So Much for Quarterly

Almost a year! Holy hats and handerchiefs. A new record of total disregard for this blog.
It's been an interesting year. I've learned my own best way to live in Seattle. Had many a visitor. Struggled with some health issues, including an ongoing battle with major depression. I didn't do a ton of travel, so I guess that's partly why I didn't blog. But I'm starting to figure out that this blog doesn't have to be about travel all the time. So, welcome to the jungle a life update entitled:

How I Plan to Spend the Next Year Traveling the PNW

Wait whaaat? I just said this wouldn't be about travel. Well, it sort of is. I have spoken to some of you regarding my plans for the next year or so, but many of the people in my life aren't aware that I have put a date on my move back to New England.

Now, let's not get dramatic. I always figured I'd end back up in the Northeast. The Pacific Northwest is a torrid love affair, filled with mystery and intrigue, bursting with passion and lust. But New England, New England is the best friend/soul mate that you'll always find your way back to. The kind where even if you haven't talked in years, you pick right back up where you left off.

I don't have a very detailed plan, mostly because my time frame for The Great Returning is for Summer 2015. All I really know is that I will be moving to Boston or Cambridge as I have discovered that without a shadow of a doubt I am a big-city kind of girl.

One thing I've learned this year is that there are discoveries to be made no matter where you live. It's not about the place, it's about how you explore and adapt and how you make the place yours. Ultimately, I want to make a place mine that affords me the ability to be only a short trip to any of my family and long time friends, and a place that I can use as home base when I decide to go backpacking for a month or three.

That being said, Seattle is the first place I've really made mine, and because of that it will be completely heartbreaking to leave. But over the next year my plan is to make the PNW such an integral part of myself that I will be satisfied and ready when the time comes to say goodbye.

In my head, it stands to reason that over the next year I will have a more than usual amount to write about. I have a huge amount of places to see and activities to participate in and I'm hoping that some of those things will be worthy of chronicling. Stay tuned in for my adventures. There will be blood blogging.

In which it is Springtime

Weeeell hi there! Great to see you! I missed you, it's been too long. How the hell are you?
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That's fascinating!

Well, I sure hope you're all doing well. Or well-ish. Or just ok. And if you're shitty, well, I send extra good juju your way. Can you feel it? Caaaan you? Are your spidey senses tingling?

Lots of life-y business haps since my last update. I would apologize for my pitiful, eratic and less than stellar performance in updating this blog, but, I'm not sorry. Not really. I am chronically bad at keeping up with things, and I (as most humans I've met) tend to start something and well... not finish, or not keep consistant. Sometimes it's easier, sometimes harder, but overall, I plan on keeping this blog up to date at least quarterly. Quarterly is not too bad, after all. 4 is a solid number. Quarterly is the regular update sent in newsletters for most businesses and science journals. Clearly, this blog is science. I am a scientist. A life scientist. Of business. Chyea.

Soap! I went to Mexico! And it wasn't that hot! Except for that day I got heat stroke! No, it actually was hot and humid, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't complain. But really, it's probably hotter because I am a super pale, usually dehydrated girl who sometimes pushes herself too hard. I guess it really wasn't that hot.

So! I love lists. Did you know that? Maybe you do now after reading this. Or maybe you just know me super well. Yeah, I'm talking to you *wink wink*. Ily.

List #7123781: Things I really enjoyed about Mexico

1) Seeing my lovely, lovely sister. I hadn't seen any of my East Coasters since Christmas, which is the longest I've ever been away from my family. I know, I know, cry me a river, could be worse. But I effing love my people. So, seeing her definitely earns Numero Uno status. It worked out really well, because both of us are big into adventures and not huge into just sitting around at resorts.



2.) Not staying in the resort. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about a free, all inclusive, gorgeous beachy-ness, swim up pool hotel suite. I just wanted to explore and get some culture, of which there is none at the resort. Never being to Mexico, I had a lot that I wanted to check out. Kate and I went off most days on some pretty rad excursions and experienced a lot of the Yucatan.

3.) Guided tours through security checkpoints with police wearing huge automatic guns. We went on the traditional cenote/Chichen Itza experience, which of course was magical. We did get on the wrong tour at first, but we figured it out along the way. The guide at Chichen Itza was awful, so Kate and I did our own exploring, and took some of the best pictures I've ever seen.

