At least I still have my health

I interrupt this regular schedule program of not writing or giving a general crap to give you this sunset and a blog post!

In the new year, I resolved a few things: 1) To find a job 2) To blog more/more consistently 3) To, perhaps, run/exercise a bit more. So far I've been lacking on all three...well, unless you count doing jumping jacks to get warm because I'm trying to cut down on the cost of heating the house by keeping the thermostat low. To be honest, it's hard to blog when there's not much to blog about. I'm rounding into my second year of full time unemployment and were I to keep up a blogging schedule the bulk of the content would be about the terrible reality shows that I watch, how I walked to get the mail today, and the state of the neighbors' dogs when they come over for treats.

All that being said, I have been living in North Carolina for over half a year now! In this time living here, I've noticed that it is way too easy to spend my days wallowing in my own self pity and despair (hence the lack of updates) than it is to be grateful for the sunnier side of life. And so, in keeping with my devolution into mediocre writing skills (see, how the negativity so easily rears its head?), here are the things I am blessed to have and grateful for:

• Jack
• Kale for $0.99 a pound at the grocery store. At least I can assuage my guilt for eating at Chick-Fil-A by eating more kale purchased at a ludicrously low price. EDITED! 03/21/13: I just went to the store today and the price of kale has gone up to $1.29/lb--what is this, Seattle? There is officially nothing redeeming about this area.

And, because I need some perspective as to why I need the above list in my life, here are the things that suck about the area:

• It's very nearly impossible to find a mid-level professional job because the area is still mostly agricultural and seasonal. I think it's one of the few areas in the country where a college degree means next to nothing. Ask me how demoralizing it is to not get a job where one of the few requirements was to have graduated high school.
• Follow up. I think it's nice to follow up when people leave voicemail messages or say they will send an email with information, but I guess that's not the norm here. I've now realized that it's easier to pull teeth than to get companies (utility companies, especially) to follow up and maybe return/pick up a call or two, because, I guess, either people don't care about the money we want to lavish on them or this is some sick, demented version of Island time. 
• Loud rain. Some may call it heavy rain, but I'm going to call it like it is: loud. At least in the Pacific Northwest the rain had to decency to fall in a constant, near mist so that it is quiet and allow people to sleep through the night. Not so in the South! Here it is loud, thunderously announcing its arrival in the middle of the night so that you are awoken from your semi-deep slumber and unable to go back to sleep to continue that dream about hanging with Liz Lemon on 30 Rock.

Foul Bachelorette Frog

3 months? Maybe 2? I managed to stick to my weekly blogging goal for nearly three months (eh, it's probably closer to two months) before the laziness slipped in and I had better, more pressing matters to attend to...like sitting around watching the TLC's marathon on the anniversary of the Royal Wedding.

To my credit, I did do a lot of things in between all the lazy TV watching, which I shall summarize for you below:

To the Emerald City!
I went down to Seattle one weekend to hang out with friends and see some old co-workers. And it was the perfect weekend to be in town; it was like a TV show (or someone's very pretentious Pinterest account): Single gal in the city, crashing with two friends and their adorable Shiba in their loft in the heart of town, lunch at a delicious hole in the wall establishment, a bustling happy hour with hand cut french fries and $2 New Belgium beer,  brunch at a place that serves water in mason jars, dinner at a place where their water carafes are old whiskey jars, people watching at Cal Anderson, and Stumptown coffee!

On another time, I went down during the middle of the week (because I'm unemployed and I can) to meet up with friends for some quality girls time and Korean BBQ (and also some Musashi's with the last bit of cash I had left). Before I headed back up to Anacortes the next day, I managed to sneak in a trip to Cafe Besalu. I had a spinach quiche there and ordered a croissant and ham and swiss danish for the road.

Making a mess.

Girls Night All The Time.
While Jack was out of town, I took the opportunity to devolve into a college version of myself (poor nutrition choices bound by laziness) and forget any social manners I may have ever learned. Messy countertops? I'll clean that shizz tomorrow....maybe. Dinner of Hot Cheetos and maybe a salad? Don't mind if I do. Not shaving my legs for a week (or more). It's not sunny tomorrow, is it? Then I'm not shaving my legs!

