One Year Ago Today...

I was moving into a new apartment in a strange, new city. I only knew one person in Seattle, my now ex-roommate (though definitely not ex-friend) Sarah, and I was scared silly but crazy excited about the year ahead of me.

Now, 12 months, 2 leases, 2 internships, hundreds of cups of coffee, and countless raindrops, tears, and laughs later, I'm as terrified and thrilled as ever about the path ahead of me.

Things are different, to be sure. This time last year I had no idea who my friends would be here, or how I'd get around the city, or even where I'd buy groceries, but I had an internship to go to every day and a guaranteed (albeit tiny) paycheck to count on at the end of every week.

Now, as I embark on the daunting journey that is the life of a freelance teaching artist/actor/director/badass, those questions of friends and traffic and groceries are less daunting. I have my crew, I don't need the GPS most days, and I even have a favorite check-out guy at the Queen Anne Trader Joe's. What requires my trust and prayer now are those bigger questions of how exactly I'll get by month to month. Where will work come from? Am I always going to have to scrape pennies together to pay my rent? Am I going to burn out on juggling so many jobs that I won't have energy left to actually enjoy the thing I'm working so hard to practice? It's definitely a scary and difficult place to be in right now, but somehow I know It's exactly right for me in this time and place... and someday all the growing pains will pay off.

I've always joked that I won't be a grown up until I start sleeping in something other than a twin bed. How fitting, then, that today of all days I should trade in my exactly one-year-old Ikea twin bed for a full mattress and boxspring, left behind for me by a generous friend who had to leave Seattle a few weeks ago.

Hi, Adulthood, I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you.

I think my grandma wants me to become a hooker...

So, I was going to write a lengthy, depressing post about my job hunt and how ready I am to have financial stability and long-term employment. And then I checked my inbox to find this suggestion from my Granny (In all caps, of course, because to get a message all the way from Florida to Seattle requires some yelling.)


HI. SARAH,

FIRST OF ALL, I HEARD ON TV THAT JMU BEAT VA TECH IN FOOTBALL….RAH!!! AN UPSET!

NEXT, I HAVE BEEN THINKING THAT YOU WOULD BE GOOD IN ANOTHER CAREER…….AS A NEWS PERSON, REPORTER, ETC.

FIRST ALL, YOU WOULD NEED TO BLEACH YOUR HAIR TO A VERY LIGHT BLOND…..NEXT, BUY A “RED” DRESS…..MAYBE SLEEVELESS….BUT AT LEAST LOW CUT ENOUGH TO SHOW YOUR CLEAVAGE.

THEN, WHEN OR IF YOU ARE ON TV …AND SITTING….BE SURE TO CROSS YOUR LEGS AND LET THE DRESS CREEP UP PRETTY “FAR”.

YOU HAVE THE OTHER ABILITIES NEEDED….JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW THE ABOVE….LIKE ALL OF THE CURRENT WOMEN WHO ARE REPORTERS, ETC.

GUESS I’M NOT UP ON THE LATEST….BUT NOT SURE WHY SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DRESSED LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO A BALL. ONE LADY ON FOX IS GOOD.

WE MAY GET TO SEE YOU IN NOVEMBER IF AND WHEN YOU COME .

LOVE YA

GRANNY

Changes.

This week:
-I finished my internship at the Seattle Children's Theatre drama school.
-I started my new (temporary-- don't get too excited) job, in the Seattle Children's Theatre phone room. (anyone want to buy a subscription to the upcoming season??)
-I moved out of my old apartment.
-I moved into a new house.
-I painted my bedroom.
-I bought a new dresser at a garage sale (and painted that, too).

Next week:
-I will start looking for a real job (or at least one that will guarantee that I can pay my rent every month).
-I will reapply for food stamps.
-I will find a dentist in Seattle (and pray, pray, PRAY I don't have cavities because I waited this long).
-I will find an eye doctor in Seattle.
-I will finish nesting and acknowledge to the world that I am a real-life resident of Seattle, Washington.

Summer Lovin'

Ok, so lately I have been stinking it up as a blogger.

