Birthday Blog!

Good day to you! And happy birthday to ME! It is the big 2-1 and I am quite enjoying myself so far.. still sober! I made myself some scrambled eggs this morning before I went to Top Pot to get myself a grande mocha and a dozen donuts (to share with my sister of course). I visited Ashley at work and we "cheers"ed our yummy, sprinkled donuts. I went home to watch some videos and listen to music of my favorite band, Family Force 5, until the donut settled in my tummy. Then I went for a birthday jog, and now I'm here!

A few exciting things, besides my birthday, have happened since my last post.

The day after the hike, I went to Portland, Oregon. Why? Well, a few years ago I saw a small add about visiting Portland in some magazine, and I never forgot about it. I couldn't get Portland out of my mind so I figured while I'm in the Northwest I might as well succumb to my curiosity, get on a train, and go there. Quinn and I took the train down together. We parted at the Portland train station where he was met by a friend and I went off on my own in search of the hostel I would be staying at. It took me about an hour to walk the hostel from downtown Portland. It was a really beautiful walk. I crossed Hawthorne bridge over the Willamette River which, according to Wikipedia, is a major tributary of the Colombia River. (info for dad ;) I stayed at the Hawthorne Hostel in the Hawthorne village of Portland. When I went inside I was in line to check in behind 4 kids my age who had been sitting in the row in front of me on the train. We recognized each other and they told me that had taken the bus to get from the train station to the hostel. "Oh, nice. I walked.", I said somewhat boastfully as I dropped my 20 pound backpack and watched their eyebrows raise and jaws drop. "No big deal.. I've been dominating Seattle hills for a few weeks AND I did a 9 mile hike yesterday so.... it's whatever". (I didn't say that.. but I wanted to)

My Ducky Friend at the river

I spent my first afternoon exploring the Hawthorne area before retiring to my bed in the hostel. The second day I took the bus downtown to see some of the major Portland attractions, the first of which was Powell's City of Books. I ended up spending most of the day there. My friend Tyler, a fellow AIFS student I met in London, met me at Powell's before we went to lunch. (Hi Tyler!... you're probably not reading this so, never mind) After lunch he Google Mapped our way to Voodoo Donuts, a famous donut shop. I had one triple chocolate with Coco Puffs and one topped with Oreo cookie crumbles. Tyler got a maple bar topped with crispy bacon. (..... boys) We went back to explore the travel section of Powell's before parting. Now Tyler is in Italy for another AIFS study abroad semester. (JEALOUS!!) I had bought some Oscar Wilde material at Powell's so I found a little spot by the river to read some from a book of Wilde quotes. There, I made friends with a duck and marveled at the peaceful energy of Portland.

 From there, I went back to Hawthorne to eat tacos and do a bit of writing. I went to bed at 11 but I didn't fall asleep until 5 the next morning. I was sharing a room with 7 other women who were taking turns snoring all night. I had my iPod on and listened to my entire collection of Glee music. (2 hours worth.. I could have listened to it three times, but my iPod ran out of battery) I got up at 9, packed my things and bussed downtown. I walked 20 minutes to the train station, bought a ticket back to Seattle, and found a nice little coffee place nearby called Pints to get my pick-me-up for the day. It was much needed because I walked, for the third time since arriving in Seattle on Sept. 9th, from the train station to Ashley's apartment. (this time with a giant backpack and a shopping bag full of books... but no big deal, I didn't sleep the night before so, it's whatever ;)

The infamous Fremont Troll

Ash tried many flavors :)

Quinn's new favorite shirt

Quinn came back from Portland a day after me and two days before his return home. We spent our last full day together hanging out in Fremont and Ballard, AFTER having a full breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes. (we watched an episode of Inspector Gadget too.)  In Fremont we found the Troll and did some shopping. We walked from Fremont to Ballard to find the ice cream truck Ashley's friend works at. We had some REAL great organic ice cream there. Then went home to have a mini fashion show of our new threads and watched The Hangover. (which reminds me.. I need to bring my camera with me tonight in case I forget everything that happens by tomorrow. What if I wake up to find a tiger in the bathroom!?)