I also gave myself a few more liberties, such as using both bathrooms in the most inefficient way possible. I like to use the toilet in the hallway bathroom, but I'm going to shower in the other one, because it has a nice shower-head (the kind that make it feel like rainfall). I also untucked the blankets and threw on a pink bedsheet. Then there was the watching of terrible television without fear of being judged (My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding? Uh, yes please!).

We usually only deal with this kind of wildlife. Not rabbits. That's something new.

Jack's Back! Time for all the work around the house.
One of the things I was actively avoiding while Jack was gone (but knowing full well that it needed to be done) was mowing the grass. Mostly because I'm not quite sure how this mowing business works (I've never done it myself) and also because lazy. So when Jack gets back, we get to doing stuff around the house--I'm weeding while Jack mows.

Twenty minutes in, Jack discovers that the lawn mower has gone over a little rabbit nest. The mom is toast, but we find three little rabbit babies. We scoop them into a box and Jack goes back to mowing the lawn, while I let my guilt seep in. I end up going through the phone book looking for advice on what to do. By the way: If you are using the MacGregor Yellow Book for Skagit Valley and look up Wildlife Removal, don't call that number because it calls a NURSING HOME. Boy, that was an awkward telephone conversation.

In the end we decide to drop off the babies at a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center up near Bellingham. So we take the box and throw in some grass and get going. Luckily the babies are in good shape when we get there, a bit cold since we were supposed to keep them covered with a blanket instead of in a box with grass thrown on top, but the lady at the center thinks they will be okay. Another successful, if slightly frightening, interaction with wildlife!

Jack's Belated Birthday Surprises
Jack's birthday came and went while he was down in El Centro, and outside of a text I sent him on that day, he didn't have much time to celebrate. And that's where all my pent up energy from not working comes in! I decorated his room in colorful (read: hot pink and yellow) streamers, wrapped his presents all nice and tacky like, and even baked him a cake. If you're feeling a little intimidated by my Martha Stewart-esque-ness, don't be--that cake was from a box with artificial canned frosting! Yum!

The birthday boy declined to be photographed with his cake.

I made a hat! (and other things I with which I pass my time.)

Among the things I have done over this period of (f)unemployment, I have started and finished (!) a few knitting projects. Although, this might just be a record for me--I have started and finished knitting a hat in under a month. And with plenty of winter weather left to spare. It seems like winter will never end, despite the daffodils blooming in our yard.

True story: I actually got dressed in "real" clothes for this picture.

I got the pattern through Ravelry, which is the most awesome website ever if you are looking for patterns or inspiration for your next knitting/crochet project. Starting the hat was a bit tricky because I had never done an Italian Tubular cast-on, so I had to look up instructions and sort through all the different YouTube videos out there. But once I got started, I only made like 5 mistakes, which seems really low considering that most of the time I was knitting while watching Gilmore Girls.

A few months ago, I also finished a cowl scarf. I had bought the yarn on clearance not really thinking about the color only that I liked the yarn. So once I finished, much to my chagrin, I realized that with the color and the way it's striped, it kind of looks like a bacon scarf.

Bright side: My bacon-looking scarf is ridiculously warm.

Lest you think that all this time spent not working have been toward productively knitting cold weather accessories for myself, I have also wasted countless hours on Interwebs watching cute animal videos. True story: One night I stayed up way too late, just watching a dog named, Murkin, and his cute little kittens. You are just going to AWWWW all over the place. Behold:

EXTRA BONUS CONTENT!
So, here's an outtake of me trying to figure out my PhotoBooth program on my computer. It had been a while since I last used it, and my laptop is getting into its twilight years, so I kept on hitting the button to set off the camera, but when it took it's sweet time to load, I got up to open the door for some fresh air. And that's when the little punk decided to start working.

I can't wait to have a job again.

