My Life For Sale & Travel Writing

Since Leigh and I are both leaving Buffalo permanently and will be moving around quite a bit, we're attempting to sell off everything we own save for our absolute favorite items. This includes pictures and pieces of art, favorite clothing items, memorabilia and a few books and DVDs. Plus we're keeping things that were pretty pricey or gifts like our pots and pans. Otherwise, everything must go.

We have essentially taken over Craigslist with our ads. So far the response has been pretty good, but a few items are really stressing us out. For one thing, we have a leather living room set that is worth a pretty penny but, even after asking a blasphemously low price, nobody is biting. Also, I'm trying to sell my golf clubs (a rather unique set) and it's been hard to drum up interest in spite of a really low price and the free Sunday bag that comes with them. Leigh says she thinks it's because it's the end of the month and nobody has any money, so we're hoping that if we hold out we'll get an OK price for it after Oct 1. Anyway, it's been a little frustrating.

Yesterday we took the afternoon off and left the house, which was so nice after days of cleaning, packing, and picture taking. We walked to Elmwood for breakfast, stopped by the library and the bank. Then we hopped in the car and went to EMS to get some backpacking supplies. $80 later and we had all the carabiners, stuff sacks, fancy socks, and other travel odds and ends that will make our time abroad that much more organized and enjoyable. After that little splurge we hit the mall to do some window shopping and ran into some friends of ours while we were there. That was kind of fun. Before heading home I talked Leigh into going to Borders to check out a Rick Steves book written specifically for Provence and the French Riviera. After flipping through it and finding that it didn't have that much more information that my Rick Steves France and Let's Go Western Europe books, for the first time in my life I chose to not purchase a travel book.... really, you should see the collection I've started!

Last night I started designing a website using iWeb but then realized I couldn't publish it until I bought a domain name or found a free website that would allow me to publish it using an ftp. I know very little about website publishing, so after some fruitless searching I gave up. Maybe I'll have the time to sit down and figure this stuff out in a few weeks. I wouldn't mind paying a little bit for it, but I honestly don't know which company to go with that won't scam me! At any rate, I'm really excited about the website I've started designing. It's my first attempt at travel writing. So far I just have the introductory pages made with maps and links so you can click on a spot on the map and it will link to a journal entry or recollection about going to that place. I'm going to use pictures from my own past travels and the trips I have coming up.

The idea came when I realized that the area of France where I'll be living has this amazing private bus system where you can go pretty much anywhere in the department for 1 euro each way. This gives me the opportunity to take tons of day trips to little villages and just walk around, meet people, take pictures, etc. Since my job only has me working about 3 days per week I could do a trip or two every week if I felt like seeing something new. I also thought it would be a nice contribution to the world of free travel websites. Since I started the application process for this job I have relied heavily on a free site developed by a young woman from Michigan who was a teaching assistant in 2006. Her information has proven to be reliable and priceless in terms of reducing my stress levels and helping me get ideas for my own time abroad. Hopefully I will be able to get my site published and can provide good information for other people trying to get out in the world and have great experiences too.

So if you know anything about website publishing or good companies to go through please let me know!

Also, since this is my first time to Europe I posted a poll asking where I should make sure to visit while I'm in Europe, so please vote too!

President Obama and Kanye West: A Pop Culture Moment

Not sure if this is obvious or not, but I do not give a shit about pop culture. I'm not above it or too cool for it and yes, I do enjoy some pop music, TV shows, etc. However, I put exactly ZERO effort into keeping up with celebrity comings and goings. If I know about something going on in Hollywood it's usually because somebody else told me. Otherwise I'm oblivious.

That being said, I first heard about the Kanye West at the VMAs thing because apparently President Obama made an offhand comment about it off the record. It seems like an amateur mistake, but we have to remember that the man has two young daughters who probably keep up with this stuff like it's their job, so he's going to be exposed to some of it and probably have thoughts about people's behavior. Besides, everyone should have a few minutes at work to goof off and lighten things up a bit, even the leader of the free world.