Mt. Rainier as seen on a clear day

Ashley left early the next morning to go camping with some friends. I took Quinn up to the Volunteer Park water tower because it was a very clear day with GREAT views of the surrounding mountains. We saw Mt. Rainier! (my favorite mountain: last year when I flew into Seattle I awoke from a little snooze as we started to land. when I looked out the window I saw the peak of Mt. Rainier framed by puffy, moonlit clouds. it was probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen from the sky.)
Later, Quinn headed for home and I headed to the beach! Another long walk on a beautiful day. I stayed at the beach for a few hours. I even took off a layer to soak up some sun and got a wee bit burned.

BEACH!

I had planned to take the bus back home because my journey to the beach had been mostly downhill. I wasn't sure if I was up for an up hill battle after relaxing on the beach for so long. But when I got half-way home without seeing a bus headed my way.. I decided to just keep my two dollars and burn a few more calories. (have I mentioned recently how much I LOVE walking?)

Since then I have mostly just been watching movies and enjoying this last, relaxing week of vacation. The ever anticipated 21st birthday celebration will be tonight at The Triple Door stage having some drinks and enjoying some traditional Irish music by a band called Lunasa. ( I have a feeling my memories from O'Neill's will come flooding back to me!)

Cheers!

Alive... and Learning.

On Sunday I went on a 9 mile hike with Ashley and Quinn in the North Cascade Mountains. The last time the three of us were together hiking up a mountain was more than 6 years ago and memorably and unpleasant experience. Back then we were all in very different places in our lives so the trip was not a very successful bonding experience. This time the parents were not there, we were accompanied by a friend, (Steve who we have now adopted as another brother in the family) and we are all in more similar places in life than we ever have been. Quinn is almost 3 years older than I am, and Ashley is about 6 years older than me. Growing up, those years make a BIG difference. Now we are all in our twenties so we get along more like friends than siblings.

So about this hike: We were picked up by Steve at 9am on Sunday and we drove 2 hours north of Seattle to start on the Hidden Lake trail. The trail was about 4.5 miles and we hiked it all the way up and all the way back down. We started through a heavily forested area that treated us with a set of steps that helped with our trek upward. After we crossed a stream we emerged from the forest when the trail opened up into a colorful meadow. We stopped for air, water, and a photo before we continued up. The ongoing conversations distracted me from how tired I was already becoming and how the elevation was making it difficult to breathe. Quinn and I quietly took turns taking the lead while Ashley and Steve reminisced about college days and brought up the tail of our troop.  We are all mid-western natives so we stopped often to gaze in awe at the mountains and rest our booties. (It's hard to keep your ass in shape when you live in Iowa where there are no hills to challenge your glutes. I'm just sayin')

 About 3/4 the way up the scenery started to get real rustic. Jagged rocks would come out from hiding behind the mist as we walked. I couldn't get enough of being on the same level as the clouds as I watched them shift and change form. The wind was steadily picking up speed and the temperature was dropping. By this point, Trailblazin' Quinn had gone up ahead of us on the trail. Ashely, Steve and I remained generally quiet except for the spastic moments of saying to the scenery "Wow" and "I want cheese!". We had been walking up and up for almost 3 hours and our minds were  becoming very conscious of how our bodies were feeling.
(TIRED + COLD = HUNGRY) The final stretch of climb was through a patch of snow. It was quite the challenge trying to keep our balance, not slip, and keep our fingers from freezing.

When the three of us got up to the top/end of the trail we found Quinn and we all huddled behind a boulder for some eats. Then we noticed the view of the "Hidden Lake". (we found it) Exhausted to the point of delirium, we giggled more than necessary at each others' runny noses, cherry cheeks, and urges to pee.

On the way back down the snowy bit became interesting. Quinn was leading well, being careful not to slip until with one wrong move he was on his ass sliding down the rest of the mini glacier. I had been trying to crab-walk along the side of the snowbank up against the cliff but it was not working well for me. After Ashley and Steve passed me, also sliding on their asses, (hollering with joy while they did) I  did too. A numb bum and wet jeans for the rest of the hike was SO worth it.