Lazy Wednesday Blogging

If I could spend all day just riding the ferries, it would be awesome.

I am congratulating myself for following my self-imposed mandate to blog every Wednesday for the last month by writing bits of random thoughts, because I am too lazy to organize them all.

So, where are you from?
I feel, as of late, it's become a bit difficult to give people a straightforward answer to this question. Technically, I am from Seattle, because that's where I last lived before moving to Anacortes. But I didn't really grow up in Seattle, I've only lived there since college (and for three of those years, only during the school, I'd peace out before summer officially began). I'd like to think that I'm a California girl at heart, but I think I relate better to the Pacific Northwest now. And don't even get me started on the people who ask me where I'm from only to follow up with, "No, really, where are you froooommmmm?" With the barest hint that perhaps I truly hail from a place a bit more Oriental than Seattle or Los Angeles.

Alternatives in case this whole finding a job does not pan out:
All this time not working has given me ample opportunity to consider my alternatives if I never am able to find a job when we move to North Carolina. Chief among the current alternatives I am thinking about is to learn how to print screen t-shirts and posters. Then I can create some witty one-liners, print them onto t-shirts, and peddle them to all the Marines and their families in the area. Right now, I'm thinking something along the lines of "Semper Fly for a White Guy"...of course not all Marines are white, so I'm going to have to think of more ethnically diverse options. Or, I can print something like "Marine Wife", but in a hipster-esque print for all the trendsters in the service so that they may rock the t-shirt ironically. Perhaps I should give this more thought.

One more thing on public transit:
I neglected to mention this a few weeks ago on my thing about public transit, but one thing Skagit Transit does have on Metro is that the drivers are quite personable. Perhaps it's the low rider volume or maybe it's just that Skagit is better at customer service, but for the first time in years (or ever for that matter) I know what my bus drivers' names are. We have pleasant conversations on the way to wherever it is I am going for the day and I ask them about their weekend plans. I know that Sam the bus driver does not care for mussels. It's a weird experience, because I am so used to just turning up the iPod and zoning out until I get to my stop. Now, I hardly pull out my iPod, even though I still keep it on me, and the conversations definitely make for a more enjoyable ride.

Exploration! Destination: Edison, WA

Probably about a month ago, I managed to convince Jack to drive out to Edison, WA for a day of exploration. Edison is a tiny little hamlet to the east of Anacortes and just south of Bellingham. Well, it would be directly east of Anacortes if not for Padilla Bay and that whole body of water.

Anyways, Edison is what I imagine a town (if you can call it that, the 2010 Census registered 133 residents) would look like if all the Capitol Hill hipsters decided to move out to the country. The town has 2 art galleries and a small handful of artsy boutiques cum antique shops. That's 2 more art galleries and a small handful of artsy boutiques cum antique shops than I'd expect in that area.

Fun fact! Edward R. Murrow graduated from Edison High School

Jack and I had lunch at Edison Inn, which reminded me of a much larger and slightly less greasy version of Kate's Pub. Apparently, you can't go wrong with food in Edison--all the restaurants and bakeries (Yes! There are even multiple restaurants and bakeries in this town of 133) came with rave reviews online, and even a mention in a recent Bon Appetit issue.

It was an entertaining afternoon, poking around all the closed shops (we went on a Thursday, I believe, and most of the stores/shops are, understandably, open only on the weekends) and pretending to be really interested in that $1,000 oil painting of Puget Sound. Also important to note before you go: Breadfarm, which apparently makes super delicious pies, cookies, and bread, are cash only. I did not know this and so when I went in looking for coffee and a cookie, I had to turn around because I did not have cash. This was most painful and heartbreaking.

I'm so cool. Look at all the awesome things I've done.

It's been a month since I last worked and I am both enjoying this time off and achingly desperately to get another job. Perhaps its the American mentality that you live to work (or maybe that's a child of an immigrant's mentality), but some days I feel like my identity is closely tied to what I do. Without a job, I just feel lost, without something to anchor me down and give me a day to day purpose.