Historic colonial town of Valladolid

The other excursion we did was to Coba, and to one of the last climbable pyramids in the world. It was terrifying and rewarding and hot hot hot. Standing on the top, I couldn't help but think, hey. Lots of people's freshly harvested hearts have bled here. Apparently, this was a bit much for the people around me, since all of them looked at me like this. I thought it was cool. On that same day we went to a teeny tiny Mayan village, and got to boat around and zip line and be present for a ceremony/blessing by a shaman, where he burned some traditional sap for incense that smelled incredible. It was a small tour and a small village, and the intimacy of it was really amazing. Very authentic! That place was my favorite. I could have hung out in the forest with Kate and the shaman for the rest of the trip. Kate and the Shaman, that would make an excellent band name.






Shaman forest

 



From the sacrifical stone on top of Coba mega pyramid



4.) Performances at the resort. Getting to watch some pretty awesome lip synching/dancing from an adult sized wooden swing and drinking free alcohol. And also, Kate killing it on the dance floor. Or stage, rather.

5.) Traditional Mayan food (aka, mostly corn). The only place in the resort we had traditional Mexican food was in the dinner show we went to, where they made special vegan food just for usses. It was crazy good. And it was cool to be in a big ampitheater and watch a chef work his magic in person and on large screens. Felt like we were on the Food Network! The other very tradition Mayan/Mexican meal we enjoyed was in Coba. Tamarind and hibiscus water? Rice and beans? PLANTAINS, YOU SAY?! Yes, please!

I guess that list tops out at 5. Of mention, we did participate in a few little CoreMed parties along the way, and I met some far away coworkers, which was nice. Overall, it was a whirlwind, short weekend, but I am psyched that I got to see some of the things I did. Apparently, Coba is being closed off for climbing in the next year. So glad I didn't miss out! There was so much to do and to choose from, but honestly, I wouldn't have traded that day in Coba for anything else in the Yucatan Peninsula.

After Mexico, I came back to my fair Seattle. I had to find an apartment rather quickly, and was very lucky in my search. I'm now living a cute, cozy (read: small-as-fuck) 1 bedroom on Capital Hill, which was my neighborhood of choice. The place has a month to month lease with great terms, so I wasn't locked into staying after my contract was up in May...

But really, I think I've known since the first good week I had in Seattle last September that I wanted to stay. I feel rather at home here. The topography (is this the right usage of that word?) is stunning and pretty near idyllic for every type of person. You like mountains? BAM. Volcanoes and shit. Oh, but you'd like to be near the ocean and salt water and whales and seagulls barking all the time? ZAP. Got you covered. Fresh water for boating and swimming? POW. Done and done my friends. There also happens to be a rainforest on the other side of the Sound. That's happening this summer. It's close to Portland, Victoria, Vancouver, and all other places and things west coast. For the most part, peeps have a laid back attitude and a friendlier than New Englanders (though that's not super hard.) The only thing is that it rarely sees snow, but I can drive 30 miles north and be in snow country in January. I've also made some really stellar friends out here.

Alright, I'm done with my love letter to Seattle. For now. Short story long, I will be relocating all my stuff out here with plans to stay awhile, as I've now accepting a full time position with the company I was contract with. My stuff will be coming out West to me sometime in July after I go home and finish going through the gems in my storage unit. I started that process a few weeks ago when I went home and found some pretty brilliant things, including old pictures, the old collage from my bedroom walls in high school, every note that anyone has ever written me ever, boxes and trinkets from all of my exboyfriends. ALL of them. Some of whom were only actually my boyfriends in my mind. They were real people, I swear! It was just rather one-sided. Alas, all of the above has been tossed, with some dark and somewhat blurry camera phone pictures to remind my of the favorites. Favorite things in general, not favorite not-really-boyfriend boyfriends. Don't look at me like that. You know what I mean. Right? Anyway, here are some storage unit pictures for shits and giggles.

My first cell phone, a hand-me-down from Matt. The back is all messed up from where I superglued it to my wall collage in high school.