Back-tracking was surprisingly strenuous. There were parts of the trail I had already forgotten about so mentally I was aware of how long the hike had actually been. Physically, going down was about at hard as going up. The climb causes you to fight gravity which is a choice. Every upward step is a decision to keep moving forward. The de-climb is submission to gravity. You either take a step or you fall on your face. We had been rained on during the up-hill which caused the trail to be slick for the descent. We each slipped a few times, causing the rest of the party to point and laugh of course.

From my wet clothes to my tired muscles to my cold bones I could feel the accomplishment of the day. It was physically demanding but so rewarding. The views and the company made the pain tolerable, welcome even. So what was it about our hike 6 years ago that was so disappointing? I only remember being wet and cold and unappreciative of the company I was with. (ugh.. family!) I was 14. That's all. I see myself in pictures from years past and I see a different person. The "me" in the picture doesn't know nearly the amount of things I know now. Time has brought me knowledge about what life is. I don't claim to hold the secrets to the meaning of life or anything, but life means so much more to me now than it did when I was 14. I don't complain anymore about being rained on, having tired feet (make that a tired BODY) or being cold. Those are physical signals that tell me I Am ALIVE! This hike was a great bonding day for us as 20-somethings I think because we all know now not to take life so seriously. We have learned to take joy in the moments that make us feel alive.

Listen up, You! (yes, Reader... I'm talking to you) You're ALIVE right now. If you are a balls-deep sports fan get off the couch, turn the TV off, then gather some buddies and go play. If you're worried about money then go spend some. If you're worried about something going on at work, take a vacation.

I didn't know that I cared so much about these thoughts when I woke up that morning before the hike. I don't know that I'll still think the same way about them tomorrow. I do know that I know more than that 14-year-old version of me who complained about hiking in a truly beautiful place with a truly beautiful family. I want to wake up every morning for the rest of my life and say to myself, "I know something You don't know". That way I will start of every day being aware that I am alive.. and learning.

Don't take life so seriously.

Things I Love

I tried to write this blog a few days ago  but it was terrible. It read "today I did this and then and then and then". LAME. I realize it's been about a week since my previous blog and I actually have done a few things, but I don't want to lay out a boring time line of those things. Instead I'll give a nice little list of the great moments this week has held.

Things I have loved about this week:
- Quinn is here! Three siblings back together!
- Walking up and down HILLS! Iowa is seriously lacking in awesome hills to climb.
- Walking, in general, to everywhere. 
- Writing letters and postcards to people.
- Ashley sharing her home (and bed) with me.
- Quinn sharing his breakfast, clam chowder, and awesome sun glasses with me.
- Preparing and eating meals family style.  Teamwork!
- Sibling silliness!
- Jogging/climbing stairs/ enjoying views of Seattle at Volunteer park near Ashley's place.
- Reading Stephen King's memoir On Writing.
- Doing Ashley's dishes and spending a day doing all of our laundries.

Here are some pictures of us doing stuff:

A and Q with our Salmon dinner.

The shades Quinn let me borrow.

Quinn, you have some mustard on your face.

Ashley, Stop taking pictures of us!

Your turn, yo.

Quinn's feet in the sand.

Quinn and crab head.

 

Tomorrow we're going for a hike, and next week holds plans for a trip to Portland!

"This Ain't Yo Mama's Ice Cream Truck"

I suppose I can take a break from all of the nothing I'm doing to write a blog.