Getting back to the topic, I heard that the President was getting a lot of flack for even weighing in on the topic, then I saw the clip of Kanye's impromptu, self-invited declaration. I later came across clips of both Taylor Swift's video (which she won an award for) and Beyonce's video (which she did not win for) and developed my own opinion:

Beyonce's Video:

Clean, classic, interesting dancing, and a fun song. I especially liked how Beyonce didn't stand out that much from the other two dancers in the video. I think that was an interesting artistic choice on the part of the choreographer and director. The video was nice, but not overly impressive and definitely not the best video of all time as proclaimed by Kanye West.

What's more, music videos are rarely pieces of art anymore. I remember up to the early '90s videos were sometimes extremely poignant and often absolute masterpieces. The cliche examples of this are Soul Asylum's "Runaway Train" (for poignant) and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (masterpiece). Today not only is it hard to even find a music video on MTV, but when they are played most of them are annoying or just cheap garbage productions.

Taylor Swift's Video:

I do not like Taylor Swift's music. I find her lyrics to be decidedly anti-feminist and degrading to teenage girls. Her lyrics suggest that girls' happiness and self-worth should be based on whether their crush notices them. "Teardrops on My Guitar" is just disgusting all around and the "He Belongs with Me" song isn't much better because it suggests that the typical Alpha female type in high school is the only girl who will get noticed. I don't know about the rest of you, but many girls I knew in high school, including myself, wore t-shirts and sneakers and did just fine in terms of dating. However, Taylor Swift is just a teenager and seems like a nice girl so I try to not judge her too harshly. Plus it's very likely that she has little to no control on her songs or image because she's an American Idol with a contract akin to indentured servitude.

As for the video, I don't know why it won. It was pretty cliche and nothing interesting happened. In fact, Beyonce's very vanilla video kept my attention more than Taylor Swift's video could ever hope to. In all they were both really unimpressive so who knows what all the fuss is about.

Kanye West:

Unlike Taylor Swift, I really like Kanye West's music. He's is extremely talented without question and he is being rewarded handsomely for his artistic efforts.

However, my above comments regarding these music videos and their artists' abilities have absolutely no bearing on my opinion of Kanye West's behavior. Taylor Swift could have won in spite of having the worst video ever made and I would still agree with President Obama that Kanya West behaved badly and is a "jackass." In fact, there's an entire website devoted to expressing how big of a douchebag Kanye West is.

Besides what Kanye said in public, on stage, on TV, in front of Taylor Swift and Beyonce (who looked horrified), he also had a total meltdown backstage claiming that MTV never let's him win awards that he seems to think he is entitled to and they never pick the right winner. He even claimed that MTV won't let a "black man" win, which is just plain stupid.

Kanye West, you fail realize that 1) awards ceremonies are supposed to be fun and should not be taken so seriously, 2) it is an honor to be nominated at all, winning is just an extra bonus, 3) you picked on and embarrassed a girl who is half your age in front of millions of people, 4) your mother must be humiliated, and 5) you are not entitled to win every award just because you think you are better than your peers.

You are a sore loser and a big baby. I haven't seen temper tantrums like yours since grade school and those kids didn't have any friends because they always ruined it for the rest of us. You are setting a bad example for young people in constructively dealing with adversity.

Grow the fuck up, seriously.

Lazy Girl

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I have not worked or had to be anywhere in over two weeks. It's starting to feel a little odd.

Mild Freak Out

I feel like I've been updating a lot lately, mostly giving myself pep talks to stay focused/get pumped for the looming flight to France.

Honestly, I'm getting really freaked out. Aside from language barriers and the unknown, money is becoming a big issue due to my many plans, hopes and dreams. In spite of having saved up all summer and worked my ass off during August to build my savings after spending most of my summer studying for the bar exam, I'm still not completely confident that I won't find myself running low on cash for essential moving expenses like security deposits on apartments and such. I may have been a bit overly optimistic in my abilities to live off of next to nothing based on my tendencies to not care about buying a lot of stuff and my ability to take really amazing trips on shoestring budgets.

I realized today that going away for a week or two on a shoestring budget is very different from relocating abroad on a similar budget. Also, When I took said amazing trips I always had a fair amount of available credit in case of emergencies and knew if things went terribly wrong I could always just camp out in my hostel or whatever until I could get back home. On the other hand, when I move to France I will live in France and I'd damn well better be able to pay my bills, feed myself, and make the most of my time there.

