So, I feel like my blog is neglecting my life outside of coffee. Ironically, I'm actually neglecting coffee...yes, that's right. I moved to Seattle and am trying to give up coffee. Minus Mondays, I've been caffeine-sober for nearly two weeks now. So, just one cup for my Cup o' Joe Mondays; loyalty to my blog readers is that strong! Otherwise, I'm trying to manage this morning person schedule here without. If I feel I need coffee to make it through my day, I'm obviously not getting enough sleep. The solution? Sleep more.
But...onward! Enough on coffee. I do other things in Seattle too! This holiday weekend in particular was made up almost entirely of work...30 hours, in fact, between Friday evening and Monday. I love my job. The people - coworkers and customers alike - are amazing. I've gotten so many fantastic tips on trails to hike, places to run, gear to utilize, etc. The learning curve was steep but doable, and I'm already feeling cozy and comfortable in my REI vest. Coworkers often bring cookies and cupcakes to share. I get to read the Seattle Times and Runner's World on my breaks. A couple nights ago, I went out for hot chocolate and a long, late-night walk around Seattle with a coworker who also just moved to the area (from North Carolina). Hooray for making friends.
In the past week also, my friend Natalie came to visit Seattle! She stayed with Lu, another close friend (both from high school), and I got to spend a day with them playing around the scenic Seward Park - a small, forested peninsula that hangs off the east side of Seattle into Lake Washington. It seems that motorized boat traffic has been prohibited there, as the lake is unbelievably quiet and placid - and Seward Park scenic and much emptier of the hordes of people that some of the more centrally located parks invite.
A 3-mile path wraps around the park, offering beautiful views of the water, Bellevue and the woods themselves in all their tall-treed and sunshine-poking-through glory. Magic-garden-esque, no?
I was there again the next day, with Alan, as he got to spend a few days in town. We got to take long walks in the park too, play in the water, get ice cream cones, go out for cupcakes with Seyeon (official blog review of Cupcake Royale cafe coming soon!), stroll around Pioneer Square, eat gyros and falafel in an open-air cafe, browse the infamous Elliott Bay Books, stroll around the small mountain town of North Bend about thirty miles east of Seattle, watch a sunset over Green Lake, have the Alaskan Amber on tap that I sampled and fell in love with at the brewery itself when my dad and I were in Juneau last summer.
Life's good.
P.s. And a plug for a new discovery - singer/songwriter Kelly Dalton. I'm loving him, and his "Home" EP captures the mood that Seattle's drizzly, gray mornings give me before the afternoon sun breaks. Check him out if you get a chance.
Oh to be young, in love, eating cupcakes and starting a whole new life. Sounds so wonderful Yitka! Good luck with the caffeine sobriety. I will check out the musician noted above. Michele and Jessica are always introducing me to new artists and I usually love the music. Only don't like the techno stuff (rave music) but the solo artists they recommend are usually fabulous.
ReplyDelete