Life has been CRAZY busy but in a good good way. Here are the bullet points:

-My internship at Seattle Children's Theatre has been AMAZING! I get to go to work every day and play pretend with adorable kids. For example, in last week's classes I was a pirate named Captain Sassypants McGee and I made the kids all talk like pirates for the day. I've assisted on drama classes with kids from ages four to twenty and have loved every minute of it. Now, if only I could find a way to make more than 120 bucks a week doing this...

-At long last, it's sunny in Seattle! While the rest of you have been sweating your faces off in the hot hot heat, we've had highs of 75-80, cool breezes, and sunshine until 8:30 every night. All winter, people told me that the summers here would totally make the awful weather the other nine months out of the year worth it, and, while I'm still not entirely convinced, I must admit, I wouldn't hate a few more summers like this.

-With summer weather has come amazing summer adventures. My cousin visited this past week and we had a blast seeing all the sights. We made a trip to Vancouver. We kayaked on Lake Union. We almost got hit in the face by a fish at Pike Place. We were wined and dined by a kindof big deal Seattle chef. It's been a good week. And this weekend, I'm headed to Mt. Rainier National Park with some of my favorite interns. Woo hoo!

-Despite the lack of fireflies (which you ALL know I'm still bitter about), it turns out summer nights in Seattle aren't so bad, after all (no fireflies = no mosquitoes, for one). I shouldn't go into detail about my evening escapades here, but know that I recently managed to find good ways to fight the chill in the night air. (Um.. new, cute sweaters, obviously! Get your minds out of the gutter, people!)

-Finally, I feel like I've hit my stride in Seattle. Of course, I may very well be singing a different tune in October when it's raining again and I still don't have a job or a boyfriend or any family anywhere nearby. But for now, I love this city and I love my life. I have made some wonderful and FUN friends here, and though I'm still a long way from being where I want to be career-wise (in an income bracket that doesn't qualify me for government assistance, for starters) I'm definitely starting to make a lot of connections with other teaching artists and theatres where I see good potential for at least another year (Possibly more? Who knows?) of life and work here.

I'll work on posting pictures from my adventures soon. But for now, this shot of the view from the SCT west patio will have to do... (have I mentioned that I'm loving my summer??)

The Oregon Trail: The Highlights

..so from the tone of my last few posts and the length of my absence from the blogosphere, many of you might be assuming that I've fallen into a deep deep depression, never to be seen or heard from on the world wide web again.

Never fear, loyal readers. Though the summer started out rough, things are on the upswing and I'm back to keep you posted on my summer(ish) adventures in the Pacific Northwest.

Starting with... MY TRIP TO OREGON.

It has already been a month and a half since I toured Oregon with my wonderful west-coast buddy, Antoinette. And the two of us made too many memories to feasibly retell here...so since pictures speak louder than words, I figure it's best to hit the highlights with a little photo slideshow from the trip. Enjoy.

Hope

It has been a long week and my soul is tired.

My heart aches for my cousin's parents and siblings.

And now 3,000 miles away from home once again, it longs for my own family.

But though I hurt, I choose to hope.


Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again--
My savior and my God!

Psalm 42:5

Sweet Olivia

Most days I can find more than a few reasons to be excited about life.

Today is not one of those days.

I got some awful news this weekend that is finally starting to register. My dear cousin Olivia was hit by a car and killed crossing the street to her bus stop Friday morning. She was just 14 years old.

I keep thinking about what an awkward, unsure little thing I was when I was 14. About how much of my life hadn't even begun yet. About the experiences I'd have missed if I hadn't lived to see 15 or 16 or 18 or 20.

There are just no words for something like this. I know that God is good and that his plan is perfect. But even his word tells us that there is a season for everything. And this season is for heartbreak. There's no way around it.

I'm headed to Tampa Tuesday night to be with my family and attend the funeral. With it being 50 degrees and still rainy in Seattle, a surprise trip to Florida would be a welcome escape under any other circumstances. But this is never the kind of thing you want to go home for.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this week. We'll need all the love we can get.