Sure I could always cancel my trip to Italy. One of my dreams would die, Leigh would be crushed, and I'd be skipping one of the primary purposes of taking this crazy job in the first place! Would that really be worth it in the end? I think not. Besides, I must constantly remind myself that I have been preparing for the worst (i.e. most expensive) case scenario, but that is not necessarily going to be the reality. I could very well find myself with a small nest egg of savings after all is said and done and feel very silly that I did so much worrying.

So for the moment I'm trying to scheme ways to make my dollars stretch unnatural lengths for the next two weeks but also buy the things I need to stock up on before I hop the pond. I also need to use this time to get organized and send out applications for jobs for NEXT year, which is also going to cost money. Add to that a lovely list of little extra expenses that keep popping up and you have a very unhappy Emily. It's just been one of those days.

Referring to the above-mentioned language barriers, I have not been studying my French much at all. Am I a glutton for punishment? Do I subconsciously want to have extreme culture shock upon arrival and appear a fool to my superiors at the lycee? I certainly hope not, and I hope even more that I get out of this funk sooner rather than later so avoid further problems and unpleasant surprises.

Now is the part where I pledge to make tomorrow a new day. I will wake up refreshed in the morning and will spend my day at the library and the law school getting shit done. That's the plan. Now I'm just going to spend the rest of my evening trying to adjust my own attitude.

*sigh* latent adolescent moments, how I loathe thee.

Buffalo Again

The long trip has finally ended and I'm now enjoying a brief period of stationary living before running off to France. Last week Leigh and I had a really nice time seeing our parents, relaxing and eating too much. My parents even threw me a mini Christmas party complete with gifts and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (one of my favorites!). It was really nice and I felt very loved. After a whirlwind visit in Grundy and coaxing Juneau the Cat out from under a couch to get her in the car we were on our way back to Buffalo. We got back to Buffalo late on Thursday night.

On Friday we took a trip to Niagara Falls so I could replace my favorite jeans with a pair that aren't falling apart. I wore my favorite pair almost every day this summer and one month of that time was spent working at farmer's markets, so it's safe to say they are a little worse for wear. Today we got up early and walked down to Elmwood Village to check out the Buffalo version of farmer's markets. The weather was perfect for walking and we found some really great vegetables and other treats at the market. Our healthy morning did not last, however, as we then stopped off at a local bakery for some completely unnecessary dessert items. This evening I cooked pesto spaghetti for dinner. I made the sauce from scratch using the pesto Leigh's mom brought back from Italy and the tomato we bought at the market today plus some seasonings made on my grandparents' farm in Washington State. It was really tasty, even Leigh said so and she rarely likes my attempts at cooking!

It's nice being back in Buffalo with Leigh and Juneau the Cat. It's funny, I've never actually lived in this apartment with Leigh because she moved in while we were broken up, but it feels very homey and welcoming for me. I think it's seeing familiar furniture and being surrounded all the odds and ends we've collected together over the past 7 years that makes the difference.

The task of checking items off my To Do List is in full swing. My work visa came in the mail yesterday (yay!) so I can relax a little bit now. I need to sit down and work on my clerkship application materials soon and I have a long list of unpleasant phone calls scheduled for Monday (life insurance, property insurance, student loans etc......being a grownup really stinks sometimes!). In more fun news, we're putting finishing touches on our tentative Italy travel plans, though I anticipate learning a lot more about our plans upon arrival in Europe. Hopefully I'll find a way to shave a few bucks off our estimated budget. Even if the trip to Italy is massively expensive, it's going to be a ton of fun and we can always head home early if it becomes downright irresponsible. My only real concern is that we might have to adjust our Christmas travel plans if Italy gets the best of us.

In all it's been a really fun weekend. Hopefully tomorrow I will sit down and write my applications for judicial clerkships and take care of other odds and ends that can be handled outside of business hours. I'd also like to enjoy this beautiful early fall weather some more and maybe even do something fun!

