The Pacific Northwest, a magical place. Home to the beginnings and carrying-ons of many traditions and industries most citizens in the free world simply couldn't live without. At the center (not geographically, but socially) of this forgotten region, just south of the border, lies the metropolis of Seattle. Covering a great portion of the eastern sea board of Puget Sound, the Greater Seattle Area was the birthplace of such "necessities" as Microsoft, REI, Nordstroms, Red Robin, good music, and, probably most importantly, Starbucks. In the dance world we refer to artists as being addicted to one of two "ines": nicotine (east coast), or caffeine (myself and all other self-respecting west coasters). So maybe it isn't my fault, but the very nature of dance itself and this socially accepted addiction, that I find myself constantly with a disposable coffee cup in hand. In Eugene, or certainly Colville, I may have stood out as "the girl who always brought coffee to class". It is true, even in the UO Dance Department, my coffee cup always stood out from the rest. The time would come to gather my belongings at the end of a class, and even amongst the 30 people busily redressing, checking cell phones, and trying to find THEIR shoes in the masses, someone would call out, "Kate, your coffee," and hand me my half-consumed cup. To which I would smile, chuckle with a raised brow as if to imply how AWFUL it would have been if I had missed out on these last two essential gulps, and run out the door–the paper cup already on its way back to my lips.
This somewhat crazed, coffee obsessed image was one I wore proudly all through my under-grad (save the month when I decided I would give up caffeine for four weeks, which turned into five, which happened to fall at the busiest time of the year, and was almost the cause of my demise as a functioning human being…but that's another story), and is still what those who know me best associate me with to this day. It is not, however, what prompted me to move to Seattle…regardless of how fitting that would be.
I think the decision to move north, to the "big city" was somewhat of a natural one. A logical next step for someone in my position, trying to move on to a bigger and better thing, without actually having to make any huge life changes in the process. As I watched my friends jaunt off to the east coast (with the smokers), midwest, and every big city with an arts scene in between, I comforted myself with the thought that I was doing something exciting too! Seattle is a big city for me, and I'm not really a grab-life-by-the-balls-and-hold-on-for-the-bumpy-ride kinda girl. I'm much more at ease with a situation that I'm in control of. Where I know what opportunities I will have, and how I can best take advantage of them. Where I know people, and don't have to put myself out there just so I feel like I have someone to talk to. Where my lodging and transportation are not unknown variables, but planned conveniences that are prearranged and have very little possibility of falling through. These are the kind of exciting adventures I like to take! Yes! Organized ones, with very little that could possibly go wrong, and barely any chance for spontaneity.
Sound boring? Yep…I'm starting to agree. Now don't take me wrong, moving to Seattle has certainly been an adventure so far, one I plan to share tons about in this blog for sooth. There was The Move (capital T, capital M), a trip that Bob and I embarked on in early June. The second move (little m this time), when I actually left Eugene, and started my tenure as a Washingtonian again. My first spat of seasonal depression, which surprisingly happened in the summer, and ironically set in just hours after moving in. My second spat of seasonal depression, maybe not so "seasonal" this time, that prompted me to take an extra few days of "vacation" around the week I was headed to Colorado for my cousin's wedding. And now, in my first full week here at 6811, getting Strictly Seattle with a rockin' dance intensive at Capitol Hill's Velocity Dance Center. I hope for your sake, and my sanity, all of these little nuggets turn into fabulous stories I can tell, and you can read and laugh at. May my inability to "make it on my own" feed your funny bone for months to come! And now, just a few parting thoughts on my new life as a Seattleite:
- First of all, my automatic spell checker seems to think that "Seattleite", when spelled correctly, is a word.
- I have decided it would be better to spend 2 hours getting through traffic on the surface streets, than to stop and go for 1 hour on I5.
- On that same note, getting places in the city always takes at least twice as long as you expect it to, and there is no way to leave the house without spending at least $2.25.
- Leaving your keys in the door in Seattle is a much more unsettling experience than doing it in Eugene, OR.
- When going to look at a potential rental or for sale property for someone else, always bring a measuring tape, and ask way more questions than you think need to be answered…these extra things matter in the city.
- If your "check engine light" comes on, and you live in Seattle, asking Mom and Dad what to do probably wont fix the problem.
- If you are anywhere near low on gas, don't head off into a part of Seattle you don't KNOW has a gas station, chances are you'll be stranded somewhere between the freeway and the water (which is everywhere) going around in circles trying to find fuel.
- I have apparently adopted a cat, at least to my back yard, who the man across the alley informed me was named Mel Belle…? Mel Belle is a very nice cat, but seems to have somewhat of a troubled pass as her (his/her?) tail is very short, and quite crooked.
- The fish vendors in Pike Place are some of the nicest and most entertaining men I've ever met while buying groceries.
One last little gem, my favorite nugget of conversation from yesterday:
Becca: What kind of music do you wanna listen to?
Me: I don't know, somethin' jazzy. (I bop around to the beat inside my head so she knows what I'm referring to)
Becca: Hmmmm, let's see…can you listen to country in the city? :)
As I set off on my journey into Seattleite-ism (again, a word according to Microsoft Word…ha!) there may be rain on the horizon, but things are looking up! Tomorrow's forecast: cloudy with a chance of Starbucks!