Some of the many stolen signs and other pieces of my wall collage

Perfect taste in music. Obvs.

An entire floppy disk container full of WAVS. And probably only one per disk.

"Hi there, hello there, how do you do? We're going to sing some songs for you. Some fast songs, some slow songs, some funny songs, too. So join in and sing along and have some fun too. We're gonna sing about Laura, a very special, special girl" Pretty sure I remember all 5 songs by heart. This was a keeper.

Love matches from 8th grade.

With all that said and shared, I plan on continuing my country wide journies and international experiences. I just have a new home base to do it from. What's next, you wonder? Great question, my friends. A weekend in Vegas, perhaps. Extended leave to Japan? Possibly. A tour with Doctors without Borders? Hopefully.


But for now, my dear friends, these are the voyages of the starship Enterprise  these are the days of our lives  these are not the droids you're looking for  these are good times. Thanks for reading and I'll maybe talk to you in the next three to four months.

She lives!

Just not in the digital world. Well... barely.

With my computer broken and my Kindle Fire and its absolute mockery of a web browser, it has been nearly impossible to keep up with blogging. Instead, I've been keeping a real paper journal, longhand style.

So, why don't I break out that delightful notebook and share some of my profound experiences with you!? Yes! Making the "Obligatory catch up" blog somewhat more intriguing! No? Maybe? I think your head says no, and probably your eyes and maybe your heart, but what you actually mean is "yes." OK then, if you insist!

On November 17th, I wrote, "Today I drank delicious beer. I don't know what it was called.There are a lot of beers out here."

On November 29th, "The Hopper commercials make me a little homesick for New England. As do the Dunkin commercials and the SNHU commercials.WTF is up with Dunkin's adds out here? I want some god damn Munchkins. Who can I call to complain?"

December either the 12th or the 16th holds this little gem: I apparently wanted to remind myself that "it rains in Seattle a considerable amount" and that "people drive like the rain is some sort of voodoo magic falling from the sky that has never before been seen by the likes of men."

Sometime in the first weeks of January, I wrote about my future as a professional Jenga player. The dates are illegible. It would also appear that I was bleeding from something during that particularly profound thought, as dried droplets of blood are on the bottom of the page. Apparently, dreams of professional Jenga playing trump a-cut-that-is-so-severe-it-is-dripping in the realm of writing.

What a successful 3 months of journaling. -_-

From memory, then, here's a breakdown of all of the things I would have blogged about had I actually been able to, and possibly the things I would have written about if I was a more coherent, non sarcastic individual.

1. I still live in Seattle. Winter is mild and people complain about the rain. They need to grow up and put on some golashes, because this place is the shit.

2, The rest of my Ireland vacation was ridiculous. Not in that it is worthy of ridicule, but in that it was hard to believe that it could be so awesome. A seperate Ireland post will arrive shortly after the reception of my hard drive from NH.

3. VIP tickets to see the Killers was one of the best decisions of late 2012.

4. I went home for a short Christmas break and it was absolutely lovely. With that said, I signed another contract to stay in Seattle until the begining of May. That will make this the longest stretch I have ever been away from home, and the longest stretch that I have gone without seeing any of my people.

I'm sure I've forgotten things of importance and things of great humorousness, but I will have to live with my remarkable journaling as the only record of those last two months of 2012.

Luckily, I remember lots from January!

Happy 2013! I brought in the new year at a masquerade, something I've always wanted to do. The fireworks from the Space Needle were pretty impressive! I have taught myself many new things so far this year, including the "cups" song and game, how to sing a song in French, how to start fires without matches. I started working out regularly, and I've lost about 15 pounds. I've also read 4 books. I took a mini road trip across the Cascades to Spokane. Let's see, anything I missed? Oh! Well I had a window smashed in my car for the first time. I think that about covers the excitement happening thus far. Perhaps I should just prepare myself for the impending dissapointment, because January was the most productive month possibly I've ever had. But who knows? 2013 is lookin mighty promising, with a free trip to Mexico avec my favorite sister and all sorts of weekend trips planned for the upcoming spring months. Perhaps January is just a warm up.

Stay tuned, my friends. And watch for the back dated blogs from my cross country trip and my other 9 days in Ireland!