PS: An Horse played two gigs in eastern Ontario this week. Unfortunately I wasn't on top of things and missed my chance to see them play live. What's more, they played The Drake in Toronto, which is this really cool small venue that I've been dying to go to. Oh well, I can't have everything. Maybe the Indie Music Gods will have mercy on me for missing out and make it possible for me to see Tegan and Sara in Berlin : )

TEGAN AND SARA IN EUROPE!!!

That's right kids! Tegan and Sara posted their UK + Euro tour dates. They're mostly touring in November and most of their dates are throughout Germany, but also Paris and Brussels.

I'm HOPING to be able to attend the Berlin show near the end of November, but that depends a lot on my class/work schedule. Anyway, Leigh and I are really hoping to get to go to Germany for that weekend to see T & S and do some quickie tourist stuff. Flights to Berlin are fairly cheap and quick, especially compared to taking the train. We both wanted to visit Germany and this gives us a good excuse to go. Plus a friend of mine from high school is interning in Berlin this year and it would be fantastic to see her again.

I'm speaking WAAAYYY to soon because I don't even know what days of the week I'm teaching, but it's nice to know that Tegan and Sara are playing several dates that might just work out for me to attend. Woohoo! I was hoping to get to attend a concert while abroad and particularly hoping to get to see T & S while they're touring since I missed their special Seattle concert.

So that's my most recent bit of excitement regarding the next few months. Leigh and I spent a few days at my dad's house in Ferrum to have a visit before not seeing them for 7 months. It was nice, very relaxing and low key. Leigh and I went to Roanoke for an afternoon because we love Roanoke so much. Today we drove to Grundy to visit Leigh's mom briefly and pick up our kitty cat. Next stop is probably Buffalo to get started on such tasks as applying for judicial clerkships, making sense of my finances and selling everything we own.

More later.

East Coast

My flight from Seattle to BWI was uneventful but long. I was very happy to land and to see Leigh waiting for me near the baggage claim. We had a nice dinner out and then I collapsed and fell asleep. The next day I had my appointment for my work visa in France. Let me just say that I really, really hated that entire experience. The people working at the consulate were so very rude, even more so than I expected from the French. I have met French people before and I have never had anyone be so short tempered and presumptive of my ill intentions. For some reason I looked as though I was attempting to circumvent their very important zoning regulations for which consulate one must use for one's visa.

At any rate, my 10:00am appointment took me until nearly 1pm to complete and included an emergency trip to CVS to have my headshots retaken because the guy at Kinkos in Murray Hill didn't size my picture properly... Dumbass. I might write a letter or make a phone call about that.

After my appointment Leigh and I went to lunch at Metro 29 in Alexandria, VA. It's one of our favorite places to eat in the DC area. We had made plans to do some touristy stuff in DC, but after fighting traffic in Georgetown all morning and afternoon and my exhausting and demoralizing experience fighting for my visa, I just wanted to take a nap!

So I did.

The next day we did some outlet shopping in the morning, hit up Costco and then headed to Appalachia for a few days visiting my dad in Ferrum. We've been here for a few days and have really enjoyed our new found routine of sleeping in, snacking, taking leisurely walks around my father's property, drinking sweet tea, sitting on the porch, eating more than necessary, playing with the dog and cats, and watching a lot of bad TV.

Needless to say I haven't made any progress on the "To Do Before France" list in my head and I've declared the need to have a Raw Food Day or two upon return to Buffalo in addition to regular exercise.

Leigh and I are driving to Grundy on Wednesday morning to pick up our daughter, Juneau the Cat, and then finally return to Buffalo. Our plan is to use the remaining few weeks before I fly to France to sell off our belongings and pack up our sentimental items so Leigh can be out of her apartment by early October. I also need to finish applying for Alaska clerkships as well as handle such nuisances as deferring student loan payments, double checking my budget, buying traveller's checks and insurance.

*sigh* And I thought this whole moving to France thing was going to be a vacation of some sort! All I can do now is hope that my passport and visa are returned to me sooner rather than later AND that this will, in fact, turn out to be a relaxing experience once I'm settled in Antibes and have started my job.

Sugar, Cranberries, and Airplanes

Today is my last day in Seattle. I finished up last week working Pike Place, Lake City and Bellevue markets. All in all this has been a really great experience. I've really enjoyed meeting new people through the farmer's market social circle, eating good food, hanging out in Seattle and reconnecting with family members.

