One Year = 365 Days
I’m not really surprised that time passes so quickly – we all acknowledge that in a seeming blink of the eye, a day, a week, a month, a year goes by. In this case, March 26 marks my “I can’t believe it’s been a year� moment, the day that I moved to Seattle and began working for bill.
I’ve been toying with this blog entry for a while. Part of me thought about writing the self-reflective “how I’ve found myself and grown as a person� piece. But that would, well, not be right. Life in Seattle isn’t dramatically different from that which I left behind in San Francisco. I still go out with friends, I still cook, I still go to the gym in the mornings before work, I still linger over brunch and mimosas on the weekends, I still do many things on my own. The people and location and job have changed (as I knew it would, and in the case of my job, needed a big change), but I’m not sure how much I, and the basics of my life, have changed. Honestly, the one part of my life that I thought would be different by now, has remained steadfastly the same.
Don’t get me wrong – Seattle has been fabulous and while I miss San Francisco and my friends in the Bay Area, I have no regrets about moving here. It still feels good to go to work, and while my job isn’t perfect, it makes me much happier than the one I left behind. I have made fabulous friends, all of whom bring new experience and stories and make me laugh. Seattle has many wonderful qualities. Despite the fact that the weather has been horrible this winter, I really, really like living in this city and it does feel like home. Importantly, summer is around the corner. Which means more sunshine and warmth, something that I feel like I’ve almost forgotten. I’m not joking when I say that it’s been a hard, hard winter.
I can’t write about everything that has happened to me in the past year – that would be impossible, and probably ruin the spirit of this blog, food and drink. And besides which, much of the year is in this blog. So, I thought that highlights of my unique to be in Seattle experience would be best. I know I’m leaving things out, but really, that’s why I have a blog. Anyways, here goes.
--The Rise and Fall of Coco La Ti Da. I absolutely adored Coco and talked it up to everyone. I patronized as much as I could afford, bought two cakes and generally loved everything about it, the food, the atmosphere, the desserts. Three months after opening, co-owner and chef Sue called it quits, possibly suffering some sort of breakdown. And now it sits empty, a giant “retail space available� sign in the window, silently mocking me.
--Running. After years spent ellipticalling, the lure of Guinness finally made me step into running. I’ve surprised myself by how much I enjoy the activity. While I’ve never been a big slacker when it comes to the gym, I’ve found that running has given me a new excitement for exercise. I love Green Lake (thanks Jill, for organizing) and think the little races are fun, fun, fun. Plus, food and/or drink (as in Zoka coffee) is a reward at the end.
--Venus Café. While I do talk up Venus Café, it is generally only to select individuals. Purposely, I haven’t written much, if anything, about Venus, mainly because I don’t want to give anyone any ideas of going there. Seriously, stay away. Don’t go. But if you do insist, their brunch is fabulous, trust me. And the mimosa comes in a pint glass, a bundle of fabulous goodness, that as Carrie says, “takes the edge off�. Kudos to that.
--The Park Rose Terrace. I believe that after forcing me into three unexpected and hurried moves, the housing gods have blessed me, not once, but twice. First, I found an amazing apartment in San Francisco. And then, I found the Park Rose Terrace in Seattle. It’s in the perfect neighborhood and an incredibly social building, probably the first and last time in my life that I’ll know my neighbors as intimately. We hang out, we have real conversations, we eat together, we celebrate together, we generally have fun. This is especially true in the summer, with the patio and the bbqs. I met my realtor, John, through a neighbor; John refers to my building as Melrose Place, which I think sums it up nicely, only sans the back stabbing and pool of death.
--My Liver Hates Me Again. It’s a fairly well known fact that my social life was sucked away in the five years that I lived in Silicon Valley. The one real exception was roommating with Dan, which consisted of an extremely well stocked liquor cabinet and too many lemon drops, cosmos and margaritas. Then I moved to San Francisco, where life morphed into a great and fun party. Despite my intense unhappiness with my job, I was extremely lucky to have the flexibility to work-at-home on limited sleep and/or a hangover days. When I moved to Seattle, I joked that “the partying is going to end for a long time, maybe forever, which will be good because my liver needs a break.� The partying ended for about two months, and once again, my poor liver is suffering just as much as ever. However, I should point out that the excellent fruit-based cocktails at Sun Liquor provide me with vitamins and minerals.
--Coffee & Donuts. Joe Bar is my favorite coffee shop. Great coffee and when the kitchen is open (although after almost a year, I still can’t figure out the kitchen schedule), produces fabulous sandwiches and crepes. Top Pot has inspired me to love donuts. Cafe Vivace makes my favorite latte. Which reminds me – my coffee consumption has increased, a very Seattle thing, I’m sure.
--Dodgeball. I think I was accepted as one of the guys when a teammate standing next to me mooned the other team during the highly charged semi-finals round. It really doesn’t matter though, the game is fun, fun, fun. And when I say “highly charged�, I’m referring to the other gender’s general worked-upedness about winning or losing the game.
--An Appreciation for Software Development. While not related to food (notice that the work cafeteria has not been mentioned on this list), I have gained so much knowledge about the inner workings of the software development business, how and why decisions are made, which to the outsider, can be puzzling, at best. I can honestly say that I would have been a much better analyst with even a year of the experience that I now have (not to mention the immense learning about research and problem solving). The Office productivity suite is not perfect, but considering so many factors, it truly is an amazing product.
One year. 365 days. Wow.