September/October

So, my computer has totally crapped out. All I have now is my phone and today I was realizing how many pictures I have on my phone that I have never saved anywhere. So here is my photo purge, including my birthday, my random outings and a mini trip home!

For my after-birthday weekend, we went to Tulalip and kicked it at this club.

 

Here's this dude. He is way better at dancing in heals than I am!

My favorite sister visits for my birthday!

 

Birthday breakfast! 

A selection of random pictures from Kate's trip out:

 

Woodland Park Zoo!

 

Pioneer Square

 Indoor waterfall in downtown Seattle

 

And where I decided to meet my uncle for brunch

Apple Picking In New Hampshire!

 

And back to Seattle....

 Great cinema!

And Leela finally sits still for more than 2 seconds for a picture.

So that's it for the photo dump. Hopefully I will have the means to update more successfully in the next month or so and no more just photos!

Stay tuned....

Emerald Isle Days 1&2

I'm in Ireland. That is a real thing. It is 523 AM here and my body clock has declared war on my sleepiness. That's to be expected, I suppose since I have slept about 13 hours since arriving at my hotel yesterday around 11 AM. To be fair, I have travelled through 8 time zones in considerably short time on relatively limited sleep and significantly heightened emotions. That sentence is adverb heaven.

So now I lay awake waiting for the sun to rise or the fog to lift or for whatever has to happen in the sky to make it lighter out so I can act on my current focus: soaking up the awesome. We are in a town called Drogheda (that's a silent "g" and accententuate on the "da") which is medieval and adorable with narrow cobblestone streets, Gothic cathedrals, ruins of abbeys and structures that look like a movie set from Braveheart (yes I know that's Scotland) a barbican from the 13th century that used to be the only way in or out of this walled city. Oh, my bad, did I forget to mention there is a small beautiful river that runs through, traversed by a pedestrian bridge and a 154 year-old viaduct? Wat.

Yesterday Mom and I were exhausted, so the focus was on getting rather acquainted with a right -sided driver's seat and going through round abouts clockwise on the left side of the road. It went something like this:

Me "Hullo, opposite land! Please let me not vehicular manslaughter us today!"

Irish roadways: "Good luck." (Insert Nelson's point and "Ha ha" here)

Mom: "You are doing just fi- (insert scaredy gasp here) Watch out!"

Me: "I got this. I totally have this."

In conclusion, no car accidents or vehicular manslaughter yesterday! Huzzah! Then we napped. Then we had our first Irish meal, which for me was a stuffed baked "podaydo" with a salad and for mom was some sort of grilled sammich and tea and a scone. Then I watched Gaelic TV for an hour and went to bed. Now it is 623 and the plan today is to walk about Drogheda before breakkie, take some photos and then be off to a Neolothic (read: 5000 YEAR OLD aka older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids) monument called Newgrange which promises to be epic and fill me with a sense of wonder, connectedness and personal insignificance all at once, like thinking about outer space. Then on to Northern Ireland and to spend the night in Belfast.

I wish I had a way of uploading photos but alas it is not to be. Hopefully my description will do for now. Or you can google it. Time for the three S's: Shower, shave and slan ((that means goodbye). Oh? That phrase usually means something else? I am a lady, you know. Also, I am sure you will all be happy to know that my Irish lilt is coming along quite nicely. Stay tuned for more!

A Remarkable 6 Weeks of Mishaps

I wish that word was pronounce "Miss-shaps". Saying that aloud would potentially make any unfortunate happening a bit easier to take and maybe even slightly laughable. Or how about "mih-shaps", like I imagine Sean Connery says it? Yeahh, way better.
Since arriving in the beautiful Pacific Ring of Fire hotspot known as Western Washington, it has been a nearly continuous sequence of mihshaps.

At first, I was just tired. The drive, though an incredibly scenic, somewhat life altering journey, was totally exhausting. When I arrived, all I wanted was a comfortable, consistent bed to sleep in and to get used my new job. That didn't really happen, and hasn't really happened yet. Ok, so it sort of has, with the super help of my mother, brother and Coremed, I've had a bed to sleep in every night, but my first 2 weeks here I moved every 2 nights or so. Me and my poor cats barely had enough time to sleep between moving and juggling money and working 12 hours shifts and trying to find the next place to stay. The list of moves is ridiculous, due to bed bugs and places not allowing cats, other places having no where to cook, store or eat any food. 4 nights I payed double for hotel rooms. What a waste! Finally, after two weeks, I found myself a closet apartment to live in after acquiring over a grand in debt to my company and my family members.

