearest Thai place and got take away, and I walked back. Ahhh it is so awesome to be within walking distance of things again. Love it. I shared my dinner with Nathan when he returned. We watched Game of Thrones, ate pad thai, drank beer, and ate cake and had a general good time. Whoo! Now Nate is wanting me to play some of his computer games, so I shall do that.

Seabeck, WA to Medford, OR

My alarm went off at 7am, and I managed to roll out of bed at 8:30. Go me! I showered and got right to packing and sorting and putting things into boxes. Pretty soon all my stuff came together. Art supplies, hair stuff, books, more art supplies. The pile started forming and I started getting worried about if it would all fit in the Prius. Before I piled it all in, I paused to have some tea and Cheerios. It was a lovely sunny day in Washington. Luckily, everything all fit! And I didn't even need to cram or do any major Tetris-oh crap I left my Tetris shelves at home! Oh well. Anyway, it all fit! My clothes, my plastic wheely organizer, my portfolio, my Baticelli, everything! It seems like a lot of stuff, but I'll sort it out. At a little bit before noon, I hugged and kissed Ma goodbye. I got in the Prius, and drove off. It dripped a bit of rain. I topped the tank off at Wild Cat Lake, and vroom off I went. The rain came and went. Near to the Washington/Oregon border, the rain came down really hard. I slowed down, and was very careful, and had the windshield wipers at full. It cleared up in Portland, which was the only place traffic really slowed down. I put more gas in my tank near Eugene. Bought myself a hot dog and a Red Bull as well because I was feeling a bit tired. I listened mostly to The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders; switching to Electric Six or Lady Gaga when I felt like just some music.

I stopped at many rest stops. One past Olympia, one that was 95 miles to Eugene, then one further down I5, then once again 40 miles from Medford. I was originally planning to cross the border and look for a hotel there, but with night came more rain, and I didn't feel like slugging through the dark wetness, so I pulled into Medford, found a Super 8 and got a room.

Oh, it also hailed something fierce around Albany/Salem (I forget). Just really horrible hail. And some of the rain was suspiciously slushy. The Pacific Northwest is really not trying at all to win me back.

Interesting how a hotel room in Oregon has more amenities than the ones in Vegas. Big fridge, free internet, huzzah! There is also breakfast included. So I'll get up, eat, then head out for Redwood City!! Yay! Will fill up the tank before I get back on I5. The snack bag mom packed is only about half depleted.

So close to the Bay Area!

Eight hours on the road isn't that much, but the weather sucked. I think if the weather was nice, and I got an early start, I could have driven a lot more. But when it is dark and raining, guhh.

pack it in, pack it out

My legs hurt! Been standing on them, and straining against them as I haul all these things around. I laid out all my clothes in neat little piles on the bed. Did a load of laundry as well. All my clothes are clean and ready to go. I think I did a pretty good job editing it down. I could probably do with even less clothes...I'm going to try and wear dresses more often. Biking around really limited my wardrobe to pants, so now that I'm driving, I'm going to try and dress a little better. Ahhh I'm tired. This will probably be a rather rambling entry.

My clothes are packed into a suitcase and a plastic tub. The jackets, shoes, socks, undies, and scarfs are separate. I'm not sure how warm/cold to pack. I am headed south, yeah, but I know San Francisco gets the ocean winds in. Well, I can always pass things back off onto Mom and Dad if they visit in the motorhome. It's really just a couple coats, which are always good to have.

I selected seven paperbacks and seven art books to bring with me. Books I can reasonably read, and not just let them collect dust.

Need to find my bike helmet.

The things that are left art my makeup, hair stuff, art supplies, and computer related stuff. Not so bad. I want to leave before Mom leaves tomorrow. So before 11. Leaving super early is only really if I plan to do it in one shot. I think I might find a motel in Medford, or right over the border. Get through most of Oregon. I'll see how I feel. I'm pretty tired right now, so I think I'll go to bed and finish up in the morning. GOODNESS, I leave tomorrow! It seems so sudden, though I've been in Seabeck for 10 months. I haven't done nothing in this time, but it has been a long while.

Time to get a job and get a life and do things and have fun.

Finished Bron/Broen. Quite sad. Good drama.

Oh, went into town and dropped off some stuff at Goodwill. I think I won't have a problem fitting the stuff into the Prius.

AHHHHHHHHH!!! Tomorrow, I leaaave. Holy cow!

about to roll out

Uh oh, I'm starting to stay up late again. Not good. I'm sitting in the computer room/guest bedroom. I got a tablet. A Wacom Bamboo Create. The small Intuos was discontinued, but the Create came with the same programs, and has a larger drawing space, so that is good. Also, when using a dual monitor set up, having the larger tablet is good, because the mouse space corresponds to both screens. A smaller tablet may not extend so freely. Anyway, I've been playing with the tablet, figuring out the programs. Adobe Photoshop Elements sucks though. Really not good. But Gimp has been working out.

