Wednesday, June 24, 2009

well that was depressing

As much of a bum-out as yesterday was, today served as a brilliant shining light, as it allowed me to see the end of the tunnel, and conclude that maybe it ain't so bad.

I don't want to jinx anything, since it's all still in the works, but suffice it to say that I feel really good about the job and near future, and have a hunch that my apartment situation will be gloriously turning itself around very soon. (Which is good, because if I stayed here for very long, I might just have to die, whether from chronic disappointment with my environment, or from a strung-out delinquent busting in through my one measly lock and killing me so he could pawn my laptop and kitchen supplies for suburban street drugs.) It also helps that I was able to get a dose of a Cafe Nico from Vivace - something I've been craving since I was last in Seattle, almost a year ago - and a mini-trip to Whole Foods.

Now, my only problem is my goddamn procrastinating slackerdom. I have to wake up in 8 hours, and I'm only a third of the way through my open-book jurisprudence exam, which I MUST postmark tomorrow, a very busy 10-hour day in the clinic. Before you roll your eyes at the 8-hours comment, let me say that it's been incredibly exhausting, these last four roller-coaster days of newness and excitement and dispair and enthusiasm and uncertainty, and this lady is tuckered the hell out and in dire need of a good, solid, coma-like doze. And before you berate me for complaining about an open book exam, well, just... shut up, why don't you? The time alotted to me to take the damn thing (20 days, Washington state law) has been chock full of moving my butt clean across the nation... replete with newness, excitement, dispair, enthusiasm, and uncertainty.

And so, I sit here on my blow-up bed and sort through pages and pages of legalese, bored as hell, with words running together and drool running down my face. Here's hoping I get her done some time before the 5am sunrise.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

i should be taking a state licensure test, but...

I was feeling a bit blue. What with the exhaustion from the three day drive from TX to the Pacific NW, all the city/job/coastal newness, and the shithole of an apartment. (I may elaborate at a later date, when this will all be funny instead of miserable, but suffice it to say I am getting the hell out of this place ASAP and looking for a cheerier habitude to hang my hat. Or, blow up my air mattress, as it were.)

SO!

Although I have a jurisprudence test due in about 1.5 days, I have lifted my spirits with a heavy dose of cheap wine and finslippy. All that was missing was a viewing of Amelie, but given the post-red-wine drowsiness, that'll be another night. I think my job here is done. I'm buzzed enough to have forgotten that I am literally penniless and currently reside, however temporarily, in the ghetto corner of a Washington 'burb.

Nice work, El Gato Negro. We will meet again soon. Very soon.

Friday, June 19, 2009

life on the road

In the past two days, I've driven through six states. Some things I have seen/accomplished:

- Driven a record 32 consecutive miles without using my hands. (The rule was no touching the steering wheel with hands. Signaling and adjusting the cruise control were ok.) Turns out you can do all sorts of things while driving when both hands are freed up, including clapping to music, for a more satisfying dancing-while-driving experience.

- Practiced interlacing my toes. (It's harder than it sounds.)

- Covered over 900 miles each day, stopping only three times per day for pee* and gas-up. I am a machine. (*Turns out my bladder doesn't act like a 2-year-old's when I withhold liquids in any form... except, of course, the occasional gas station crappuccino. Those are practically obligatory.)

- Purple mountains, impossibly blue skies, rolling bright green hills, and incredible sun and cloud situations. (They weren't lying about purple mountain majesty, for reals.)

- Continued my language learning with Intermediate French CDs, a new Half Price Books purchase. Je suis fier de moi.

- Spent one night at a Bates motel look-alike. (The choice was between $42.50 and $90 for the Best Western a block away.) It looked eerily like the real thing. No lie, I was a little freaked out during shower time. I even checked the place for possible peep holes. Needless to say, I survived the night.

And now, I rest (at a less questionable overnight establishment), along with my little car. Tomorrow it's two more states, and the culmination of my trip: a peek at my never-before seen new apartment and new city.

West coast, I'll see you soon.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

take the baton girl, you'd better run with it

I decided that before a very frantic and stressful and rushed cross-country move toward Seattle, I would pay a visit to the Texas of Canada. And so I spent five days immersed in (mostly) beautiful Quebec summer, folk music that I missed so dearly, and the pseudo-family and good friends I left behind almost four months ago. It was more lovely than I remember it, and completely worth it.

I spent the last couple of days tearing my hair out beause of a broken car (that busted just after I threw down over a G on it, and just 36 hours before it must drive me to a destination over 3,000 miles away) and the possibility of being homeless as of this Saturday. As in, arrive at destination: Washington, and have to sleep in my car. It all turned out in my favor, the car being mended and a home being found, mostly due to excellent friends and all-around luck. It's good in a way, to feel that pre-move frazzle. Reminds you how much you can get done under pressure. Makes you proud. And it feels even better when you discover it's all working out like a peach.

But the fun doesn't end there. The next week of my life will be jam-packed with excitement and craziness. I have just packed my Camry to the brim with everything I own from my three-month stint here in Atlanta. Tomorrow, I spend 12 hours driving to Houston. I'll have two days there to RE-pack my car, including the kitchen stuff I will require, and also will be packing some boxes to make them shipping-ready. Three days driving West, starting Thursday. And just one day to rest before I start my job. As, like, a doctor and stuff.

So, yeah, on the move again. It feels like I've made a career of moving. But so far, it hasn't been a bad thing. You gotta keep life interesting, I suppose. And this is one way to do it.