Ashley and I went to a block party across the street from her apartment on Friday night. Believe it or not, we met fellow Iowans there who live in this neighborhood in Seattle. I didn't stay long enough to enjoy much else than the food, but Ashley stayed late to mingle with her neighbors. She met a couple of girls her age who went to a high school near ours in Iowa. This world is REALLY way too small. They invited Ashley and I to join them on Saturday at a sports bar downtown to watch the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. I expected to see a small crowd of Iowa fans in the bar, but on Saturday as we walked nearer and nearer to the bar we saw more and more people sporting Iowa gear. Inside the bar there was a sea of gold t-shirts. Some simply had IOWA printed in bold across the front. Some displayed the Hawkeyes logo. Some said BEAT STATE. One said "Keep tailgating until he's cute". (that's the spirit) My sister and I squeezed into a booth with our new friends and watched the bar become packed with Iowa fans. (one person came in an Iowa State shirt... he got lots of dirty looks) After about an hour of eating and talking about how awesome Iowa is the game started. I don't know much about football so all I can really say about the game is... poor Iowa State. The Hawkeyes dominated! Iowa won with 35 points.. affectionately giving Iowa State 7 points for a courtesy touchdown at the end of the game. What I CAN talk about is the mid-western sporting spirit in the bar. After every touchdown (and sometimes during dull moments like when the Cyclones were trying to score points) a random guy stood up with his trombone and played the Iowa fight song. About 8 times throughout the game the whole crowd participated in the I-O-W-A chant. (one corner of the place says "I!", then the next corner says "O!", the next corner says "W!" and the last corner says "A!". Repeated about 5 times each round) GO HAWKS!

After the game, Ashley and I did a little shopping. Walking around the streets in Seattle we heard some obnoxious rap music with the bass blasting. When we got closer to the noise it seemed to be coming from an Ice Cream Truck. I thought it was an interesting way to target ice cream sales to an audience more diverse than just small children. Later when we were walking away from downtown the truck drove by us. "Yo yo yo! This ain't to mama's ice cream truck!" rapped the guy in the front seat. Indeed... it was not.

Then we went home haven't done much else since. I love this. You know, you don't have to go somewhere warm with beaches to call your time vacation. Last night as I went to bed after sitting around doing nothing for several hours I started to feel a little bit restless about my lazy behavior since I've arrived here. Much of my time has been spent laying around.. literally doing nothing. BUT I LOVE IT! I told my restless self to chill out. It argued, "but now you're laying in bed pretending like you're going to sleep but you're not even tired! You could be reading! Or doing you sister's dishes! DO SOMETHING!"

"No." I replied, "I don't think I will." And I snuggled into cozy covers and thought happy thoughts to keep me warm until I fell asleep an hour or two later.

"What do you need coffee for?"

Hello again, Readers! (aka.. Mom)

Another adventure is under way, this time in the comfort of my own country. I am currently 24 hours into my stay in Seattle, Washington. Why Seattle? Why now? Well, my sister has been living in Seattle for a couple years and recently got her own place. So I'm taking advantage of my connection in a fantastic city to take a break from my mid-western responsibilities. I really haven't had a break from the daily grind for over a year. It's been school and work and discovering myself in London (ugh... what a DRAG!) and more work and more school. I was growing weary of having specific places to be every day at specific times to do specific things. (like work and school) Then I failed the math class that was supposed to be the final stretch of my college career. "Give me an effing break already!", I said to myself. "Okay. How about a month in Seattle with quite literally NO daily schedule and NO responsibilities?". Deal. Let's do it. That's right. I have no reason to be here other than I WANT TO. The only plans I have are to read and write. So far so good!