I spent the day sorting through things. I tried on a bunch of clothes, and was amazed at how many of them fit better than they once did. I lost weight, even though I'm softer in the chin in stomach. Weird. Anyway, tried on clothes. And went through my very last bucket of stuff. Then I sorted the tubs and took the tubs to the space over the garage. Tomorrow I will finalize all my clothing selections, take a final trip to Goodwill, wash my clothes, and then take things back up to the cabin for long term storage. Art supplies, technology, clothes, some art, cooking implements. This is what I shall bring. Oh and check book and bike helmet and toiletries and things...tomorrow I pack it up. Day after tomorrow I leave.

HOLY CRAP.

Anyway. Lots of sorting. Getting on with it I am I am.

...I should at least plan

Game of Thrones premiered tonight! So excited! It was so good! I need more exclamation marks: !!!!!!!!!!. There. That should about do it.

I put away all my books and went through all the boxes in the minibarn. I still can't find my rice cooker. Put away my magazines as well. Missing some issues, but no biggie. They'll turn up in this house.

I'm down to one bin in the cabin to sort through. Found my favorite shoes. So I need to go through that last bin, as well as organize the stuff that is laying out and unsorted. I still haven't tried on the clothes. Two days.

Dad has gone again.

It was legitimately sunny, though not warm.

I took down my wheely plastic thingy, which will make for a good movable storage thing.

It is nice to have my books put away, though they are in a horrible order. I should rethink the whole have read/reading/haven't read system, but oh well. Maybe the seemingly unintelligible system will keep mom's hands off my books. She bends books.

Not the most productive day, but I did do some good things. Do I want to over plan and potentially over pack? Or under plan and pack in a hurry and forget things that I probably won't need?

SUBWAY!

Went through many more boxes in the cabin, still have another large bin to go through and several smaller boxes. I've pulled out a lot of things that I want, but now I need containers to put THOSE things in. I need to pull out the containers that I'm moving with. Get an idea of how much I'm going to try and fit into my car. Might bring the chest Dad made. Maybe that red Ikea bookshelf, as it is very lightweight and it would be good to have an easily movable shelf. Suitcase, for when I crash at people's place. Three days to pack up. I should leave the fourth to allow ample time to get there in time for the concert. Now the pressure is on. Though I think I've been saying that it is on for a while now.

Sorting through things, it really hit that I should have sorted through this stuff MONTHS ago. So many great little things. I should have taken the time to sift through it, lord knows I've had plenty of time.

I've been fighting a pounding headache, and I don't know what caused it. All I know is that I can't find any Advil ANYWHERE. Tons of allergy and cold & flu remedies, no general painkillers.

We ordered Seabeck Pizza for dinner, watched Community, and I scarfed down three slices. Good episode.

Dad is leaving for work tomorrow, so it will just be me and Ma these last couple days.

Dad showed me whats what under the bonnet, and where the spare tire is.

I ironed on some patches onto my vest. Smokey Bear, Timberline Lodge, and Kolb Studio specifically. I put one on, but then removed it as per not wanting to start a family feud. The vest is off to a good start. Now I have to add to it! I'm very specific about patches though. Don't want to stick any old patch on it.

I'm almost done watching Real Humans. I don't want to be done! It is so good!

Tomorrow I'll...I'll get a few steps closer. I need to get more motivated, earlier in the day. My library needs to be fully put away. Magazines need to be put in their magazine holder. I need to try on clothes for how they fit, and sort through the clothes I have in the drawer. I should also decoupage my chest of drawers, as I've dug up more show cards to add to it. Those all sound quite doable. I slept in today, I'll set my alarm for earlier tomorrow.

I also need to be wary, as it is April Fool's Day, and I am quite trusting.

EKG & me

Got up nice and, well not early because I don't think 9 counts as early. Anyway. Got up. Showered. Mom drove in the new Prius, so I had some time to eat a modest breakfast. I arrived a bit late for my EKG appointment, but the technician, Valori, was running a bit late. So all was good. She rigged me up to the machine. Four little attached sensor thingies, and a wand with some gel make for a fun time. Though in all seriousness, I did find the sonogram display quite cool. She went from several angles and took different notes in the computer about my various lubs and dubs. I could recognize the heart. My heart! It lasted about thirty minutes or so.

Afterwards, Mom and I went to see Mirror Mirror. The before noon matinees are six bucks! Dang! It was a cute movie. The costumes were amazing, naturally. The movie was a bit hammy, but visually it kept me interested. Armie Hammer looked good in his clothes. Tee hee.

Ma and I went to the self serve yogurt place. She topped hers with fruit, and I topped mine with candy. This place had mochi! I love mochi! And I love it on yogurt. Mmm. I hope there are more of these places in California. I like them.

