water, tips, bookstores, and coffee shops.

This entry is going to be rather scatter-brained, so please excuse me.

The bus ride home from work today proved to be quite lovely. My route goes right by Green Lake, a small body of water a couple miles from our house.  It is a walk I plan on making on the warmer days to come.  Every time I go by any area of the lake, I see people walking, jogging or just resting on the edge of one of the many docks that juts out toward the center. Water tends to make me feel very calm.  It gives me peace. Go Go H2O!

   Not Green Lake, but another beautiful body of water, Puget Sound

I wanted to mention something about the cultural differences between this city and my experience in the midwest regarding tips...as in the "you're so awesome!" people get to say by leaving any extra change/cash they happen to have to make your day super rad. Back home, I would be lucky to get one dollar to take home at the end of a 7 or 8 hour shift. One dollar. Which is really only 50 cents if I happened to be working with someone else and split it between us. But the other night during a closing shift I took home 24 dollars in tips (!!!). This has never happened to me before. And this was after splitting it in half, so if it had been just me in the store I would have gotten almost 50 bucks in one night. This is craziness. Craziness, I tell you! But it's such a non-issue here. So weird. Though awesome.

Had the most relaxing Thanksgiving yesterday. Just a lazy, lazy day. Being so thankful for my best friend and our mutual love for being a couple of couch-potatoes. Got to see some family via Skype which was a nice plus to a grateful day.

Today I received a small peace sign charm from this wonderful older gentleman named Ed who I met my first day at work. He's one of our regulars. He happens to have the same John Lennon tattoo as me, and because of this we are now best friends.  He works at the university's NPR office and told me about this new PBS documentary about John and Yoko's time in NYC.  He claims it's the best one yet, so I'm really excited to watch it. If you're a fan, go to pbs.org and it should be on their homepage.

I'm lucky enough to have a used bookstore (Twice Sold Tales) and coffee shop (Sure Shot) just a couple doors down from the Pit where I can spend lunch breaks and time before/after work. I am already completely in love with the coffee shop. It has made me want to paint the walls in our apartment dark red and only ever listen to Iron and Wine while I'm home. Plus they have local made chai and it is absolutely delicious. Probably the best ever. And I'm sorry but anytime there are cats in a bookstore I guarantee I will spend more time there than in a cat-less bookstore. Twice Sold Tales has two cats. Orange and grey. I am in love with them. Though this isn't very fair because the more time I spend somewhere the more likely I am to buy books. But I'll be getting my library card in the next couple days so that will be a helpful money saving tool.

Some random things I've learned so far...
People are weird no matter where you go, with the most unusual of all emerging at night. I find this comforting for some reason.
It's hard work to deliver food on a bicycle, especially up and down really steep hills. But I can do it!
Seattlites don't know how to handle snowy weather. It is endearing and humorous to watch.
You better not forget your bags for the grocery store because they will be disappointed in you.
It's difficult for me to write a short blog, even when I feel like I don't have a lot to say.

Anyway, I love you and I'm glad you're reading this.

This is what my life looks like right now.

I still can't believe I'm here.

It's been over a week and I've definitely passed the feeling of "I'm on vacation" and into something which feels like it's on the way to living here, though it is still way too good to be really happening for my brain to comprehend. If that makes any sense.

I love the rain. Yes, it does make things a little damp and it does make my hair into a frizzy mess of awesome proportions, but it makes me feel clean and good and safe. It makes things green and alive. It also makes the people's faces glisten, which makes me smile. In conclusion, it makes.

I start work tomorrow at 10am. It will be weird to go back since I haven't worked in a month, but it is completely necessary and I have only heard good things about this particular Pita Pit so I am confident it will be a positive experience. I am lucky I don't have anything to worry about as far as "first day learning new things" jitters, as I have had dreams/nightmares where I am rolling pitas.

Attending an all day massage therapy workshop at Cortiva this past Saturday has been the highlight so far, for me. I cannot even accurately describe the warm feelings of comfortability and endless possibility I felt while there. The small community of folks at this school felt very familiar to me and after my experience at school in Chicago (where I was part of a program with over 800 students) it is something of which I cannot wait to become a part. They make you feel like an individual while also stressing your importance in the whole of the profession. They are a family that believe in the healing power we all have at our disposal if we just choose to utilize our own bodies to reach out to others.
The day was split up like any normal school day would be there: anatomy and physiology in the morning, hands on massage in the afternoon. EVERY DAY is like this. Every day. I can't think of many other schools I could attend that incorporate so much calm and relaxation in a normal day. The balance between exercising the brain and then the body is something I have unknowingly longed for my whole life. Our bodies are our vessels for experience. If they aren't balanced, whole, and healthy, the toxins we carry around with us are bound to seep unwanted into our lives. I would love for it to be my job to help people chill the hell out! To get rid of the stress and the loads we all carry and make people feel anew, awakened, relaxed, and ready to face our world with a new perspective...or simply with the knowledge that at least they have a massage waiting for them next week.
The workshop made me want to start as soon as possible, which would be January, but realistically I want more time to explore and get acclimated. So the tentative plan is to start in March/April, whenever the next term starts. I cannot wait.

Something needs to be said for food. Food. FOOD. Besides being a weird word if you look at it long enough, the food in Seattle is unlike anything I have ever seen/tasted/juggled (the latter action is for my dad). Or perhaps it's the food selection that is so amazing. Besides all the farmer's markets to choose from, which I'll get to in a minute,  the array of places to eat out is astonishing. Whether you like Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Moroccan, Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, the list goes on but that's all I can think of at the moment. Or whether you're Vegan, Vegetarian, or a Raw Foodist you have SO MANY options. The street that my job is on, in the University District (which is the area surrounding the University of Washington), has two vegan pizza places. Two. We went to the one called Vegan Pizza Pi and it was delicious. They have this garlic sauce that...well...you have to try it. And the markets. The markets! Besides being ever so photogenic, they are full of the freshest foods, a lot of which is local and most of which is from somewhere in Washington. We have 3 or 4 to choose from just in our one little neighborhood, not to mention all the ones that are scattered about the city. We also found this book of organic farms all over the state where you can go and pick your own food! They just give you a box and you fill it up with whatever you want and pay from $25 to $50 depending on the size of the box. So we will be doing a lot of that in the summer and fall.

I think that is all for the time being. I am content with what I have shared. Please know that I have been thinking of all of you. It's funny because I'll see something that will remind me of one person, and that will make me think of someone else, which will lead to another and the web continues until I feel like everyone I know has filled my mind for at least a snippet of a moment. I enjoy this. Have you ever tried to think of everyone you know? You'd be surprised how quickly it can happen. And though it is comforting to have you in my thoughts, I'd rather have your bodies here. So get your bodies here! I have a few things to show you...