It also occurs to me that I don't necessarily need a job to to define myself. I can find things that I'm passionate about and, if I'm supremely lucky, I can find a job that meets my expectations for myself. But then again--have you not seen our economy? I am seriously wondering how much longer until I go back to retail.

In the meantime, I've been keeping busy. I finally have the chance to cook through all cookbooks and magazines that I've collected all these years. I've been able to take a run during the day. I'm now caught up on every single trashy reality show on air currently (so happy that Jersey Shore is back). I have managed to kill all my useful brain cells by watching said reality shows. I have watched a group of deer come into our back lawn nearly everyday to defecate and eat the bushes. I'm very nearly halfway through Dance of Dragons. I've also caught up with the TV series. I finished my quilt. And I also had time to fix it once it began to fall apart. I've watered the lawn and taken out the trash (to various levels of success since I haven't done that in years). I have also explored a bit of Friday Harbor with Jack. And, I've finally had time to enjoy being sick since I'm home all the time anyway.

Up next: Car camping!

My summer break - A quick overview

So I've been on a roughly self-imposed "summer break" for nearly two weeks now, I figured now is as good a time as any to give it a quick overview to see how I am doing. Perhaps it will give me some perspective and also to figure out how the hell I managed to whittle away all those hours during high school summer break.

Days slept in: 6 (Initially, I had trouble adjusting to the fact that I didn't have to wake up to work)

Hours slept: Way too many to count. It's like summer hibernation.

Average time that I wake up every morning: 10:00am

Cups of coffee drank (despite not having to wake up for work): 10

Cups of coffee finished: 1 ( I tend to leave the last inch in my mug because of the dregs and I realized that I didn't need coffee because I had no real reason to be alert)

Deer sightings at the house since we've moved in: 1 (And it wasn't even in our backyard. Come on!)

Days that I've left the house since moving to Anacortes: 2 (And it was to get groceries and to go to Target)

Total number of pull-ups I've managed to do (not consecutively) on Jack's pull up bar since moving into the house: 4

Cravings that I've had so far: A Dick's Deluxe, sushi, french fries from the Fish Fry, Shultzy's Junkyard Dog, and Kate's (I know it's technically not a craving, but I want a nearby bar)

Amount of running I've done: 0

Number BBQ grills successfully put together: 1

How far I've gotten in Dance of Dragons: about a 1/3 way through--and it's driving Jack crazy.

My life in boxes

 

In the last week, I've managed to pack up and move all my worldly possessions up to Anacortes. And boy, do I have a lot of "worldly possessions." Jack mentioned that I would learn very quickly, and certainly by our next move, exactly what I want to keep and what to throw away or donate. Le sigh.

My last week in Seattle was marked by grand circle tour of Fremont and Wallingford; packing and cleaning; lunch with co-workers at Paseo's; happy hour at the Walrus and Carpenters with more co-workers; finally purchasing the Seattle Neighborhoods poster I've been coveting for so long; more packing and cleaning, only more frantic; wrapping 70 pot stickers in an hour for dinner with friends; spending Thursday night in Anacortes to wait for the Comcast guy on Friday; and one last hurrah at Kate's with my awesome friends.

So far, Anacortes has been fun although I haven't explored much since I've spent my days unpacking and taking over the hallway bathroom. All I know is that I better find a job soon because I've become restless and staying at home all the time is getting boring fast.

(f)unemployment starts today!

Things I can do on the weekdays now that I don't have a job:

-Pack...eh, maybe.
-Go to Cafe Besalu for some croissants.
-Go running
-Clean the apartment
-Spend my WHOLE day on Facebook and just add a ton of people
-Make it to 3 o'clock happy hours!
-Sleep in
-Finish my quilt
-Develop the film from my Holga
-Finish my crochet project
-Find a shadowbox so I can display all the cool wine corks I've collected
-Shop at Nordstrom in the middle of the day and not worry about making it back to work by 1:00pm.
-Stay up late to watch Whose Line Is It Anyway?