We made a Trader Joe's grocery run, and another Goodwill run. This time Mom just bought a ton of books. She needs to try being a slower reader.

It kept raining all day. Boo.

Back at home, Dad had made good progress on his grading. Well it seemed like good progress. I scanned some sketches that I did today, as well as some of my Las Vegas/Grand Canyon sketches. So the day started out productive, but now it has fizzled out. Though, I'll be aiming to get out of here REALLY SOON. I just need to set myself at my boxes, and not stop till that project is done. Go through, unpack, repack, sort. Start setting things aside for packing.

vest for my patches, bag for my things

Quickly shifted through the box containing the last bit of clothes to organize. I removed the obvious "no way am I going to wear that" things, and topped off my Goodwill donations. Breakfast was two cups of tea and an egg. I always steep a bag twice. A strong cup with two sugars, and a weak not sweetened cup. I have a way about doing my tea. Yup.

Ma and I went to Doctor Houck's office in Silverdale. I have a bicuspid heart valve, so I need to get it checked up every half decade or so. And now is the time for a check up, as I haven't done so since pre-college era Trillian (also known as pre-Blog era). But some of my records didn't transfer over, so today's visit was just a preliminary one to establish myself, and get my heart listened to. Doctor Robin was very nice, and his office featured his own nature photography, which I liked. He also has great taste in shoes. Tomorrow at 10am, I have to go in for an EKG.

It rained pretty much all day. Pacific Northwest standard. Bleh. I can't find my Romeos, aka my favorite brown shoes. They are not so much summer shoes, so I didn't wear them during the summer, and I didn't pull them out of my boxes when I unpacked my winter clothes. Now I want them for when I move out. Need to go through everythiiing. I'll sort through the rest of my boxes tomorrow. That will be my major thing, and set aside what I want to move with. Start collecting items to pack for the move. Eeeee. So close! It is coming.

After the appointment, Ma and I went to Goodwill. We dropped off a ton of stuff, and then went in to procure more things! VHS tapes were only fifty cents, so we picked up some good titles like Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, Fifth Element, and I forget the other ones. I found a great red sort of peacoat, a denim jacket for my patches, and an Italian (it says Italian) leather satchel. I need a proper satchel, and there it was! Huzzah. Ma got some scarves and seeds. A very fruitful trip indeed. We ate some McDonalds. So much McDonalds has been consumed this past month. Then we drove on in the rain to pick up a prescription in Poulsbo, then it was back home!

Dad consumed left overs and then left for this shellfish talk thing. I chilled on the Internet and removed the sleeves from my new jean jacket. Going to turn it into a patch vest. So cool. Gotta get up early tomorrow. If I have enough time, maybe I'll iron on those patches and wear my vest. I am way excited for my satchel as well. It has a shoulder strap AND a handle. Kinda the perfect bag.

I've got less than a week if I want to get to that concert. Having a deadline that is super motivating. GET ON WITH IT TRILLIAN, GO GO GO.

lolly gagging

Ending up deciding to go to Goodwill tomorrow, and combine it with my doctor's visit. Gas is expensive, best not to waste trips, eh?

Sorted through the last of my clothes in the cabin, and then hauled up another box to sort. Still need to hang up my jackets, and try on some of the clothes. Some things are keepers, but I need to see if they fit, ya know? Sorting and sorting and sorting. But it is good to do. A bit cathartic.

Watched telly. Listened to music. Ma and I watched the first half of The Red Shoes. Dinner was pasta. I drew a bit too. Nothing too fancy, and I broke a nib whilst doing it. Ooooohhhh, I need to work on Nate's painting still!! Maybe I'll work on that tomorrow night.

Time is running short. The month is almost up. I need to get to the Bay Area pronto. Do some major sit down and get shit done sessions.

so that is where that shirt went...

I forget if I dropped something on my toe, or if I stubbed it, but something happened. Also with my short trimmed nails, it sucks to pick things up or tug at this and that.

Got up relatively early as well. Still hasn't registered that I can sleep in, but I got stuff to do now! I worked on sorting my clothes. I found my pea coat. I sorted my shirts from my dresses. I have a bucket of good clothes, the keepers. I have clothes that are good but I for sure don't need them right now (heavy coats). I have a Goodwill pile. I have a bunch of clothes that need to be tried on to see how they fit, because if they do or don't is the decider if I keep them. I'm trying to move with not so many clothes, just to make it minimal and nice. But I still want to sort through so that my secondary clothes are on hand for if and when I get settled.

Tomorrow I'll finish the clothes sorting. I need to sort the clothes in my bedroom as well. Then I'll make a Goodwill run. I can only fit so much in my car, and I don't want to pack it to full.

Spent the day chilling at home. Dad made burgers for lunch, and his salmon specialty for dinner.

Raising Hope was a bit odd. I'm getting caught up on Justified. I like to watch a couple episodes at a time. Such a good show, with a stellar cast. So much swagger.