Today I'm hanging out downtown doing the coffee and See's Candy ritual while I watch True Blood on my computer. The barista at Seattle's Best just gave me a free sample of a coffee milkshake, too, so I'm pretty sugared up! After this I'm heading down to the Seattle Art Museum for a bit and then heading home to pack.

I talked to Leigh yesterday who informed me that The Cranberries are reuniting and touring!!! AAAHHHH!!! Anyone who knows me AT ALL knows that The Cranberries early music was a defining aspect of my adolescence. I saw them live once when I was 14 and simply MUST see them again now!!! They're touring the US in late 2009 and Europe in 2010. Luckily I will be in Europe until May of 2010. Hopefully they'll be somewhere within a stone's throw of southern France. If not I'm willing to fly to Germany or the UK to see them.

EEK! EXTREME HAPPINESS!!!

Well, I fly out tomorrow and own too much crap to pack so I should probably get a move on. At some point tonight I need to go through my things and seriously consider getting rid of as much of it as possible.

That's all for now...

Monday, Monday, Monday

This weekend was kind of a whirlwind! Saturday morning came way too soon, meaning I was up and working by 6am. I worked the Ballard market for about 3 hours and then my grandmother kidnapped me and took me to Sammammish to visit my uncle and his family. It was good to see them, but I was a little stressed out that day from lack of sleep and lack of information (I didn't know I was being whisked away so suddenly and have a serious character flaw when it comes to going with the flow.).

Sunday was Pike Place Market again, which was in full swing and fully annoying. Don't get me wrong, Pike is a fun market and an integral part of Seattle's history, but Sunday I had a trifecta of unfortunate situations leading to a frustrating day. First, by the time I arrived there weren't enough tables left for me to fully enclose my booth. This means that all day I had tourists wandering through my booth (which includes boxes of delicate fruit, my personal belongings, and my cash box), sitting on a bench I had snagged to try to enclose my area, etc. Second, I had no neighboring farmer to my left, so tourists were camped out there all day which caused me to have even less security and almost no barrier between myself and my customers/passers by. Third, the neighbor to my right was very busy tending to customers and a small child who I think is her cousin or niece. FOURTH, I was directly across from the world's first Starbucks so there was always a massive crowd of people in front of it taking pictures, asking me about it's history (I DON'T KNOW!), etc but NOT buying my produce! The end result was poor sales, constant stress about being robbed, and no opportunity to sneak away to grab lunch or use the bathroom. Needless to say I was VERY GRUMPY when my grandparents picked me up at the end of the day.

However, after all that mess I got to attend the Incredible Feast. It's a fundraiser for the Seattle Farmer's Markets where farmers' goods are honored by famous chefs using their goods to cook a dish. Then everyone gets to wander around and try little bits of each dish. I left there having eaten an incredible variety of foods and barely able to walk or keep my eyes open from exhaustion and fullness.

So today is Monday and my day off. I get tomorrow off too! I spent today sleeping in and then took the bus from West Seattle to the U District to enjoy some Fallafel and Bubble Tea. I also watched the latest episode of True Blood and am now camped out in the U District library trying to fill out my visa application forms. The forms aren't difficult but they're really stressing me out! It must be the knowledge that one forgetful moment could make next Thursday extremely stressful and possibly disasterous. So I've decided to print fresh copies of everything, find all possible information and then sit down and fill it out very, very slowly. I'm also going to keep a few blank copies with me when I go to the consulate for my appointment just in case I need to make a change or something. *sigh*

Well, that's about it for today. This is my last full week of work. I fly to DC next Wednesday bright and early! My visa appointment is Thursday morning then Leigh and I have a couple of days to enjoy DC (national zoo, national mall, a few museums, good food, and shopping) before heading to Ferrum for a long visit with my parents. I'm really looking forward to this time at home before heading to France, but for now I need to focus and do a lot of good work until I fly out and continue to enjoy my stay here in Seattle.