Since living in my new apartment, to be known from here on out as the closet, or HPBC, minus the adorable sleeping man boy, and finally getting used to a job that I don't much care for, I have been living on about 50 dollars a week due to the debt I've accumulated and the need to save money to pay rent and for my trip to Ireland in October. Mr. Beeblebrox got mega ill, and it cost a pretty $600 to save his life. This was the $600 I was supposed to spend on coming home for my mom's 60th, which I ended up missing because I wouldn't let my cat die. I am overdue by double for an oil change, my stereo in my car has stopped working, I have broken and damaged my $400 worth of my security deposit already, I have to file for a passport and a new license, I have a torn ligament in my left foot, and it takes an hour to drive 14 miles to work everyday.

To summarize this whiny bitch-fest of first world problems;  I am 3100 miles from everyone and everything I know, I live in a closet and I am broke, having just enough money to get to/from work and to buy food for myself and my cats. The time difference has made for extra lonely time due to not being able to get in touch with my most usual chat artists on the regular, though luckily this is straightening out. Daily, something ridiculous happens that either puts me out of time, money or energy. Needless to say, my usual optimistic, perky and go-with-the-flow snark-filled attitude has been stifled into a mostly tired, pity-partying self centered existence.

What I really need is a swift kick in the ugly ugly sad pants I've been wearing, because I feel like I have been totally lost in this manure cesspool of negativity. I've been focusing on my feelings of defeat and disappointment that things weren't just magical and totally perfect the day I arrived and that I don't have a ton of spending money to sight see or be leisurely with. So, in the event that I wake up tomorrow, or the next day or the next, feeling less than impressed with my life or where I am at right now, I have decided to write a letter to myself to remind me that life is pretty fucking awesome and I need to just deal with it.

Dear Lora,
If today you are feeling especially down, slightly depressed or even remotely melancholy, please refer to the itemized list below.

1. There are worse closets to be trapped in. Just ask R. Kelly

2. There are worse things in life than disappointment, and you have lived through several of them already. Also remember what Martin Freeman said, "Disappointment is an endless wellspring of comedy inspiration." Effin A right, Arthur Dent. You can improve today by not wallowing in what should have or could have, but what you can make of today, tomorrow and the next. Today could be started with you making this face in the mirror and picturing a miniature, disappointed Keanu Reeves on your left shoulder. See? Disappointment comedy is a no lose situation.

3. Money is tough. Someday's you have some, some days you don't, but you're saving for your next big adventure. Remember your priorities and you'll figure it out. Plus, there is free shit to do around every corner. Go read a book in the park. You love that crunchy shit.

4. This is not your bed. Gandhi lived here, and didn't eat for 116 days to fight for what he believed in. Everything I could write after that seems nearly insignificant. Remember, just because you are not Gandhi does not mean you are this grumpy lump of a human, either. So stop being a wanker, get yourself in the shower, and don't be late for work. Gandhi was never late for his hunger strike. Also, I'm pretty sure that Boca Burger would have been just fine for Gandhi's dinner and would have lasted him one entire week. It probably would have been a fucking vegetarian feast. And you have ketchup? You spoiled hen. Gandhi would have given that shit to the poor and eaten just the crumbs to survive. Gandhi probably made his bed every day, too. Just sayin'.

5. You live here. In a land of water, fresh and salt, of hills and ancient green forests and of epic volcanoes, where the temperature rarely reaches and doesn't get much hotter than 90. Seriously, has there ever been a more perfect climate and geology in your imagination ever? No? Oh, except for Rivendell of course, but lets be honest, the whole being stuck with a never aging Cate Blanchett is kind of like your worst nightmare, eh? Plus, the time for Elves is over. Now is the time of Lora the Seattleite.