My journey to Seattle started on Tuesday evening, unfortunately alone. My big bro had a ticket to ride (and he didn't care) but he got a really awesome alternative to the trip called Lyme Disease. So my dad drove me up to St. Paul, handed me a wad of cash and three Snickers bars, and said Goodbye. I was supposed to board the train at 11:15pm but the train was running late. Around midnight when the train was an hour late and I had heard it would still be another hour until it was here, I sent a distressed text message to my boyfriend.
"My optimistic mojo is dying! I'm so pissed off! I want to get on this train now!" A few deep breaths and revelation later I texted him again. "Mojo has been found. I just remembered I'm on vacation and I have no need to be on time for anything. Life is good."
I didn't board until almost 2am. I found a seat in the dark coach next to an older gentleman, probably 60 years old. Until I was sleepy enough to try to sleep, I read a couple chapters from Eat, Pray, Love. Then for about four hours I drifted in and out of sleep. The train wasn't dark enough. I was cold. The guy across the aisle from me was snoring. Finally as the sun was coming up I gave up on sleep. My seat mate (I learned later his name is Craig) got up around 6:30 and came back with a coffee.
"Where did you get that?" I asked Craig.
He directed me to the lounge car which was directly behind ours. I grabbed a couple bucks and walked like a zombie to the basement of the lounge where I was third in line at the little cafe. The train jerked one way and the other and I had to do a little two-step to keep my balance. "Don't start dancin' now", said the guy behind the counter. I gave him a shy, little courtesy laugh. When it was my turn to order he asked politely (and way too cheery for 7 O'clock in the morning) what he could get for me. "Just a coffee", I said. I was hiding under the hood of my sweatshirt, surely looking like a train-wreck. (get it? TRAIN-wreck) "What do you need a coffee for?", he asked. Haha. Very funny.
 I spent most of my day in the lounge car reading and napping. I finished Eat, Pray, Love before lunch and moved on to Stephen King's memoir On Writing. This one I've read before but now I feel it might have more relevance for my life in pursuit of being a somewhat decent writer.
During my reading breaks I would catch a few Zs sitting at one of the tables in the lounge. I found the falling-asleep-in-class style of sitting most comfortable. (resting my head on my books) Or I would just sit at one of the sofas watching the rocky North Dakota and Montana scenery go by. For a while there was a man sitting next to me who sparked my interest. I pretended not to notice, but he was talking to himself quietly. He even used hand gestures and laughed at his reflection in the window. I could tell he was a little bit crazy, but I was a little bit jealous. I mean, I enjoy myself enough to keep myself company.. but I rarely have full-on conversations with myself when there are other people around. Also, this man made me recognize the windows in this train really are nicely reflective. My hood had been up most of the day because I didn't want to know what was going on with my hair. I untied my hoodie and let my locks out only to discover that they looked very nice. Note to self... wear a hood when sleeping (or not sleeping) on a train more often.
In the evening I went back to my seat and talked to Craig for a while. Such a nice guy. We shared stories about some crazy things we did in high school with our friends. Craig told me how many of his buddies he could fit in his little car, and told me about the time he and his wife did a Chinese-fire-drill together right after their wedding. I told Craig about when my best friends tied the seat belts together in the back seat of my car on the hottest day of summer.
Soon it was too dark to see outside so I did a little more reading, then started to try sleeping around 10pm. Before long I was uncomfortable in my seat so I took my pillow to the lounge car and "fell-asleep-in-class" again. I imagined myself in AP Government class my senior year of high school. Tired of listening to the teacher saying something about something I really don't care to listen to. Beginning to drool on my text book as I daydreamed about being anywhere but here. "What if instead of a text book, I was resting my head on a pillow... in a train headed far far away." Welcome to reality, Sista.

The lounge car closed at 5am when we got to Spokane, WA. At Spokane the train split in half. My car and up was headed to Seattle. The lounge car and back was headed to Portland. Once again I went to my seat by Craig and passed out a little while longer. When I woke up we were somewhere in Washington with boring scenery but before long I started to see mountains. By 10am I had had two cups of coffee and was still struggling to stay awake as we chugga chugga chooed through the Cascade mountains. I fell asleep again for a while, and the next time I woke up we were an hour away from Seattle. Whoopee! As the train backed into the station in Seattle I wished Craig a safe journey. He and a buddy were meeting in Washington to start a cross-country road trip. He wished me well too, saying "Good luck with your writing and good luck in your future". Goodbye Craig. Goodbye train.

Hello Seattle! Hello Sister! Now that I was reunited with my kin and my luggage I was ready to be reunited with my appetite and a bed. Ashley took me to a Chinese food place. I ordered sweet and sour chicken like I always do. I'm a little disappointed in myself sometimes for being boring that way.. but I always tell myself I'm just trying find the best sweet and sour chicken in the world. (which is NOT at Noodle Stop in London)
We rode the bus to Ashley's neighborhood and walked to her apartment. It's beautiful, quaint, cozy, and I am so excited for my sister to be living here. I took a shower and a nap. When I woke up I felt refreshed and ready to take on my month of vacation. My sister and I spent the evening eating mac & cheese, talking about boys, and planning some nights out. We thought about opening up Ashley's nice bottle of wine, but she wants to wait for Quinn to get here so we can share with him. We drank chamomile tea instead.

Get here soon, Quinner. I'm thirsty.