Friday Off Again

Ah, a day off. So nice. Fridays are a real blessing with this job because Wednesdays are long days, Thursdays are shorter but require more physical labor and Saturday and Sunday are really tiring (8-10 hours each with early mornings). This week was kind of tough. The markets were slow and I didn't make much money at any of them, meaning I didn't sell much. My hourly rate is the same always, but I hate not selling a lot because I feel bad for my grandparents. Plus I know that a few days later I'll have the joy of sorting through rotting fruit in the cold room that didn't sell in time.

I also got yelled at a few times by unappreciative shoppers and some people have been complaining about the produce because they fail to understand that market shopping is different from grocery store shopping. People sometimes think I'm there to serve their every whim and fail to realize how rare and difficult it is for family organic farms and selling at local markets. Then the little voice in my head reminds me that I'm a lawyer and twice as educated as most of the people I'm serving, which just infuriates me more. As a general rule I like to think everyone is equal and should be treated with respect, but when others fail to respect me at least a little bit and treat me like a servant I tend to get up on my high horse and it just makes me more angry than I was before.

Anyway, Fridays are much needed and highly appreciated. I really have no plans for today except to run a few quick errands and use the free WiFi at Seattle's Best Coffee on 4th Ave (with purchase of a coffee, of course, 'cause I'm classy like that).

This whole not having internet at home thing is growing on me. I get to check my email and do other internety things about twice per week, so I'm starting to appreciate it a little more. I also spend less time thinking "I'm bored, I'll check my email for the 4,000th time today." I really don't get that much email to validate checking it so often, but having internet so sparingly does make it a little more difficult to take care of business. For example, my Hollins.edu email account isn't working for some reason (I can't log in) and even after the Hollins IT gurus took a stab at it I still can't log in. Hopefully they'll get that under control soon so I can check the only email account where I still get personal messages from friends.

So far today I've just hung out at SBC and watched True Blood from last week (which streamed MUCH better here than at that library), but I anticipate finding something fun to do this afternoon. Most likely I will buy some See's Candy and get some lunch and maybe do a little window shopping. I might also take a bus to the U District to revisit my old stomping grounds. I've been to the U District once since coming to Seattle but I was working and didn't leave the vicinity of the farmer's market.

My grandpa Jim and his wife Chris came to visit me from Spokane on Monday and Tuesday. I hadn't seen my grandfather in over 3 years and hadn't seen Chris in at least 5 years. We spent a lot of time catching up, ate really good food, and explored West Seattle and Ballard a little bit. They also took me to get a haircut, which I REALLY needed. It looks great, by the way. A slightly different style than I had before but I think I like this one a little better. It's still a faux-hawk type cut but a bit softer and easier to style without looking too much like a punk (I always felt like a poser with my hair up in the middle because I'm such a dork and not a punk at all).

I have about 10 days left in Seattle before flying to DC. I have so much to do! Aside from working, I still need to fill out my forms for my visa and continue brushing up on my French, which I have done minimally to this point. I also need to rehome a lot of my clothes and books so I don't have to check so much luggage or at least make it a bit lighter.

Well, I think I've loitered here long enough and should start enjoying my day in the big city. First stop is some lunch, then who knows? I'm going to steer clear of Pike Place though, I've had enough of that place until Sunday.

internet tv

OK, I'm at the public library trying to watch True Blood on my computer. the WiFi here is so slow that it has taken me almost an hour to watch 27 minutes of the show. This is almost maddening. I guess I'll just have to look into renting this whole series when it becomes available on DVD. I hope I can stream it on Netflix while I'm in France or else it's going to be a loooooonnnnggg 7 months without American TV and a crazy ass catch up of watching TV when I get home.

A Very Seattle Day

After my blog yesterday I found myself at the slowest farmer's market day yet. Most people stayed home because our beautiful sunny morning turned into a cold and rainy afternoon. The people who did come out were less than desirable, including an odd man who insisted on eating his powdered sugar pastry while leaning over our boxes of peaches on display. I had the pleasure of dusting off all surfaces of our display tables after he left- oh joy! The day picked up though, because it seems that farmer's markets transform into swap meets when the rain drives customers back into their homes. By the end of the day I had swapped my way into a hot veggie quesadilla, a tray of blueberries, a loaf of homemade bread and a mini blueberry pie. This, in addition to the stuff I have at home from less glutinous swapping days has me well set for fresh, organic food for the next several days!