6. I am sick of thinking of reasons. Take a deep breath and try and enjoy your life. Nothing is bad enough right now to warrant weeks upon weeks of this terrible slump. Stop wasting your life being miserable about all the things that could possibly make you miserable and start spending it being stoked on all of the things that could possibly make you happy. Ready. Set. Go.

Thanks for bearing with me through this, all. It is so therapeutic to see it written out. Much love goes out to all my East Coasters for dealing with the series of unfortunate event phone calls, apathetic voicemails and the occasional sniffly-crying bits. I love you all so so much, and never would have made it these 6 weeks without your continuous support answering all of my plees, contributing monetary donations and providing much needed commiseration. Mom, Kate, Matt, Erin, Justin, Bonnie, Lori, and facebook friends who have commented on status updates, all of you have made this manageable. Thank you, thank you, thank you.


I promise my next blog will have more snark, more pictures and probably more inappropriate links. <3

Day Three, Part Badlands

Miles Driven on Day 3: 420

Total Miles so far: 1240

States Passed Through: SD

Currently In: Kadoka, SD

After my little rainbowfest yesterday, I still had plenty of daylight hours. I wanted to go to Badlands National Park. So, I did.

I passed through the Buffalo Gap Grasslands, but alas, no buffalo in sight. That's ok, because...

I had arrived at Mars on Earth! From a distance you can see the looming cliffs, reddish sand and you may experience a slight wetness in your pants because you have urinated out of excitement. That is totally normal, so don't worry.

You may ask me, Lora, what do rainbows, sand dunes and rattlesnake warnings have in common?

Well, my dear friend, see the above photo. It isn't long after you enter the park gates that you get up close and personal with some dunes. This was the first pull over stop available, with sweeping views of canyons, rainbows, and the first of many "Beware *insert hilarious cartoon snake graphic that makes rattlesnakes look rather harmless* Rattlesnakes!" signs.

Another picture from the first stop. I do have the color pop filter on for the camera here, but this one is so much more close to the IRL colors that I had to keep it.

 This kind of looks like some sort of ancient ruins in the Sinai Peninsula. You know the one. Anyway, I pulled over and hiked around awhile.

Holy bones, look at the color gradient. This is ombre, mother effers.

I cast a less than formidable shadow amongst the labyrinth of rock formations

I was looking for rattle snakes. Sadly, all I found was this Hipster inspired, Instagram-worthy camera shot. Brought to you by Canon Toy Camera Setting. And dirty, dusty clothing.

 I really like this one. I pulled over on the side of the road (apparently, 5 PM in the middle of summer is oddly enough NOT a busy time for this place) and was able to snap the picture right at the dip in the pavement, which makes it look like the world is bending to my whim. Or that I've photoshopped it.

In the middle of the road.

Some cool striations in between layers of sandstone

Random plateau.

The sun was starting to set, giving the entire sky a nice pastel glow

Uhhhm, what the hell is that? 

Jesus! There are more. They look like aliens came and abducted some cute deer and then forced their face skulls into a triangle shaped cake pan and then set them back down on the grassy plains to disturb unsuspecting tourists just looking for some regular old fucking deer! Well, it turns out, the are Pronghorns, totally legitimate Earthly species, frequently found in these parts.

603 in the... parking lot!

It's getting hazy

Like those magic sand art things we used to make in the 90's, no?

With the sun almost set, I decided it would be a good idea to go to my last next tourist destination, Wall Drug. For those who don't know what this masterpiece of cheesy, road side oddity attraction is, well, basically, it is like a mini town, with different stores that sell everything from outdoors equipment to jewelry. On one side there are a bunch of individual stores, on the other, the large, Wall Drug Mall, which houses all sorts of random stores, including a pharmacy, a wall of mounted jackalopes, and a back yard with free water and, well, you'll see.

The Ice Water Store, where you can get free ice water.

Wall of bizarre paintings, including this oil painting, "Brokeback Pasture".

By feed, the mean this: 

Awkward looking tail there, bud.

Mechanical piano playing gorilla serenades you as you sit upon the majestic giant jackalope.

Here is the free ice water station! Clean and cold!

So, that ended my first full day in South Dakota. I really loved my time here and I hope someday to travel baxk this way. Now, on to a national monument!