Today I had my first real day off in Seattle, though I did work a little bit at home this morning and I will probably have to work a little bit this evening too... but it is still a day off because I got most of the day to play in the city.

Anyway, after doing some lifting and storing of fruit this morning I got a ride downtown with Marc, my grandpa's main man for market sales. He took me to Alki to see the beach across from the famous Seattle Skyline, which was gorgeous! There was a clear view of downtown, a beach, boardwalk, fun restaurants and cute houses. I'm so happy we took that detour. After fighting traffic for a bit Marc dropped me off in front of the Central Library, a favorite place of mine. After running to the bank I found a little teriyaki place in the basement of an espresso shop where I got a yummy chicken lunch. I then high-tailed it to See's Candy to spoil myself with $2.15 worth of yummy chocolate (which translates to about 4 pieces and a free piece to sample, not bad, eh?). After a bit of window shopping at Anthropologie (which I'm having trouble resisting in spite of my better angels), I made my way back to the library stopping at Seattle's best for some coffee to accompany my See's Candy.

Next on my itinerary is the library itself where I will make full use of the free WiFi to catch up on episodes of True Blood (I don't have internet at the house) and check emails and websites to my heart's desire. I need to be back in West Seattle by about 6:30 to unload this week's supply of apricots and peaches, but after a day like today I really don't mind. Tomorrow and Sunday will be tough, as they always are. My weekend days start early and end late, especially if I'm working Pike Place Market on Sunday, but that's OK because it's fair pay and you can't beat Seattle farmer's markets for people watching entertainment.

Now that I'm about halfway through my Seattle time this summer I can safely say that this has been a wonderful experience. I've really enjoyed my work and my play time. I'm feeling revivdd after my bar exam marathon and am now able to look forward to the next year of my life in a real way. As a side product, my love for this city has been completely renewed. Perhaps Leigh and I will find ourselves here full time after a spell in Alaska or at the very least coming down for frequent business or pleasure trips. The bottom line is that I seem to have been built for the Pacific Northwest.

work, work, work

not a lot has happened since I last posted. I spent a few days at the farm and worked a bit there. I hoed about an acre of pepper plants and herb gardens, which took 6 hours of hard labor. My hands still hurt, my back aches, and my legs are sore but I got a bit of a tan, burned calories, and made money so who am I to complain?

I was supposed to spend this week in Rock Island playing farmer, but at the last minute was sent to Seattle to cover a few markets. I guess somebody called in sick or something, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'm staying at the Seattle house by myself this week, which is really nice. I've been cooking and doing laundry and generally chilling out. Today I'm selling at the lake city market north of Seattle, which is fine. Not the best neighborhood but the market goes by pretty fast and I have a co-worker to help today. I get tomorrow off (yay!) which is so very exciting. I coudl really use a day to enjoy the city, eat something I didn't cook (I'm a terrible cook), go to the library downtown and maybe stop in for some See's candy. I might even take some picture sto post one of these days since the weather has been so great and the city is in full form these days. Sounds like a great day, eh?

Another set of grandparents are visiting from Spokane on Monday and Tuesday, which is uber exciting. I haven't seen my grandpa for over 3 years and I haven't seen my step-grandmother Chris in at least 5 years. I suspect we'll have a lot of catching up to do, will probably hang out with my little cousins and get dinner out. Who knows what else, but it's always a good time with my grandpa Jim and Chris.

However, I have failed to start re-learning French and I have neglected the books I"m trying to read this month. I'm always so tired from working hard and just want to eat something and then pass out at the end of the day. There's a certain unique satisfaction to being that tired, but I wish I had a little more time or energy for other leisure activities.

At this point I'm just over 2 weeks away from returning to the east coast. I'm starting to get pretty homesick for Leigh, my dad's house, and familiar surroundings in general. It will be really nice to have a few weeks to do nothing but prepare for France and visit with the most important people in my life. I also really miss my cat.

Well, I should get a move on it. The market calls.....

Seattle Farmers Markets, Rock Island Farming

I flew from Anchorage to Seattle last Monday on a red-eye. It was easily the most uncomfortable way to travel a would-be 3 hours by air. My overnight flight involved a delayed departure, layover in Salt Lake (which lasted the 5 minutes it took me to run from one gate to another) and a flight to Seattle. Needless to say I crashed as soon as I got to my grandparent's house in West Seattle.

I started working on Wednesday, selling organic fruit and products at farmer's markets. It's a really great job with fair pay, lots of hours, and a pretty busy environment so the hours go by fast. It's hard work too, so I'm getting tons of exercise and enjoying being outdoors. I'm also sleeping really well because I'm so tired at the end of the day and it's so nice being with family again.

My cousin Paul was in Seattle on business at the end of last week, so I spent my days off with him. We ate good food, drank local beer, visited the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project, which I'd never done in spite of having visited/lived in Seattle on a many occassions. We also got together with a friend from my BarBri class and her sister for dinner and drinks, which was really fun. It was great to see him and have someone to enjoy the city with.

After a long weekend of working farmer's markets I accompanied my grandfather to the farm in Rock Island last night. My grandma and I have plans to visit my cousin and her new baby tomorrow and I always enjoy my time at the farm. On the off chance there is extra work around the farm today or tomorrow I will get some extra hours in, too, but if not I'll just enjoy my two days off here in the desert surrounded by orchards on the banks of the Columbia River.

It's been a bit of an adjustment since arriving. In Anchorage I had a certain routine and many restrictions to what I could do due to several factors. I was also starting to make some really great friends in Anchorage and will be happy to pick up those friendships again when I return next to Alaska next year. In Seattle I've been able to reconnect with family and make a few new friends at the markets. Not studying every day is very odd right now, but I'm reading for pleasure a lot and soon I'll start doing a home study refresher course in French. I also have very limited access to the internet, which is a pain in the ass but is teaching me patience at the same time. I also have more personal space at the house in West Seattle and more access to creature comforts. Plus I get to do cool stuff like trade our family's produce for fresh salmon and vegetables at the markets. In all I'm very glad to be here this month before returning to the east coast and preparing to go abroad.

Back to work on Wednesday! Until next time...

Final Days in Anchorage

The last two days have been kind of rough. The time period immediately following the bar exam seems to be kind of depressing and emotionally abrupt. The first day I stayed in bed a tiny bit hung over and pretty much didn't leave my room for feeling blue. Yesterday was even worse. I felt a little crappy physically and just couldn't face the world. Then I started getting hungry and decided to quit feeling sorry for myself.

After a few phone calls, two friends from my Bar Bri class and I had decided to get dinner at the Moose's Tooth. It was so nice to have a good meal and good company and to get out of the house. It really gave me the jump start I needed. After dinner one of my dinner companions and I went to Barnes & Noble to look at books we actually wanted to read (i.e. nothing published by BarBri) I ended up leaving with Rick Steves' France after a bit of insistence that I needed a comprehensive book on France for next year. I refrained from buying anything more because my grandmother has promised me a stack of books awaiting me in Seattle and I'm also trying to downsize my life right now, not buy more heavy stuff to haul around the world with me.

Tonight I fly to Seattle via Salt Lake City. I know what you're thinking, "But Emily, why on Earth would a person in Anchorage need to fly all the way to Utah to eventually wind up in Seattle?"

Well my friends, Delta Airlines is managed by imbeciles. In fact, the only Delta flight that leaves Anchorage daily leaves at 1am. The whole thing escapes reason...

Anyway, tonight I'm heading down south. I'll land in Seattle at 9:30am tomorrow morning. I have not started packing or doing much other than reading my new book (yay!), so I should probably get on that pretty soon. I keep forgetting how much trouble I had fitting all my crap into my two bags and keeping the weight under 50 lbs.

It is at this point that I would like to apologize for the general lack of photographs on this summer's posts. I literally only left the house to attend class and take the one little excursion to the valley. Rest assured I will have more fun in my life very soon that I will document in Seattle, my visit to the east coast, and certainly in Europe.

Well, I have no finished my leftover pizza from Moose's Tooth and must now start thinking about packing up and heading out. Next stop, Seattle...my favorite major city in America!